UAH Department of Space Science & CSPAR

05/14/2026

05/01/2026

At the 94th SERC Public Meeting held in Birmingham, Alabama, Gary P. Zank was honored with the Tracey Morant Adams, South Eastern Region Champion Award in recognition of his outstanding support of the community. His commitment to mentorship and education, demonstrated through sponsoring interns in the Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research, continues to make a meaningful impact. UAH Department of Space Science & CSPAR

04/28/2026

Big wins for CSPAR at The University of Alabama in Huntsville! 🚀

Recently, we have had the privilege to honor not one but two amazing team members for the Department of Space Science and Aeronomic Research! ✨

🏆 Made a Difference Award & University Researcher of the Year:
Dr. Lingling Zhao, Assistant Professor of Space Science, continues to raise the bar with her groundbreaking work in heliophysics. Her research on solar wind turbulence and energetic particles is pushing the boundaries of what we know about our space environment all while inspiring students and strengthening the research culture at CSPAR. Earning not one, but TWO major awards is an incredible achievement!

🌟 Made a Difference Award:
Laura Provenzani, Education and Outreach Coordinator, is a true force behind the scenes and beyond by bringing energy, creativity, and dedication to everything from student programming to major events and communications. Her ability to connect people, ideas, and opportunities has made a lasting impact on both students and the broader community. This recognition is so well deserved!

Join us in celebrating these amazing accomplishments, CSPAR is lucky to have such inspiring leaders making a difference every day! 🌌👏

04/24/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our final colloquium of the spring semester! We truly appreciate all who came out to engage and be part of the discussion. 🙌🌟

A big shoutout to Dr. Krishna Khanal 👏 for an outstanding presentation and for sparking the most discussion we’ve seen all semester! Your talk kept everyone thinking well beyond the final slide. 💬🔥

It was a fascinating and thought-provoking way to wrap up the semester, thanks again to everyone who made it such a great event! 🎓✨

04/23/2026

“I Lead, You Lead” with United Way joined us yesterday, and it was an incredible experience! 🚀 We had the chance to give them a tour of our department and dive into the Achieving Orbit game, helping spark curiosity and open up new ways of thinking about science 🔬✨

It was a fun, engaging day , and we’re so glad we got to share it with such a great group of high school students 🎓🙌

04/20/2026

🌞 Colloquium Announcement:

Join us for an exciting talk by Dr. Krishna Khanal (Postdoctoral Research Scientist, CSPAR, UAH) this Friday, April 24th at 9:30am in CRH room 2096!

🛰️ Title: Chromospheric and Coronal Heating by the Dissipation of Quasi-2D Turbulence

🔬 What’s it about?
Why is the Sun’s outer atmosphere (the corona) millions of degrees hotter than its surface? This long-standing puzzle in solar physics is key to understanding how energy moves through the Sun’s atmosphere.

Dr. Khanal will present new insights showing how quasi-2D turbulence—originating from the Sun’s “magnetic carpet”—can dissipate energy in just the right way to heat both the chromosphere and corona. Using advanced modeling within the Nearly Incompressible Magnetohydrodynamics (NI-MHD) framework, this work demonstrates how energy is transferred across solar layers and even contributes to solar wind acceleration.

📍 Don’t miss this deep dive into one of astrophysics’ most fascinating challenges!

04/13/2026

We wrapped up the Spring 2026 Student Seminar Series on a high note! 🌟

On Friday, we had a fantastic final presentation from Sangat Sharma (Ph.D. Student, Space Science, UAH) titled “Overlappogram Inversion of Hinode/EIS Slot Data: Application to Active Region 12740.” The talk explored innovative techniques in EUV spectroscopy to better understand coronal heating and capture dynamic solar activity with improved spatial and temporal resolution.

A special shoutout to Sangat for not only assisting with the seminar series throughout the semester, but also volunteering to present! 👏

Also, a big thank you to all of our speakers and attendees who made this semester’s seminars such a success!

We’ll be back in the fall with more Student Seminars, stay tuned! 🍂🚀

04/09/2026

We had a fantastic time representing CSPAR at Alabama A&M’s STEM Day event! 🎉 It was inspiring to see the creativity and innovation showcased by so many talented students!

A huge shoutout to our incredible students who volunteered as judges! Your time, energy, and dedication are truly appreciated! 👏 One standout was a project on cold plasma processes in agriculture, such a fascinating and impactful area of study! 🌱⚡

Thank you to everyone who helped make the day such a success. We’re already looking forward to the next one!

04/02/2026

Yesterday’s Tea Time was a wonderful success! ☕✨

We had the pleasure of hosting a special presentation from our visiting students in the SPARC program, who shared insights into their research and gave us a glimpse into their experiences here in the United States. From academic discoveries to memorable moments exploring a new culture, it was both inspiring and engaging to hear their stories.

We are so grateful for the time, effort, and enthusiasm they put into their presentations. It has been a joy having them with us, and we truly appreciate the perspectives and energy they’ve brought to our community!

Thank you again to our SPARC students for making yesterday’s Tea Time so special, we wish you continued success in your research and all your future endeavors! 🌎📚

03/25/2026

☕✨ Join us for a special CSPAR Tea Time!

📅 Wednesday, April 1st
⏰ 3:30 – 4:30 PM
📍 CRH Room 1010

This Tea Time is special as our visiting students from the SPARC program will be presenting their research and sharing insights from their time here before returning to India 🌍📚

Come out to support them, learn about their work, and enjoy a fun and engaging afternoon with the department! 🎤🚀

We hope to see you there!