UAB Briefs: New football building, visual art, an outer-space deep-freeze

It’s safe to say that The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has been critically important, both economically and culturally, to the recent positive changes in fortune for the Magic City, especially the City Center.

So that’s why we are beginning UAB Briefs, a sort of weekly round-up of news from or about the campus and its people – including upcoming events or programs.

Look for UAB Briefs at ironcity.ink on Fridays.

Know people, places and programs at UAB campus that deserve a mention? Email Iron City Ink at sydney@starnespublishing.com and jchambers@starnespublishing.com.

Finally, a football building

The UAB football program – set to field a team again in just one year – got a big boost this week when officials held a groundbreaking on Monday for a long-desired new football operations building.

The main building, measuring about 46,000 square feet, along with a covered pavilion and practice field, cost about $22.5 million

And the ceremony came the same day as the Blazers were scheduled to host their open Green and Gold football scrimmage at BBVA Compass Field.

These facilities have been discussed among UAB football people for a couple of decades, according to Justin Craft, a former player and key community supporter. "To see it come to fruition is a pretty special thing," Craft told AL.com.

An even bigger overall goal for the program – a new stadium – could be in the works near the BJCC, according to local outlets.

Hatton Smith, the chair of the UAB athletics campaign committee, believes that new stadium will be open by 2019, AL.com said.

It’s not just football season

Football, our local obsession, is not the only thing to kick off in the fall.

Arts groups begin their new seasons, and that includes Theatre UAB and UAB Music. Both recently announced their schedules.

Theatre UAB – the performance company of the Department of Theatre –will present five large productions in its 2016-2017 season. The season opener, from Oct. 19-23, is “You Can’t Take It With You,” the classic farce by Kaufman and Hart.

The schedule includes the 14th annual Festival of 10-Minute Plays and a season-ending production of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” from April 5-9, 2017.

For all the details, call 205-934-3236 or go to www.uab.edu/cas/theatre.

UAB Music announced a season full of free recitals and concerts, opera, gospel and choral performance, with faculty and student performers as well as guest artists.

The season kicks off with a UAB Music Faculty Recital featuring trumpet player James Zingara and pianist Chris Steele at Hulsey Recital Hall on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

For a complete schedule, call 934-7376 or visit uab.edu/cas/music.

Understanding Light

Eighteen striking, large-scale photographs made by seven students in the Department of Art and Art History are on display on the first and fifth floors of UAB’s Heritage Hall.

Making these images was a learning exercise in the important of lighting for the students in a couple of Professor Sonja Rieger’s recent Light Capture courses.

“It teaches students to really understand light,” Rieger said in a news release. “Although students work in the studio for the majority of the class, they gain an enormous appreciation of the power of natural light as well.”

Photographers in the exhibit include Amber Nicole Gomez of Birmingham.

For more information on the Department of Art and Art History photography area, go to uab.edu/art.

Workspace

The art department at UAB has also created a new campus venue for faculty to showcase visual research and interdisciplinary work – Workspace, on the second floor of the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts.

Located in the student lounge, Workspace is a designed to be a place for faculty to actively engage with colleagues, students and visitors by sharing visual records of recent projects and research, according to a news release.

The first show features recent “investigations” by faculty members Doug Baulos and Doug Barrett, who traveled to Japan together. They discussed their work in the first Workspace Coffee Break on Aug. 29.

Upcoming Workspace Coffee Breaks are scheduled for Oct. 3, Nov. 7 and Dec. 5. The faculty project each month will announced at uab.edu/art.

Walking for Recovery

The Birmingham Recovery Walk on the UAB campus on Sat., Sept. 10, will feature bands, food, awareness and education materials, as well as addiction recovery unit staff to answer questions, according to a news release. The event is free to anyone in recovery or who has been affected by addiction

Registration for the event will begin at 9 a.m.; the walk will start at 10 a.m., at the UAB mini park, University Boulevard at 14th Street South.

UAB Hospital’s Addiction Recovery Unit, along with a number of local agencies, is hosting the walk.

For more about National Recovery Month, go to recoverymonth.gov.

High-tech space freezer

Everybody in Birmingham knows that a lot of research gets done at UAB, including medicine and technology, but you may not know that some researchers on campus helped create a sort of “deep freeze” for outer space.

The UAB Engineering and Innovative Technology Development team was given an award from NASA in late July for their work, including their role with the International Space Station Cold Stowage team, according to a news release.

They designed the Polar freezer units, four of which were launched into space in mid-July. The units can maintain temperatures as low as negative 80 degrees Celsius, the release states. They are needed for safekeeping of a broad range of science samples during transportation to and from the station

For more about the Development Team, go to uab.edu/engineering/eitd/projects/cold-stowage/polar.