Scaly wings help these butterflies soar
Science – Jan. 5
Aerospace engineers are always on the lookout for ways to make flying more efficient. Now, they’ve discovered a trick from nature that can do just that: the scales on butterfly wings. Those incredibly tiny scales—about 0.1 millimeter long—are arranged like roof shingles on the wing, making it a little rough. But until now, no one knew how that roughness affected flight … Using a special chamber with 22 cameras to track the insects with submillimeter precision, they found that the scales boosted climbing efficiency between 16% and 82%, they reported today at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (see video above). (University of Alabama researchers were involved with this paper.)
University of Alabama educators make 2017 predictions about Trump, Supreme Court, diets, fashion
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Ga.) – Jan. 5
For the 36th consecutive year, faculty experts at the University of Alabama have made some predictions for the new year.
Tuscaloosa doctor asks families to get flu shot as cases spike
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Jan. 6
The state of Alabama is seeing a spike in the number of flu cases, according to a physician at the University of Alabama, but there are some steps you can take to avoid coming down with anything. Doctor Richard Streiffer practices family medicine at the College of Community Health Services, and he says this year’s strain is causing more serious illness.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 6
Dr. Lena Prewitt was UA’s first African American female professor
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Jan. 5
Overall, she says her time at NASA was good, but instead of going that route, she decided to follow her first love, which was teaching. “If you got in my class, you were going to learn.” In 1970, Dr. Prewitt was the first African American female professor to be appointed at The University of Alabama.
Senate votes to start debate on fast tracking killing the Affordable Care Act
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Jan. 5
We hear from local health-care professionals after the Senate’s vote to start debate on fast-tracking killing the Affordable Care Act. A University of Alabama professor tells us tonight, getting rid of this plan without having a backup, in other words repealing but not replacing, will hurt many rural hospitals now just struggling to stay open. That professor says a small change in coverage could be big enough to swing some hospitals to close their doors.
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 5
Jeff Sessions represents rare opportunity for Alabama in quest for cabinet
Al.com – Jan. 8
William Rufus King served as Vice President for six weeks before his death in 1853. Benjamin Fitzpatrick, a few years later, served as the U.S. Senate’s president pro tem. From 1936 to 1940, William Bankhead of Jasper served as the nation’s 42nd Speaker of the House. And though a native of Birmingham, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has long resided in California, where she was once a provost at Stanford University … “Senator Sessions may be Trump’s most controversial cabinet member,” said Richard Fording, political science professor at the University of Alabama, who believes the forthcoming hearings could also put Alabama’s past difficulties with race relations in the national spotlight.
WTVY (Dothan) – Jan. 8
UA Alumni and students to help clean up Tampa Bay beaches
ABC (Tampa, Fla.) – Jan. 8
“Keeping Tampa Bay Beautiful” is mapping out their game plans to help with clean up by actually teaming up with The University of Alabama. “The University of Alabama reached out to us, and we’re going to do a beach clean up with them. We’re pretty much covered on that. They have about 200 alumni and also current students that will be out helping us on the ninth.”
Tuscaloosa District Attorney’s Office to partner with UA School of Social Work
WIAT-CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Jan. 5
The Tuscaloosa County District Attorney’s office is giving some University of Alabama students real hands-on experience. The DA’s office is starting a new social work in-house internship program. District Attorney Hayes Webb says his staff will partner with The University of Alabama. They will allow two master’s degree level students to gets hands-on experience. The students will work hand-in-hand with the DA and his team. Webb says this program is one of the first in-state to offer this for students.
ESPN on campus
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Jan. 5
Later this morning ESPN On The Road will be back on the air from The University of Alabama campus. The crew started doing live sport shows in front of Bryant Denny stadium yesterday. Fans came out to see ESPN analyst Booger McFarland, David Pollock, Molly McGrath and Gary Champion as they break down the big game.
UA to host watch-party for National Championship Game
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Jan. 5 and 6
The University of Alabama is also hosting a watch party for students so they can watch the National Championship game between the Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers. There will be several large screens in the Ferguson Student Center Ballroom on Monday, January 9 beginning at 6 p.m. The general public is also invited to watch the game on the big screen in the Ferguson Theater, which is located on the second floor.
Fall Semester Nursing Graduates Honored at Pinning Ceremony
Chester Village News (Va.) – Jan. 6
“Each of you hold that healing gift, and it’s time for you to share it with the world,” said Anissa Ellis, RN, as she addressed John Tyler Community College’s Fall 2016 nursing graduate candidates during the fall Pinning Ceremony on December 15, 2016. Ellis, an alumna of Tyler’s Nursing Program, graduated from the college in December 2014 and went to work as a registered nurse for VCU Medical Center as the first in a pilot program designed to train new graduates in a wide variety of fields. She is now a RN case manager with AT Home Care and is pursuing her bachelor’s in nursing from the University of Alabama.
‘Gulfs’ solo art exhibit opens Monday at Berry
Rome News-Tribune (Ga.) – Jan. 6
A solo art exhibit, “Gulfs” by Bryce Speed, opens Monday (Jan. 9) in the Moon Gallery at Berry College and will run through Feb. 2 … He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from the University of Mississippi and a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from the University of Alabama where he is currently an assistant professor of art in painting.
All on Georgia – Jan. 8
Earliest, Brightest Galaxies Shine A Ghostly Green In Surprising New Find
Forbes – Jan. 9
Here in the nearby Universe, 13.8 billion years since the Big Bang, galaxies come in great varieties … Some rare galaxies exhibit a green glow thanks to the presence of doubly ionized oxygen. This requires UV light from stellar temperatures of 50,000 K and above. Image credit: NASA, ESA, and W. Keel (University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa), of NGC 5972.
Texas’ Most Instagrammed Spot? It’s Probably Not What You Think
Houston Patch – Jan. 6
Everyone, it seems, has an Instagram account, and millions of photos are uploaded to the app and shared daily. Fashion, cats, wallpaper, models, food … you name it, we snap photos of it. We also like landmarks. Mountains, buildings, statues, and streets: If it’s famous, people love to shoot it … In Minnesota, it’s the Mall of America, and Fenway Park takes top spot in Massachusetts. When in Alaska, we Instagram Denali National Park, and while in Alabama the University of Alabama takes top photography honors.
Winter 2016 graduates announced at UA
Enterprise Sun – Jan. 6
The University of Alabama awarded some 2,270 degrees during winter commencement Saturday, Dec. 10. With this graduating class, UA will have awarded more than 257,000 degrees since its founding in 1831 as the state’s first public university. Candidates for degrees from UA include: Kevin Ammons of Enterprise, doctorate; Caleb Leslie of Enterprise, master’s; and Jordan Clark, Ashley Donovan, Jessica Garcia, Jillian Heaton, Kelsey Heaton, Leah Love, Aimee McDonough and Damarius Purdie, all of Enterprise, bachelor’s.
Student roundup
My San Antonio – Jan. 6
Allison Cirenza, Gansevoort, graduated from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Local students recognized for achievements
Rocky Mount Telegram (NC) – Jan. 8
Several local students recently have been honored for academic achievements … Mackenzie Boone of Nashville graduated from the University of Alabama.
THE PORT RAIL: Is cursive handwriting necessary in this age?
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 7
“Old-fashioned” and “useless” I thought could be me and my cohort of pre-boomers (those born before 1946) on our way into retirement homes and given to just doddering around the garden watering the petunias. Writing cursive, or “longhand” as we used to say, is, I quickly discovered from a short search on the Internet, a hot topic among educators. I had no idea it was even a topic open for discussion. (Larry Clayton is a retired University of Alabama history professor. Readers can email him at larryclayton7@gmail.com.)