Alabamians are experiencing more intensive, flooding rainfall. Our insurance agents selling flood insurance know it, our meteorologists know it, our road crews and state troopers know it, as do homeowners living along our creeks and rivers.

The first Industrial Revolution, the one that built cities and takes up the most space in history books, was driven by water and steam. The second was fueled by electricity. The third was the result of simple digitization. Today, we are living in the early days of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, powered in part by artificial intelligence (AI), quantum science, and quantum engineering.

When building something from the ground up, it’s valuable for the builder to be detail-oriented and driven. For Angelo Della Manna, Director of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, both skills came into focus during his time studying in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Criminal Justice.

“My first steps at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Physics began 28 years ago in July 1993.”

“As I stroll down memory lane, I can’t think of a better spot to break ground for the new UAB Science and Engineering Complex – a place where research and education will flourish in unison for generations of current and future UAB students to come.”

Sometimes, people find themselves pursuing unexpected career pathways. According to Kristin Powell, Ph.D., organizational consultant for Blankenship & Seay Consulting Group, the knowledge and skills she attained while studying in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Psychology prepared her for any career — regardless of the field or subject matter. 

While growing up in Birmingham, Katie Fagan lived a few blocks away from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Although both of her parents graduated from UAB’s School of Medicine, attending the university was not part of Fagan’s long-term plan. At least not at first.

For students who study math in college, the notion of saving lives with their knowledge may seem distant — maybe even far-fetched. For Eric Teoh, director of statistical services at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the connection between math and lifesaving work is crystal clear.

Milena Stanislavova, Ph.D., has been named the chair of the Department of Mathematics in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Ronald Pitner, Ph.D., ACSW, has been named the chair of the Department of Social Work in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s College of Arts and Sciences.

In 1997, Leigh Willis, Ph.D., a rising senior studying sociology at Albion College in Albion, Michigan, encountered a life-changing document. It was an interest form about a graduate program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Dr. Michele “Mike” Wilson passed away May 30, 2021. She retired as associate professor of sociology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2008) and continued working for the university for several years afterwards.

Anissa Latham nurtured her storytelling and filmmaking skills during her time at University of Alabama at Birmingham — now, with new partners and supporters investing in her work, she’s bringing her creative vision to the world.

Roger Lewis has passed away, but his impact on the development of our Mathematics Department will be felt for many years by both students and faculty. 

International studies alumna Jolie Thevenot is the executive director of the Japan-America Society of Alabama.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lourdes Sánchez-López, Ph.D., professor of Spanish in the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, received an unexpected invitation.

If you ask Rosianna Gray, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, to describe her experience at UAB over the past four years, she lights up quickly.

On May 1, Parker Rose graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from the University of Alabama at Birmingham's College of Arts and Sciences. Rose navigated rigorous coursework and built long-lasting relationships while pursuing her degree – those experiences, according to Rose, substantially impacted her approach to living and learning in the world.

Pursuing a double major requires focus, effort, and passion. Add a global pandemic to the situation, and the experience becomes even more complex.

This academic year has been unlike any other. Students and faculty have navigated unprecedented complexity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and, over the course of the past 14 months, they have exemplified resiliency and creativity.

As Ellyn Grady embraces retirement and looks back on her storied career, she does not call attention to her impressive and incomparable fundraising achievements. Instead, she reflects on and celebrates the people with whom she connected, learned from, and worked alongside over the course of her 30 years in Birmingham.

The Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes full-time regular faculty members of University of Alabama at Birmingham’s College of Arts and Sciences who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in teaching. Award winners must have held faculty status at UAB for a minimum of three years and may receive the award only once in any three-year period.

Two Department of English faculty members are being recognized for their commitment to excellence in teaching and composition this year.

When Battalion Chief Tobias Jones was collecting information for a Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service (BFRS) strategic planning project, he thought of the UAB Department of Sociology.

Vincent Cirel developed a passion for mathematics in high school and found personal inspiration even earlier in life working with his grandfather as a land surveyor. When it was time to pursue his undergraduate degree, he looked to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The College of Arts and Sciences and UAB community are heartbroken that our beloved Department of Music Professor and the Founding Director of the UAB Gospel Choir Kevin P. Turner died on Monday, March 1, 2021, after an extended illness.

The College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce Chris McCauley as the new director of communications, effective February 1, 2021.

Eugenia Kharlampieva’s lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has developed microsponges to clean wastewater using just ultraviolet light and oxygen. Read more about it in Chemical and Engineering News.

Charly Verstraet, Ph.D., an assistant professor of French, was recently awarded “Best University Professor” by the American Journal of French Studies for his mentorship and dedication to his students.

It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Professor Marlene Johnson on November 2, 2020. After teaching in the UAB Department of Theatre for 14 years, Prof. Johnson will be remembered as a dedicated educator, a generous colleague, and an inspired artist. She is survived by her husband Edwin Booth and sister Myrna Johnson Moehring.

The UAB Office of Research and the Institutional Research Core Program announced the selection of a total 15 cores that align and contribute to UAB’s research mission and provide access to cutting-edge technology and/or specialized expertise.

Congratulations to the winning proposals for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Makayla Smith wants to use poetry to create spaces of joy and representation for Black, queer audiences.

Shelby Morris earned her B.A. in Professional Writing with a minor in Spanish in 2016 followed by a M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition in 2018.

Dr. John Maddox, an assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, has published, “Challenging the Black Atlantic: The New World Novels of Zapata Olivella and Gonçalves,” (Bucknell University Press). The book is Maddox’s first literary criticism.

Senior Levi Sanford changed his major and found both inspiration and a career path.