UAB Briefs: World premiere at Theatre UAB, new engineering degree
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.
Theatre UAB will present the world premiere of a group of short works by Alabama playwright Audrey Cefaly.
The School of Engineering will offer an innovative new degree track this fall.
And UAB and its partners in a national study are testing the efficacy of a drug to treat the Coronavirus.
Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention? Email jchambers@starnespublishing.com.
Stories of ache and longing
Theatre UAB will present the world premiere of “Tell Me Something Good,” a collection of short plays by award-winning Alabama playwright Audrey Cefaly, in the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center from March 9-13, according to UAB Media Relations.
The performances will be presented in the Odess Theatre at the Stephens Center Monday through Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“Tell Me Something Good” consists of four new plays and features what are described in a UAB news release as Cefaly’s “tenderly crafted stories of ache and longing.”
Cefaly examines “the universality of human fragility, ache and need for love,” the release states.
The four plays are not separate stories. Instead, Cefaly interweaves the scenes together into one continuous evening of theater, keeping the audience guessing about what will happen next.
The plays contain adult language.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $6 for students and $10 for UAB employees and senior citizens. Call 205-975-2787 or go to alysstephens.org.
New degree
UAB will begin offering a B.S. in Engineering with a major in Engineering Design this fall, according to UAB Media Relations.
The program was approved by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees at its Feb. 7. The innovative new program will emphasize design and product development and will include hands-on project-based experiences.
The program will be the first of its kind in Alabama, said Timothy M. Wick, the interim dean of the School of Engineering.
The School of Engineering is also creating six new minors in emerging technologies. Students in the Engineering Design program must choose at least one engineering minor.
To learn more about the degree in Engineering Design, go to uab.edu/engineering/home/design.
Seeking treatments
Remdesivir, an investigational drug developed by the Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development Center centered at UAB, is being used to treat select infected patients in the United States and in China who have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences released remdesivir for use in a few patients.
Developed to treat the coronavirus causing MERS, Remdesivir was found to have “significant activity” against the new strain of coronavirus when the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, according to a UAB news release.
Gilead Sciences and other researchers and clinicians are working with the World Health Organization and health authorities in China to begin a placebo-controlled study to determine whether remdesivir is safe and effective in treating coronavirus.