UAH awarded more than 1,100 degrees during the spring 2026 commencement ceremonies on Monday, May 4, at the Von Braun Center (VBC) Propst Arena. The ceremonies included all graduates for the spring 2026 semester: 906 bachelor’s degrees, 207 master’s degrees and 33 doctorates, including 23 Ph.D.s and 10 Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees.

Commencement spotlights: Meet the new grads!

• Jess Braden: A double-major earns two degrees – more than two decades in the making

• Alissa Corbin: This first-gen graduate turns her focus to supporting at-risk youth

• Leah Johnson: UAH’s first chemistry Ph.D. graduate reaches a program-defining milestone

• Angello Karadzhinov: A 2026 UAH graduate balances athletics, engineering and campus life

The past year has been full of strong growth in research, student success and industry partnerships at UAH, with Chargers driving innovation and expanding their impact across North Alabama and beyond. Explore these stories and more in the 2025 Annual Report.

Students from UAH captured six major awards at the 2026 NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC), highlighted by a first-place overall finish in the Remote-Controlled division during the university’s debut in that category. The Human-Powered team added a third-place overall finish and multiple honors, demonstrating resilience after mechanical setbacks. Together, the teams showcased technical excellence, innovation and collaboration on an international stage.

UAH has welcomed Palo Alto Networks as a Corporate Innovation Partner in its Invention to Innovation Center, strengthening collaboration in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and mission-focused technology development. The partnership will expand research opportunities, support student internships and training and bring the company’s expertise directly into the university’s innovation ecosystem.

“Palo Alto Networks recognized the opportunity to embed enterprise cybersecurity leadership directly into one of the nation’s most mission-focused innovation ecosystems,” says Rigved Joshi, assistant vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship and director of the I²C at UAH. “Through co-location at I²C, we can accelerate the translation of university research into deployable technologies while expanding workforce opportunities for our students.”

New research from UAH finds that bundling products with services — often seen as a way to strengthen customer relationships — can actually increase the risk of disputes and defaults.

“While solutions are intended to strengthen relationships, they expose firms to the ‘frame problem’ – the inherent impossibility of anticipating all unique operational situations or customer problems in a complex task environment,” said Dr. Yongchuan (Kevin) Bao.

Dr. Charles Karr, UAH president, will retire at the end of the month. We invite you to celebrate his years of leadership by sharing a message of appreciation to honor his lasting impact on our community and congratulate him on this next chapter.

Join The University of Alabama System (UAS) Board of Trustees on Wednesday, May 6, at 4 p.m. to announce the appointment of the 11th president of The University of Alabama in Huntsville. The event will be held in the Charger Union, Room 218. Immediately following the special-called Board meeting, a welcome reception will be held on the Charger Union Bridge. 

Click the link below to check out a list of other upcoming events across campus! 

The University of Alabama in Huntsville

301 Sparkman Drive

Huntsville, AL 35899

contactus@uah.edu

256.824.1000

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301 Sparkman Drive | Huntsville, AL 35899 US