USA Research Centers, Service Centers, Institutes, and Labs
USA has created Centers and Institutes that support the teaching, discovery and service
missions of the University. These units offer a cadre of highly qualified faculty,
graduate and undergraduate students and focused expertise and resources toward advancement
of scientific, educational and creative activities.
Policy for Establishment and Management Research Centers and Institutes (PDF)
Center for Archaeological Studies
The Center for Archaeological Studies conducts archaeological research, teaching, and public service in the north-central Gulf Coast region. The Center promotes the archaeological study and appreciation of the region’s prehistoric and historic past; disseminates to the public information about the region’s archaeology; and preserves archaeological evidence of the region’s past for future study, use, and enjoyment. The Center involves students in research projects, providing hands-on experience in archaeology.
Center for Generational Studies
The Center for Generational Studies (CGS) is a research center of the University of South Alabama (USA) that was founded in 2011 through a partnership with Via Health Fitness and Enrichment Center. The Via Center is a community-based, multi-purpose center primarily serving older adults with programming that facilitates the practice of preventative healthcare, physical fitness, continuous learning, socialization, and recreation. These intergenerational programs serve more than 400 older adults and youth.
Center for Healthy Communities
The Center for Healthy Communities represents the University of South Alabama’s dedication to its community. It is through research, education, and empowerment that both the citizens and the university may contribute to an improvement of not health alone, but also to people’s lives.
Center for Hurricane Intensity & Landfall Investigation (CHILI)
The University of South Alabama Center for Hurricane Intensity and Landfall Investigation (CHILI) performs research on hurricanes at landfall. This is done by running computer models of past landfalling Tropical Cyclones of the north-central Gulf Coast and by analyzing data from the University of South Alabama Mesonet.
CHILI hopes to improve forecasts of wind and flooding conditions during landfalling hurricanes through numerical weather modeling and by using meteorological observations. CHILI operates and maintains the University of South Alabama Mesonet.
Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Microelectronics (IAIM)
The mission of IAIM is to serve as a regional hub for research, innovation, education, and workforce development in AI and microelectronics technologies. By bringing together a multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, researchers, educators, and professionals, from academia, industry, and local communities, IAIM is committed to transforming AI based upon significant computing power in peripheral microchips and sensors for real-time decision making. Also, by integrating research and education by facilitating classroom instruction, graduate research training, and community outreach/engagement in these fields, IAIM is committed to educating and building the next generation workforce through curricular innovation and high-quality hands-on learning, as well as providing small business support to diversify the local economy.
Interdisciplinary Center for Sustainable Engineering (ICSE)
ICSE will play a pivotal role in furthering and exemplifying the mission of USA. At the heart of the university’s mission is a commitment to effecting positive change in the lives of individuals residing in the Gulf Coast region through the avenues of research, education, and service. ICSE, with its dedicated focus on sustainability and resilience, is a dynamic embodiment of this commitment.
Our mission is to discover, develop, and deliver innovative solutions to improve cancer outcomes. Every breakthrough we make is built on an advancement of knowledge through science.
The Center for Lung Biology (CLB) seeks to provide state of the art scientific development in lung biology that advances the understanding of human health and disease, to improve patient care, and serves as the foundation for outstanding graduate, post-graduate, and fellowship training.
USA Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center
The Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at the University of South Alabama provides consultation for the diagnosis, management, and treatment of children and adults with sickle cell disease. Our mission is to improve the lives of persons affected by this disease through comprehensive clinical care, basic and clinical research, and patient and professional education.
Center for Disaster Healthcare Preparedness (CDHP)
The Center for Disaster Healthcare Preparedness (CDHP) oversees a comprehensive HCC Coordination Program which includes ongoing assessments that advance and track planning accomplishments, strives to identify and close gaps through efficient resource management strategies, and provides targeted training to address identified preparedness and response gaps. CDHP also supports HCCs through oversight of fiscal agent funds allocated specifically for the mission to advance healthcare response and readiness within Alabama.
The Center for Public Policy is a self-sustaining, nonprofit entity that seeks to provide training, research, and consulting services to organizations that engage in the pursuit of topics related to social, political, and criminal justice issues. The Center is part of the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice and works toward the furtherance of the University of South Alabama’s teaching and research mission.
Center for Strategic Health Innovation (CSHI)
The Center for Strategic Health Innovation is a nationally recognized leader in innovative healthcare technology applications and the development and deployment of healthcare technology platforms, as well as the delivery of advanced preparedness teaching and training.
USA CSHI activity focuses on health information technology and research to improve quality and decrease the costs of medical care provided to patients, providers, and payers.
Melton Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The Melton Center leverages federal, state, and local resources to impact and expand the entrepreneurial culture at the University of South Alabama and the Central Gulf Coast region through education, engagement, and development opportunities. These activities directly support the service mission of the Mitchell College of Business to contribute to the economic development of the region.
Stokes Center for Creative Writing
The Stokes Center for Creative Writing advances the discipline of creative writing in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and screen-writing.
South Alabama Research and Inservice Center (SARIC)
The mission of the University of South Alabama Research and In-Service Center (SARIC) is to provide sustained, effective, and rigorous professional development addressing the needs of Alabama’s public school teachers, principals, and superintendents across the region.
USA Center for the Study of War & Memory
The USA Center for the Study of War and Memory studies how communities, institutions, and nations make sense of past military events through public monuments, remembrance rituals, re-enactments, works of literature, movies, popular history programming, and the internet. The Center is an interdisciplinary initiative with faculty from English, history, communication, psychology, and sociology departments involved and is the only center in the world to focus on military memorialization.
Applied Coastal Engineering and Science Center - Wave Flume
The goal of the Coastal Hydraulics Laboratory is to support investigators in pursuit of their studies to answer specific research questions in coastal engineering and science. This facility is capable of modeling wave-structure interactions, sediment transport, wave transformations, morphological response, and other research requirements.
Bioimaging Core Facilities (MCI and COM)
There are two bioimaging facilities at the USA College of Medicine. The Bioimaging Core Facility is located in the Medical Sciences Building and the Cellular and Biomolecular Imaging Facility is located at the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute. Both facilities provide critical imaging and microscopy resources to investigators at USA. Equipment in the facilities includes wide-field, line-scanning confocal, and spinning disk confocal microscopes, as well as spectrofluorimetry and laster dissection capabilities.
Center for Innovation in Postsecondary Education (CIPE)
The Center for Innovation in Postsecondary Education (CIPE) provides unparalleled performance and customer service to help institutions drive successful outcomes for students - particularly those who have been historically underserved and builds rapport, creates learning communities, and finds common denominators between academic goals and institutional cultures. CIPE bridges organizational growth and capacity building through information sharing, data transparency, and relationship building.
Coastal Weather Research Center
The Alabama Power USA Coastal Weather Research Center is a self-supporting operation within the Department of Earth Sciences located in the Science Laboratory Building, which consists of a meteorological laboratory, information center, and archive. Some of the Center’s major activities are the dissemination of forecasts and warnings to local and regional business and industry, and the support of Alabama’s first and only undergraduate program in meteorology.
College of Education & Professional Studies Literacy Center
The Literacy Center is a community engagement program hosted by the College of Education and Professional Studies. Located at University Commons, the Literacy Center provides children in the local community opportunities to enhance their reading and writing skills through individual and group sessions. The center also hosts a fun, interactive literacy summer camp for rising 3rd through 6th graders.
This facility is equipped with a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), an Atomic force microscope (AFM), and a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA). ECF is available to all University of South Alabama personnel, as well as outside institutions and industrial users.
Flow Cytometry Shared Resources Laboratories
The Flow Cytometry Shared Resources Labs are located in the Medical Sciences Building on campus and at the Mitchell Cancer Institute. They serve as a college-wide resource providing cell counting and cell sorting services to researchers on a subsidized fee-for-service basis.
Center for Exercise, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Wellness at South (CENPAWS)
The HKS Testing Center provides body composition and exercise performance testing to the general public, students, and sponsored projects. Please contact Dr. Neil Schwarz at neilschwarz@southalabama.edu for rates and scheduling.
The Innovation in Learning Center supports USA faculty and promotes innovation through coordinated professional development initiatives and integrated instructional technologies for traditional and online learning environments.
Laboratory for Additive Manufacturing (3D)
Discover the future of printing with our state-of-the-art equipment. We welcome the opportunity to discuss potential collaborations and explore how we can work together to achieve shared goals. For more information about collaborating on a project, email LAM@southalabama.edu.
Mass Spectrometry Core Facility
USA Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, located in the Mitchell Cancer Institute, provides mass spectrometry services to investigators at the University of South Alabama and those from outside institutions or companies.
South Alabama for Business Analytics, Real Estate and Economic Development Service Center (SABRE)
SABRE utilizes advanced academic expertise and resources to meet the diverse needs of public, private, and non-profit companies, governmental agencies, educational institutions, economic development, and community organizations.
Additionally, SABRE enhances the education of the Gulf Coast region through partnering with Mitchell College of Business faculty and Ph.D. students to pursue wide-ranging opportunities and delivers hands-on real estate experience for undergraduate students seeking careers in real estate.
South Alabama Ionics Liquid Laboratory (SAIL)
SAILL is made up of faculty from the Chemical Engineering and Chemistry departments at the University of South Alabama. The research cluster was formed in 2019 to carry out a two-year, $2.7 million EPSCoR award from the Department of Energy. The mission of SAIL is to become the preeminent center for ionic liquids research in the United States, focusing our research efforts on the design, synthesis, and characterization of ionic liquids and the development and optimization of processes that utilize them.
The Statistical Consulting Center can help investigators in preparing grant proposals and research papers, designing experiments, determining required sample size, conducting power analysis, designing questionnaires, conducting statistical analysis of data, etc.
USA Health Biobank and Histology Core Facility
The USA Health Biobank and Histology Core Facility offers to the University biomedical research community and the University Health System biobanking services such as biospecimen collection, processing and storage data repository, molecular analysis, and complete histology services including embedding, H&E, special stains, and immunohistochemistry, as well as research/pathology services.
USA Health Clinical Trial Service Center
USA Health continually participates in clinical trials to develop and test new medicines and treatment options. Clinical trials help us learn how to diagnose, treat, and even prevent certain health problems for our patients. We conduct trials in many health areas including cardiac care, cancer, and women’s health. We concentrate our clinical research efforts on testing new therapies, enhancing existing treatments, discovering methods of prevention, and improving the quality of life for our patients.
USA Polling Group/Survey Research Center
We are a multi-disciplinary survey research center specializing in telephone surveys. We provide accurate, reliable, and timely information regarding public opinion and behaviors for various populations on virtually any subject of interest.
South Alabama Biotechnology Research Center (SABRC)
Proposed by: Dr. Jon Rayner, Department of Microbiology/Immunology