College News

BYU engineering students are testing radar to track polar bears aboveground. If successful, the team’s work would mark a significant step forward in scientists’ ability to track mother polar bears during winter, when they den and give birth to their cubs beneath dense snowpack. Locating and protecting bear dens is important for conservation efforts.

Cougar Queries are a series profiling BYU employees by asking them questions about their work, interests and life. Today, we meet Paul Savage, professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

Emerging research from the Jenkins lab takes steps forward in developing tools to help those struggling with infertility.

Brigham Young University Academic Vice President Shane Reese announced the hiring of Richard Gill as the dean of Undergraduate Education effective July 1.

A new study published in PLOS ONE from BYU scientists finds that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is almost immediately nonviable if deposited on a cash banknote. The virus actually shows greater stability on plastic money cards, with the live virus still being detected 48 hours after initial deposition, but no viable virus was detected on either cash or card that was randomly sampled in the study.

Life Sciences students discover a new lichen species in Glen Canyon. As DNA sequencing didn’t match the green lichen, Jacob Henrie ('22) and biology professor Steve Leavitt concluded that this scaly symbiotic fungus was, in fact, a brand-new species of lichen.

BYU alumna Suzanne Hyland received a Distinguished Service Award at the 2022 College of Life Sciences convocation ceremony in recognition of her service to female life science students. Hyland was instrumental in establishing the peer consulting program and the annual She is a Scientist event.

Seth Evans (‘22) toyed with the idea of going to medical school but didn’t want to commit without a good reason. Then, Evans broke his femur during a high school football game—throwing him headfirst into the world of medicine, and giving him the reason to pursue the medical school that he was searching for.

Inspired by his journey with mental illness and teachers who set strong examples of research, bioinformatics student Evan Marshman (‘22) plans to help those around him improve, mentally and physically.