BIOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE
The National Institutes of Health awarded Keith A. Crandall, an associate professor of microbiology and molecular biology, and researchers from Johns Hopkins University a five-year, $2.6 million award to study and document the transmittal of gonorrhea. The research benefits from Crandall’s sophisticated computer programs that help explain evolutionary changes in the DNA sequencing of organisms. The researchers hope the project will lead to new treatments of and a vaccine for gonorrhea.
MORE: byunews.byu.edu/releases/release.aspx?y=archive02&m=Dec&f=Gonorrhea
EDUCATION
With a three-year grant totaling more than $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, counseling psychology and special education professor K. Richard Young and assistant professor Michelle Marchant have created the Peaceable Schools Project. Working with selected schools in the Provo and Nebo School Districts in Utah County, the project teaches students to apply appropriate social behaviors in various environments and provides special interventions for children at a higher risk for behavioral problems.
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
BYU construction management students won first place for the third year in a row at the National Association of Home Builders competition in Las Vegas in January. The competition, sponsored by Centex Homes, boasted teams from 33 universities in the four-year college division. The teams were given a full set of plans for a 48-unit luxury home project in Lake Las Vegas, a resort community five miles outside of Henderson, Nev. In one month, the teams had to create a proposal including the estimated cost of the project, a comprehensive schedule, and a marketing plan.
MORE: byunews.byu.edu/releases/release.aspx?y=archive03&m=Jan&f=construction
The American Society of Civil Engineers presented T. Leslie Youd, ’64, with the 2002 H. Bolton Seed Medal. Youd received the award, given biennially for cumulative contributions to the field of geotechnical earthquake engineering, for his long history of seismology research, education, and consulting.
FAMILY, HOME, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
In a report released to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., in February, BYU‘s Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy noted significant campaigning changes that may have contributed to the Republican Party’s success during the 2002 midterm elections. The report, “The Last Hurrah? Soft Money and Issue Advocacy in the 2002 Congressional Elections,” shows the effect of changes to soft-money laws, increased campaign ad volume, and intensified ground efforts.
MORE: byunews.byu.edu/releases/release.aspx?y=archive03&m=Feb&f=hurrah
FINE ARTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
R. Don Cook, ’80, associate professor of music and university carilloneur, released a CD featuring the music of BYU‘s Centennial Carillon Tower. The Bells of BYU includes “The Spirit of God,” the theme of Beauty and the Beast, the “Cougar Fight Song,” and many others.
MORE: byunews.byu.edu/releases/release.aspx?y=archive03&m=Jan&f=carillon
HEALTH AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE
Brittany Macdonald, ’02, a graduate student in dietetics, received a $10,000 scholarship from the Golden Key International Honour Society. She received the award at the recent convention in Atlanta, for her paper “Cancer Prevention Through Diet and Exercise: A Curriculum for Adolescents.”
MORE: byunews.byu.edu/releases/release.aspx?y=archive02&m=Nov&f=golden
Assistant professor of health sciences Susan C. Hill, ’92, along with health sciences professor Gordon B. Lindsay, ’78, communications associate professor Steven R. Thomsen, ’82, and community health major Astrid M. Olsen, ’03, published a study in the American Journal of Health Education about the misleading nature of health-related infomercials. In it, they analyze the quasi-scientific and emotional devices employed by infomercial advertisers to promote miracle diet pills, workout machines, and other health-related products.
BYU health sciences and communications researchers have studied the techniques unscrupulous TV informercial advertisers use to hook consumers.
MORE: byunews.byu.edu/releases/release.aspx?y=archive03&m=Jan&f=infomercial
HUMANITIES
Under the leadership of Gary L. Hatch, ’88, the English composition program received a $200,000 grant from the Center for Academic Transformation, funded by the Pew Charitable Trust, to create a first-year writing course that will combine the best of online technology and classroom instruction. The course, currently in its pilot stage, will allow students to access materials and complete assignments online while meeting periodically for discussion. The online videos implemented in this program received the Gold Award for Excellence at the Aurora Awards for educational video programs.
LAW SCHOOL
Former law student Hannah Clayson Smith, ’01, has been named clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court and will begin in July 2003. Smith is currently clerking for Judge Sam Alito of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
MORE: lawnews.byu.edu/article.tpl?sku=29
MARRIOTT SCHOOL
In a global ranking of the top 100 MBA programs, the Financial Times of London ranked the Marriott School’s MBA program 51st this year, compared to 63rd in 2002 and 75th in 2001. The publication’s criteria measure a school’s strength in purchasing power within the marketplace, diversity of experience, and research quality. The Financial Times placed BYU‘s finance program among the top 10 worldwide and recognized the school’s salary percentage increase as being among the top 10 in North America.
MORE: https://byunews.byu.edu/releases/release.aspx?y=archive03&m=Jan&f=times
A team of four graduate students from the School of Accountancy and Information Systems won first place in the national Deloitte & Touche Tax Challenge competition. Each team member will receive a $1,000 scholarship, and the school will receive a $10,000 grant. The undergraduate team placed second in a separate division.
MORE: marriottschool.byu.edu/news/releases/template.cfm?ID=155
NURSING
Sandra L. Lookinland, professor in the College of Nursing, received the 2002 Excellence in Research Award from the Utah Nurses Association for her research investigating patient-care delivery models in an emerging managed care environment. Debra Ann Mills, assistant teaching professor, received the 2002 Excellence in Education Award for her outstanding contribution as a nurse educator.
MORE: nursing.byu.edu/About/News/awards.htm
PHYSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
The Department of Mathematics held a grand opening in January for its new math lab, located in the Talmage Math and Computer Science Building. The lab had previously been located in the Knight Mangum Building.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
The newly created Religious Education Archive Image Collection contains approximately 3,000 images pertaining to the doctrines and history of the Church of Jesus Christ in ancient and modern times. Images include photographs, drawings, and paintings of LDS historic sites, Holy Land sites, and significant people in Church history and doctrine.
MORE: relarchive.byu.edu/im_coll/
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