University of North Alabama Department of Geoscience

05/20/2026

Congratulations to our very own Dr. Sunhui Sim on her award!

We’re thrilled to share and celebrate the latest faculty advancements in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering at the University of North Alabama! These accomplishments recognize the outstanding dedication, excellence, and impact our faculty continue to make in supporting student success and strengthening our academic community.

Senior Lecturer Promotions:
• Dr. Timothy Harris, Department of Music
• Ms. Felicia Jones, Department of English
• Ms. Pamela Kelley, Department of Social Work
• Dr. Frances Turnbell, Department of History
• Ms. Tosha-Paige Whitten, Department of Communication

Professor Merit Incentives Approved:
• Dr. Christopher Klein, Department of Psychology and Sociology
• Dr. Benedict Lowe, Department of History
• Dr. Brentley Olive, Department of Chemistry and Physics
• Dr. Jeffrey Ray, Department of Biology
• Dr. Sunhui Sim, Department of Geoscience

Please join us in congratulating these exceptional faculty members on their well-deserved recognition. Their continued commitment to teaching, mentorship, and academic excellence helps drive the mission of forward every day.

05/04/2026

We’re excited to celebrate the newest faculty promotions in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering at the University of North Alabama! These dedicated educators continue to elevate our academic community through their leadership, innovation, and commitment to student achievement.

Promoted to Full Professor:
Dr. Alejandra Alvarado-Brizuela, Department of Foreign Languages
Dr. Mario Mighty, Department of Geoscience
Dr. Dongqing Pan, Department of Engineering and Industrial Professions
Dr. Ansley Quiros, Department of History

Promoted to Full Professor with Tenure:
Dr. Wael Al Kouz, Department of Engineering and Industrial Professions

Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure:
Dr. Matthew Balentine, Department of Geoscience
Dr. Allison Berkowitz, Department of Social Work
Dr. Stephanie Montgomery, Department of Communication
Dr. Heejoon Park, Department of Engineering and Industrial Professions
Dr. Md Abu Sayeed Shohag, Department of Engineering and Industrial Professions

Join us in congratulating our exceptional faculty members for their accomplishments and contributions. Their dedication plays a vital role in advancing student success and strengthening .

05/04/2026

04/28/2026

UNA Geoscience student Jiayue Zhu and professor Michael Pretes both presented research at the California Geographical Society conference in Huntington Beach, California. Jiayue presented a poster about her research on saline-alkali land management in China, and Dr Pretes presented on railroads as the nineteenth century Internet. This was a great opportunity to represent UNA Geoscience to California geographers!

04/27/2026

This year’s UNAGAA Conference was a huge success!
Thank you to Captain Jared Dumale for giving us a wonderful keynote speech on Geospatial Intelligence education.
And thank you to all of the alumni for organizing this conference. It really is a great way to stay connected!

04/20/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Emmanuel Ackom, who is the recipient of the CASE Outstanding Early Career Research Award! We are so proud to have Dr. Ackom and so thankful for all of his hard work!

04/20/2026

Join the Department of Geoscience for an end of the year ice cream social!

On April 30th, at 4 pm, we will be hosting an ice cream social in the greenspace behind Steven’s Hall. This is a great opportunity to take a break from studying for finals, or if you have questions about your projects/final tests, faculty will be present to assist you!

We hope to see you all there!

04/08/2026

Congratulations to University of North Alabama geography undergraduate student Dylan Nutt, who won the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic! The Bassmaster Classic is the world championship of bass fishing—yes, the WORLD championship, the bass fishing equivalent of the Masters Tournament for golf or the Super Bowl in football! Congratulations to world champion Dylan! We are proud of you!

04/07/2026

The UNAGAA Conference is coming up quickly! Make sure to register by following the link on the QR code! See you April 16th and 17th! 🌍

04/01/2026

This past Thursday, a group of our students attended the GEOHuntsville Summit: Rocket City Rising. It was a great day full of learning how machine learning and AI is improving geospatial intelligence! Dr. Mighty also spoke on a panel about how to better prepare students for the workforce. Thank you to GEOHuntsville for a great summit!