Top honors: LIGO research and LSU professor Gabriela González is the recipient of the 2018 Southeastern Universities Research Association Distinguished Scientist Award. The honor is given to a research scientist whose work fulfills the SURA mission to “advance collaborative research and education” in the Southeast and nation. The award and its $5,000 honorarium will be presented to González on April 25 at the SURA Board of Trustees meeting in Newport News, Virginia. González is the former spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. Read more.
Lagniappe: Walmart announced today that it’s giving $13.7 million in bonuses to its Louisiana workers. The bonuses are a combination of cash bonuses based on stores’ fourth quarter performance and one-time cash bonuses tied to recent changes in the tax law. The money was included in the workers’ paycheck today. Nationally, the company says it’s handing out more than $560 million in bonuses to 890,000 workers.
Grounded: American Airlines Group Inc. plans to retire 45 of its oldest Boeing 737 jets over the next two years as part of an overhaul aimed at lowering the age of its workhorse narrow-body fleet, Bloomberg reports. The Texas-based carrier plans to withdraw 12 of the aircraft next year and 33 in 2020, or about three a month. American’s oldest 737-800s are almost 19 years old, although recent deliveries have reduced the group’s average age to 8.1 years, according to the airline’s annual report. Read more.
