Sharifa Love-Rutledge developed a keen interest in science when she and her younger brother shared a lab kit for Christmas one year. "We made borax (super bouncy) balls first, and went on to complete all the experiments in the kit, and I wanted to do more," said Love-Rutledge, an incoming faculty member at UAH College of Science. She is also the first African-American woman to earn a PhD from The University of Alabama Department of Chemistry.