Research News Archive

  • Three University of South Alabama Honor College students, from left, Suhas Patil, Kaitlyn Riggins and Dev Mehta, recently took third, second and first place in a competition for research posters at the Alabama Academy of Science Conference.
    Honors College students from South took the top three places in a poster competition for researchers at an Alabama science conference. ...
  • Dr. Tuan Tran, assistant professor of biology at the University of South Alabama, was awarded a $40,000 grant by the USDA and the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries to study a soil-based bacterium causes wilt in crops such as tomatoes, peppers and potatoes.
    Dr. Tuan Tran wins a USDA grant to study a soil-based pathogen that causes bacterial wilt in plants such as potatoes and tomatoes. ...
  • EV charging
    South's Dr. Daniela Touma will use AI to help in the development of new technology that allows electric vehicles to feed power back to the utility grid. ...
  • 2nd annual USA Technology and Research Showcase honorees. Dr. Na Gong, professor of electrical and computer engineering; Dr. James Davis, professor of chemistry; Dr. Jordan Shropshire, professor of information systems and technology; USA President Jo Bonner; Dr. Sean Powers, professor of marine and environmental sciences and senior marine scientists at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab; Dr. Marie Migaud, professor of pharmacology and oncology.
    Five University of South Alabama faculty members were honored at the 2nd Annual Technology and Research Showcase. ...
  • Aerial shot of property donated to the University of South Alabama by the USA Foundation.
    The University of South Alabama Foundation has gifted more than a quarter mile of bayfront to the University, opening additional access for teaching and research. ...
  • Getty Image of mircroplastics
    A South assistant professor is leading a $1.9 million research study to learn more about these tiny plastics and reduce pollution in the Gulf of Mexico. ...
  • University of South Alabama graduate students and researchers survey red snapper south of Dauphin Island in the summer of 2021. Dr. Sean Powers, director of the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, is to the far right.
    As the red snapper season begins, researchers at South's Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences offer insight on one of Alabama's most popular game fishes. ...
  • Jade Martin snorkels off the Galapagos Islands, where she saw sea lions, sea turtles and a hammerhead shark. She visited the islands this spring on a research trip.
    A South senior uses maps, photos and Geographic Information Science to illustrate her research trip to the Galapagos Islands. Another trip is planned this summer. ...
  • South students spend semester at sea
    Living and studying on Dauphin Island, four marine science undergraduates get more than their feet wet during the University's first Semester by the Sea. ...
  • Student Grace Coppinger in West Texas
    Grace Coppinger, an Honors College student, finds her niche in reptile research, from hunting rattlesnakes in West Texas to analyzing rear-fang venom in common garter snakes. ...
  • Dr. Susan Gordon-Hickey
    Dr. Susan Gordon-Hickey will lead the Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health Professions in the permanent role after serving as interim dean. ...
  • Students from the University of South Alabama's College of Engineering presented their research projects at the 102nd Transportation Research Board's Annual Meetings in Washington D.C. From left are P.h.D. students Pranesh Biswas and Moynur Rahman; Dr. Min-Wook Kang, professor of civil, coastal and environmental engineering; Dr. Shenghua Wu, assistant professor of civil, coastal and environmental engineering; Cade Marty, a civil engineering major; and Michael Cottrell, a mechanical engineering major.
    Cade Marty, who throws the javelin for South, recently reached new heights off the track with a paper on recycled asphalt accepted for publication. ...
  • Dr. Khaldoon Nusair, the new department head for Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of South Alabama, said the future of South's program includes specializations in the major. Here, Nusair stands in the middle of downtown Mobile's entertainment district – a popular draw for both locals and tourists with restaurants, music and event venues, and lodging.
    Dr. Khaldoon Nusair, an internationally recognized marketing scholar, looks to niche opportunities in the market as the new chair of Hospitality and Tourism Management. ...
  • graphic that shows vaccine bottles
    South researchers will study links between social media and vaccine misinformation in African American communities. ...
  • Lynne Chronister, vice president of research and economic development at the University of South Alabama
    The Council on Research for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities named Lynne Chronister as its chair. ...
  • Sunset, glass artwork by Matthew Patterson from his Catalysts series
    A new research program at South will select students from diverse academic disciplines for community and environmental projects. ...
  • University of South Alabama students, from left, Shubhangi Singh, Nicholas Flynn and Destinie Diggs recently presented their research at the 24th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Singh won the Best Poster Award from the Phi Kappa Phi honor society.
    At the 24th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, South students shared their projects on everything from hermit crabs to Big Data and pulmonary hypertension. ...
  • Emilie Berge in her lab at South, has received one of just 12 Zymo Research Impact Initiative grants awarded annually for scientific innovation and potential social impact. Berge received her master's degree in environmental toxicology in May will use the $4000 award to perform transcriptomic analysis of the polyaromatic hydrocarbon degrading bacteria she described in her thesis.
    Former South student and track star awarded Zymo Research Impact Initiative grant for her work in environmental toxicology. ...
  • The University of South Alabama launched SOAR, short for Strengthening Opportunities for Achievement and Resilience, at the MacQueen Alumni Center July 27, 2022. South is collaborating with the Mobile Public Schools and Mobile Police Department on this 5-year intervention study. Causey, Hankins, Pillans and Washington middle schools are taking part and at the launch, the principals of each middle school chose a balloon that revealed which year their school would receive the intervention.
    University researchers will collaborate with the Mobile Police Department and Mobile County Public Schools on a five-year, $3.5 million project focused on reducing death, injury and incarceration. ...
  • Future of the Field in Research
    Dr. Matthew Reichert and Heather Wainwright earn global honors by the Society of Research Administrators International. ...
  • A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 14, 2022 carrying the JagSat-1 satellite. NASA photo.
    South engineering students and faculty cheer the Florida launch of a SpaceX rocket carrying their JagSat-1 satellite that will transmit data back to Shelby Hall. “We’re in orbit!” ...
  • Professor of marine sciences Dr. John Lehrter, on a vessel off the Alabama coast in 2021, is leading a study to arrive at a baseline for water quality along the Alabama Gulf Coast. “At a really fundamental level, this project is about going out, very frequently, and trying to get the pulse of state water quality. Where are the places we have to worry about, and what are the places that have good quality?”
    Dr. John Lehrter and the University of South Alabama School of Marine and Environmental Sciences will lead the three-year study of water and sediment quality along Alabama' s Gulf Coast. ...
  • Captain Brett Falterman of Fish Research Support displays a conventionally-tagged greater amberjack before releasing the fish off the coast of Louisiana. Photo insert: Each of the small, colorful conventional tags will display a unique five-digit number and a telephone number to call to claim a $250 reward. (Photos courtesy of Dr. Michael Dance, Louisiana State University and Dr. Marcus Drymon, Mississippi State University.)
    USA professor is leading a federally funded project that could have significant implications for commercial and recreational fishing. ...
  • Dr. Michael DiPasquale, an assistant professor of mathematics and statistics at South, has a received a $197,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.
    Dr. Michael DiPasquale, an assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, received a $197,000 grant to support research in computational commutative algebra and algebraic geometry. ...
  • vaccine graphic with a man and a needle
    South psychologist Dr. Ryon McDermott leads a national study of the relationship between traditional men's roles and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines. ...