However, the university's direction changed in 1961, when Wernher von Braun, a German rocket scientist brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip after working for the Nazi regime, helped create a research institute to provide advanced engineering and science curricula to NASA scientists and engineers.

One year later, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees voted to make UAH an independent and autonomous campus.

Mr. Palmore was at the time a United States Navy ensign assigned to NASA's Research Projects Division.

UAH's second president, John Wright, former Vice Chancellor of the West Virginia University, served from 1979 to 1988.

UAH's third president was Louis Padulo, former Stanford professor and dean of engineering of Boston University.

Frank Franz, who was then provost at West Virginia University, was chosen as UAH's fourth president.

[8] On July 1, 2007, David B. Williams, formerly a professor of materials science and engineering and the vice provost for research at Lehigh University, began serving as UAH's fifth president.

In 2019, Darren Dawson, former dean of the College of Engineering at Kansas State University, became UAH's seventh president.

Dawson announced his retirement in November 2021, and Charles L. Karr, former dean of the University of Alabama's College of Engineering, was named interim president.

[12] The university briefly gained national attention in February 2010 when a professor killed three people and wounded three others during a faculty meeting.

Research topics include air-breathing and electric propulsion; solid, liquid & hybrid propellant combustion; magnetoinertial fusion; high-temperature materials; and space and terrestrial power systems.

[21] UAH is a member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), competing in Division II in 15 sports.

Construction of the original houses was made possible by donations from Mark and Linda Smith and Jim and Susie Hudson.

[25] The UAH American Society of Mechanical Engineers student chapter also competes in the annual NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge.

The College of Science houses the Alabama High Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Center, which is dedicated to providing modern high field NMR capabilities to academic and corporate researchers in the state of Alabama and surrounding areas.

UAH's College of Engineering is home to the following labs: UAH's Kinesiology Research Lab, located in the College of Education, has an underwater treadmill that enables students to conduct aquatic exercise research on adults with type 2 diabetes and lower-limb amputation.

UAH's Learning and Technology Resource Center, located in the College of Nursing, offers high-tech, hands-on clinical experience thanks to its high-fidelity simulators, telehealth robots, and laboratory spaces.