UAB Briefs: Helen Keller Art Show, nursing school honor, the 'Iceberg'
Welcome to another installment of UAB Briefs.
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.
Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention?
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A special art show
The Helen Keller Art Show, on display at the Edge of Chaos conference space at UAB through August 31, features 28 works made by Alabama children from birth to age 21 who have been identified as having a visual impairment, as partially sighted or having low vision, or as blind or deaf blind, according to a UAB news release.
The children attend public, private and home schools and the residential school of The Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.
The show – begun in 1983 – is sponsored in part by the UAB Vision Science Research Center.
Art is part of the children’s curriculum in such areas as math, science, reading, leisure activities and the development of communication skills.
“Not only do parents realize what the children can and will do artistically as they are encouraged or allowed to create these pieces, but the public has the opportunity to gain a better understanding of their skills as well,” said Shirley Johnson-Wilson, the show’s art director and an assessment and clinical coordinator in the UAB School of Education.
Some art in the show is available for purchase.
The Edge of Chaos is located on the fourth floor of the UAB Lister Hill Library, 1700 University Blvd.
A commitment to excellence
The UAB School of Nursing has been designated as a National League for Nursing Center of Excellence, according to a UAB news release.
The NLN recognizes schools that demonstrate a commitment to excellence and significant investment over a period of time in a specific area of nursing education.
UAB was cited for its efforts in the category, “Enhance Student Learning and Professional Development.”
NLN Centers of Excellence are expected to exemplify the league’s core values of caring, integrity, diversity and excellence.
The designation is for a four-year term, through 2021, and is renewable.
The school will be formally recognized at the NLN’s 2017 Education Summit in San Diego, California, in September.
Building a better ‘Iceberg’
The UAB Engineering Innovation and Technology Development research group recently received a contract worth $6.2 million over the next three years to design and build a new set of freezers for the NASA International Space Station.
The new freezer – dubbed “Iceberg” – will replace a European unit in use on the ISS since 2006, according to a UAB news release.
“NASA is looking ahead to continuing scientific experiments through 2024 and beyond, so they were looking at options for a long-term replacement,” said EITD scientist Daniel Connor said in the release.
The EITD team has already designed, built and other models of high-tech space freezers for the ISS, including the MERLIN, Glacier and Polar units.
However, the Glacier and Polar were designed to be transport devices, according to Lance Weise, UAB senior mechanical engineer on the project.
“This new unit will be permanently in orbit on the ISS,” Weise said. “We’ll use some aspects from those previous projects, but this will be a whole new system.”
The EITD team expects to deliver a qualification unit to NASA within 12 to 14 months.