�������� (UAH) honored the significant achievements of 11 inventors from two colleges and four departments who have been awarded patents during the past year.

The (HEOS) recently held its annual cookout at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) with clear goals in mind: to build community, encourage students, and celebrate innovation in optics and photonics. While a brief spring rain shower shifted the event indoors, the move did little to dampen the energy and enthusiasm of the more than 60 attendees. With lab tours, poster presentations, and plenty of burgers, this year's cookout continued HEOS’s tradition of blending education and networking in a welcoming, informal atmosphere.

Founded in 1969 as a local section of the Optical Society of America, HEOS has long served as a hub for the region’s growing community of optical scientists and engineers. The group has been active for more than 55 years. In 2013, HEOS reorganized as a nonprofit to better serve its mission: advancing knowledge, fostering innovation, and strengthening professional ties in the field of optics and photonics.

“HEOS is a nonprofit organization based in Huntsville, Alabama, dedicated to advancing knowledge and innovation in optics and photonics,” said Dr. Tommy Cantey, CEO and Chairman of the HEOS Board. “We promote collaboration among professionals, students, and enthusiasts in the field.”

Traditionally held around May 16 to coincide with the International Day of Light, the 2025 HEOS cookout was moved earlier into the spring semester to better include undergraduate students, noted Dr. Lingze Duan, Associate Dean of the UAH College of Science. 

UAH faculty, students, and other professionals from NASA, Redstone Arsenal, and Huntsville’s research park gathered to view posters and demonstrations that highlighted the region’s optical expertise.

“This was especially collaborative, because the Physics department pitched in to help with some of the food,” said Dr. Cantey. “This is a great way to show community and socialize in an informal setting with students, faculty, and professionals in the community.”

Graduate student Ella James led a tour of Dr. Gregory's Spectropolarimetry Lab. This standout moment offered attendees a behind-the-scenes look at the cutting-edge optical research being done at UAH. The College of Science also hosted its second “Optics Open House” alongside the cookout complete with information tables, research posters, and guided lab tours.

“These activities aim to showcase the optics education and research at UAH in front of the community,” says Dr. Duan.

This year’s poster exhibition highlighted the depth of optics research at UAH, with topics ranging from quantum and ultrafast optics to biophotonics and atmospheric phenomena. Through these posters and discussions, students had the opportunity to share their work and receive feedback from experienced professionals, an experience Dr. Cantey says helps students begin to see the broader community beyond the classroom.

“As they get closer to graduation, it becomes more important to form connections and build your network,” Dr. Cantey says. “This event provides a platform to engage people you wouldn't typically run into.”

Events like the spring cookout are just one of many ways HEOS supports the next generation of optical scientists and engineers. The society offers students exposure to industry professionals, research leaders, and potential employers, often paving the way for local job placements right after graduation.

“HEOS, being a professional society, offers students networking and career opportunities they wouldn't normally get from the university. These opportunities have proven to be valuable and effective for UAH optics students, even international students,” says Dr. Duan. 

Beyond social events, HEOS supports educational outreach programs, internships, teacher training, and hands-on STEM initiatives. The organization also hosts technical seminars and an annual conference, the NASA Mirror Technology Days workshop.

This year’s HEOS cookout was a success by every measure. The event strengthened the community ties, inspired students, and showcased the exciting work happening in Huntsville’s optical and photonics sectors.

It’s clear that HEOS remains a vital part of the city’s scientific fabric. As Dr. Cantey added, “Everyone likes to talk about what they do. And this gives them the space to do just that.”

A new research study from ��������, a part of The University of Alabama System, addresses the question, how much have urban areas warmed from the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect?

To demonstrate the collaborative skills necessary to tackle the practical challenges of living in space, students at �������� (UAH) are taking a multidisciplinary course recently showcased by an event called ‘Astronaut Breakfast Day.’

�������� (UAH) will award an estimated 1,280 degrees during the spring 2025 commencement ceremonies on Monday, May 5, at the Von Braun Center (VBC) Propst Arena. UAH is a part of The University of Alabama System.

As spring brings new life, the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), along with the UAH Green Club, are taking on their annual Earth Day outreach efforts.

Today, students, faculty, and volunteers joined together to plant native wildflowers throughout the city, creating much-needed pollinator habitats. “Pollination is essential.  Without pollinators, the human race and all of earth’s terrestrial ecosystems would not survive. Pollinators have an enormous impact on agriculture and the food we eat,” says Lara Rae Holladay, Biological Sciences Program Coordinator. “Each year we encourage and educate others about the importance of pollinators and share how they can help.  Pollinators make use of food and habitat anywhere it is found… whether it is a home garden, a roadside, a schoolyard garden or a planter on a windowsill.”

Native pollinators are best supported by native wildflowers, which are an ideal choice due to their rich nectar and pollen, low maintenance needs, natural resistance to pests, drought tolerance, and their ability to help control erosion. Holladay explains that biodiversity is the key to providing adequate food for pollination. “Make sure you have at least 3 different species throughout spring, summer and fall.”

To celebrate Earth Day 2025,  the Department of Biological Sciences and the UAH Green Club hosted a miniature terrarium workshop where participants could create their own tiny, self-sustaining ecosystem. The workshop was a hit, drawing attendees from all over campus who left not just with their own little green world, but also with a deeper appreciation for Earth’s interconnected systems.

One of the ongoing efforts is the Monarch Butterfly Conservation Project. In 2024, the department helped establish multiple monarch habitats throughout the city, responding to the alarming habitat loss caused by urbanization and industrial agriculture. Holladay's goal again this year is to educate and help create as many habitats as possible through outreach efforts. “Each year these less than a half-a-gram winged insects travel almost 3000 miles to reach their overwintering sites in the mountain forests of Michoancan at the State of Mexico,” she says. “Monarchs serve as an indicator species, signaling a healthy ecosystem with sufficient milkweed and nectar sources.”

Earth Day is only a small snippet of the outreach done by the department, along with the UAH Green Club. Through the “Spread Life Project,” workshops are hosted on the following: the following:  medicinal gardens, how to make medicinal teas, how to grow your own food, how to cook for a plant-based lifestyle, how to propagate plants, how to build a pollinator habitat, how spread life to someone by giving them a living plant. 

We have workshops that we will offer at the community garden and the greenhouse.  As part of our spread life project, we will continue the following:  medicinal gardens, how to make medicinal teas, how to grow your own food, how to cook for a plant-based lifestyle, how to propagate plants, how to build a pollinator habitat, how spread life to someone by giving them a living plant. 

This Earth Day, let’s remember that every plant planted, every habitat built, and every workshop taught brings us one step closer to a more vibrant, sustainable planet.

The Graduate School at �������� (UAH) hosted its annual UAH Graduate Poster Session in the Student Services Building on the UAH campus, a part of the University of Alabama System.

Dr. Richard Lieu, a physics professor at �������� (UAH), a part of The University of Alabama System, has published a paper in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity that proposes a universe built on steps of multiple singularities rather than the Big Bang alone to account for the expansion of the cosmos.

�������� (UAH) announced today the addition of several courses of study. The new offerings include two new degree programs as well as a certificate program.

The Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons (SWEAP) instrument suite developed by researchers at The Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, �������� (UAH) and the Marshall Space Flight Center for NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP) has helped the PSP earn the coveted 2024 Robert J. Collier Trophy.