In these pages, you will meet students and faculty discovering their divine potential through curiosity, perseverance, and a willingness to share their light. Their work spans wildlife management and conservation, disaster mitigation, memory, nutrition, coral reef preservation, HIV research, cellular communication, and athletic achievement. Though these pursuits are diverse, they share a common purpose: using knowledge and discovery to bless others.
You will also read reflections on the relationship between study and faith, including insights from our students and the BYU forum address by Dr. Francis S. Collins. These messages remind us that knowledge and discipleship belong together. As we seek truth, develop our gifts, and use what we learn to bless others, we more fully become who God intends us to be.
These stories demonstrate how scientific research can help us protect communities, restore ecosystems, improve health, strengthen families, and expand hope. Through research, service, teaching, and everyday acts of compassion, our students are learning to use their education for purposes greater than themselves.
I am grateful for the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends in this community. Together, we carry forward a tradition of learning and service that prepares us to bring light into the world—and to recognize and be strengthened by the light we receive from one another.
Respectfully yours,
Laura C. Bridgewater
Dean, College of Life Sciences