When the opportunity came to use new DNA sequencing technology, Thomas Sasani, a graduate student in the Department of Human Genetics, stepped up to the challenge. The traditional approach to sequencing DNA can be a very laborious process. Researchers extract DNA, cut it into tiny fragments and read each tiny piece, slowly attempting to put […]
Buildings consume huge amounts of energy, and as they become more wired and connected, it’s increasingly important to be able to predict how much energy they will use and when. Aowabin Rahman, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, is helping solve this problem by using machine learning. “We are creating a model that can adapt […]
Labs across campus and the world study zebrafish, a freshwater fish that can be found at pet stores, to learn more about genetics and human disease. Strange as it seems, fish and humans have very similar development cycles, especially in the early stages of development. Current research involves studying and understanding the development of zebrafish […]
In August, 2017, Kaitlin McLean’s mom sent her a Facebook video about crocheting plastic yarn. McLean had been avoiding her mom’s hobby for years, but after reading an article about the number of deaths in Salt Lake City every winter due to cold temperatures, she thought she’d try it out. That month, McLean began crocheting […]
Roots is a student startup that wants to teach literacy to inmates by using music. “Reading is such an important skill to have in the modern world, and more than 60 percent of inmates cannot read above a fourth-grade reading level,” said Brendan Cody, a student and company founder. “Roots is trying to change that […]
Utah is home to one of the nation’s few free PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) clinics, thanks to Jorgen Madsen, who came out during his first year at the U’s School of Medicine thinking he might never date openly as a medical student or be accepted as a gay physician. Any at-risk Utahn can now access the […]
When Casey Clifford, a graduate student in environmental humanities, moved from the San Francisco Bay area to Salt Lake City, she didn’t expect that air quality would be an issue. “The mountains are much taller, and it traps all the pollution,” Clifford said. With the mentorship of Professor Valerie Kim Martinez, Clifford created three original, […]
During the first six months into her intensive dance training as a freshman, Jessica Baynes suffered a traumatic brain injury. “I slipped on both feet forward, fell backward,” she said. “I underwent rehab. I went through speech therapy, I couldn’t exercise.” Eager to dance nonetheless, Baynes discovered adaptive dance therapy through “Grey Matters: A Dance […]
While on a family trip to Hawaii, Christopher Bradford, a sociology and percussion performance major, discovered crystal singing bowls, musical instruments typified in many Eastern spiritual traditions to promote healing that, when struck, make a pleasant, traveling ringing sound. After talking with the shop owner, Bradford learned that the leading manufacture of crystal singing bowls […]
Utah Esports competed in four well-known online video games during the past year, including “Rocket League,” “League of Legends,” “Overwatch” and “Hearthstone.” Around the world, people of all ages compete in tournaments featuring high-profile video games for thousands of dollars in prize money. Aside from prize money, students on the team receive a $1,000 scholarship […]
