April 26, 2004

• 2004-2005 Faculty Senate Officers
• McNair Scholars Reception to Feature Guest Speaker Carl McNair
• UA Forensics Team Wins 15th National Title
• UA Representatives Host Argonne National Laboratory Officials

2004-2005 Faculty Senate Officers

The 2004-2005 UA Faculty Senate officers are: John Mason (right), president, and Matt Winston (left), vice president, both returning for a second term, and John Vincent (center), secretary. Linda Knowles (pictured in front) has been serving the Senate as administrative assistant for more than five years. The Senate meets the second Tuesday of each month during the academic year at 3:30 p.m. in Ferguson Forum. The Senate steering committee continues to meet during the summer. For questions, contact Knowles at 348-6635. (Photo: Rickey Yanaura)

McNair Scholars Reception to Feature Guest Speaker Carl McNair

Carl McNair

The University will host the McNair Scholars reception on Thursday, April 29, at 5:30 p.m. in the Grand Gallery of Smith Hall. The UA community is invited to attend the event.

Carl McNair, brother of Dr. Ronald E. McNair for whom the McNair Scholars program is named, will speak at 6 p.m. on "Quitting is not an Option." He will also discuss the recent dedication of the Ronald E. McNair Memorial in Lake City, S.C.

Carl McNair is the founder of the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Foundation Inc., named in honor of his brother who died along with six other astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. The foundation is dedicated to developing and implementing educational programs that motivate and encourage students to pursue careers in science, mathematics and technology.

The McNair Foundation also lobbied Congress and the U.S. Department of Education in the implementation of the prestigious Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, also known as the McNair Scholars Program. Today, 179 McNair Programs exist at colleges and universities nationally, including one at UA. The program provides mentoring and other educational opportunities for students from underrepresented groups to prepare them for graduate studies.

Following McNair's presentation, the 2003 UA McNair Scholars will be presented a copy of the UA McNair Scholars Journal that includes publication of reports of their research projects completed during research internships for the summer of 2003. Graduating scholars will also receive McNair Honor Cords to wear at graduation. The incoming class of 2004 McNair Scholars and their faculty mentors will be presented and other awards and acknowledgments will be made.

UA Forensics Team Wins 15th National Title

Pictured debate team members are: first row: Jackson Hataway, Anna Ruth Williams, Laura Ashley, Kimberly Crosby, Melissa Buckner; second row: Buddy Handey, Heather Wyatt, Tarin Nix, Blake Sherer, John Porter; third row: Abi Smith, Kristen Anderson, Stephen Williams, Zack Nobinger, and Bryan Grayson. (Photo: Rickey Yanaura)

The Alabama Forensics Council at UA won its 15th team national championship at this year's Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha National Forensics Tournament by an impressive margin, amassing 458 total points. The University of Florida took second place with 78 points.

The UA forensics team, composed of individual events and debate competitors, beat out 24 other teams for the top award. UA topped competition from the University of Florida, Louisiana State, Florida State, the University of South Carolina, California State University-Fresno, Colorado College, the University of Mississippi and other universities nationwide.

In addition to the overall national award, the UA team claimed the national champion policy debate team and seven individual event national champions. UA student Kimberly Crosby was selected as the National DSR-TKA Student Speaker for 2004.

UA Representatives Host Argonne National Laboratory Officials

Pictured are Drs. Joseph Thrasher, professor and chair of chemistry; Robin Rogers, professor of chemistry; Clark Midkiff, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Dan Daly, director of AIME at UA; Ralph Zee, Auburn University; Norm Peterson of ANL; Bob Wells, executive director of AIME; Luis Nunez of ANL; and Chris Roberts, Auburn University.

Argonne National Laboratory officials were recently hosted by two UA representatives to begin discussions leading to research collaborations in nanoscale materials. Drs. Robert L. Wells and Dan Daly hosted the Argonne National Laboratory representatives on Feb. 4. Drs. Norman D. Peterson, assistant to the laboratory director, and Luis Nuñez, deputy associate laboratory director for physical, biological, & computing sciences, outlined Argonne's new national Center for Nanoscale Materials and the center's goal of establishing research collaborations with UA faculty.

UA representatives visited Argonne March 17 to begin structuring the collaboration which will include joint research proposals by UA and Argonne scientists and engineers, seminar series at each location, and faculty, students and post doctoral summer residencies at Argonne.

This latest Argonne-UA initiative builds on the long-term success of collaborative projects in fuel cell technology which is supported by approximately $1 million in external funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the current year.

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