Research

Research is a critical component of our mission as the flagship university in this state, and the College of Engineering often makes news through the research of our faculty and students.

Research Centers

The College of Engineering has several research centers and institutes that capitalize on interdisciplinary research initiatives and advance the University’s mission. Browse articles affiliated with our research centers.

In The News: UA students use debris cannons to test storm shelter wall panels

September 14, 2017 - Fox 6 (Birmingham) - Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

University of Alabama students and faculty broke out some big guns to test FEMA approved storm shelter wall panels. They fired 2x4s from a debris cannons to study the stability of the panels to withstand storm debris impact. “If we can come up with a cheaper way to construct these… Read more

Sources: Fox 6 (Birmingham) , WAFF 48 (Huntsville), WAFF-NBC (Huntsville) , WVUA (Tuscaloosa), CBS 42 (Birmingham), Tuscaloosa News

In The News: Coping with hurricane anxiety

September 13, 2017 - Fox 6 (Birmingham) - Center for Advanced Public Safety

Experts at The University of Alabama not only tracked Irma’s path. They also tracked how you, the public, used the information about the storm leading up to its landfall. Dr. Laura Myers, director and senior research scientist for the Center for Advanced Public Safety says Hurricane Harvey’s wrath frightened many… Read more

Sources: Fox 6 (Birmingham)

In The News: UA engineers study wind loads

September 8, 2017 - Fox 6 (Birmingham) - Center for Sustainable Infrastructure, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

Engineers with The University of Alabama have been studying wind loads and their effects on structures long before Hurricanes Harvey and Irma formed in the Gulf. The School of Engineering has used this wind tunnel for three years. Instructors use it along with a structures lab to test how wind… Read more

Sources: Fox 6 (Birmingham)

In The News: Troubled Water: Wells aren’t regulated and septic tanks aren’t inspected

September 6, 2017 - TC Palm (Florida) - Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

Most of the 43 million Americans who rely on private wells don’t know if their water is safe to drink because unlike the regulation of public water systems, there is no government monitoring of wells … In areas where proper wastewater treatment is rare, regulation is not enforced “because a… Read more

Sources: TC Palm (Florida)

In The News: UA students part of NASA project to capture solar eclipse from near space

August 15, 2017 - Alabama News Center - Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics

A group of students at the University of Alabama plan to launch a balloon to take video of the solar eclipse next week as part of a nationwide science project led by NASA. Similar to a weather balloon, the UA balloon should rise 100,000 feet in the air, high enough to see the curvature of the… Read more

Sources: Alabama News Center , WLTX-CBS (Columbia, South Carolina) , Tuscaloosa News, CBS 42 (Birmingham), ABC 33/40 (Birmingham), YellowHammer News, Fox 6 (Birmingham), NBC 12 (Montgomery), WTVM 9 (Columbus, Georgia), Gears of Biz

In The News: CAPS receives grants to study traffic safety

August 8, 2017 - WAAY-ABC (Huntsville) - Center for Advanced Public Safety

Governor Kay Ivey’s office has awarded three grants worth nearly $2 million to the Center for Advanced Public Safety at The University of Alabama. The center will collect statewide traffic data, assist with the state highway safety plan and provide software for law enforcement. Funding will also help with a… Read more

Sources: WAAY-ABC (Huntsville), Florence Times Daily, WAFF-NBC (Huntsville), WHNT-CBS (Huntsville), WSFA-NBC (Montgomery), CBS 42 (Birmingham), WDHN - Dothan First, State Scoop, Traffic Technology Today