BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) junior Patrick Butler, a 20-year-old from Harvest, Ala., is the third UAB student to earn a highly competitive SMART Scholarship that will pay his tuition and place him in a full-time job in industry after graduation.

Butler is a student in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences (CIS) and a member of the UAB Science and Technology Honors Program. SMART is an acronym for Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation.

The SMART Scholarship for Service was established by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to support well-performing students who are pursuing degrees in science, technology and engineering. Graduating SMART scholars are placed in full-time professional positions at government facilities to increase the number of civilian scientists and engineers working at DoD laboratories. Only 584 students have earned SMART Scholarships since the program's inception in 2005.

Butler, who is enrolled in the CIS five-year master's degree program, is expected to graduate in December 2012. His plan is to join Aviation & Missile Research, Development & Engineering Center at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., where he will work in computer programming and modeling related to weapons systems.

At UAB, Butler has conducted undergraduate research investigating computer rendering of algebraic curves, under the guidance of John Johnstone, Ph.D.

Butler is the son of Tom and Beth Butler of Harvest.

About UAB

The Department of Computer and Information Sciences offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and unique interdisciplinary programs in computer forensics and bioinformatics. It is housed in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, is home to academic disciplines that include the arts, humanities, sciences and the School of Education. The college's unique structure advances research and learning in both K-12 and higher education, and its courses are taught by a world-class faculty. Committed to the UAB spirit of independence and innovation, the college enables students to design their own majors, participate in undergraduate research or complete graduate degrees on a five-year fast track. Through productive partnerships, flexible curricula and a bold, interdisciplinary approach to learning and teaching, the college is preparing students for success in the ever-changing global marketplace of commerce and ideas.