Highlights from BYU colleges

Family Home and Social Sciences

• Northwestern University professor Matthew Johnson gave the lecture “Towards a Political Ecology of the Medieval Castle” as part of the Department of Anthropology’s Grace Elizabeth Shallit Memorial Lecture Series on March 21. His lecture focused on the social and symbolic role of castles in medieval history.
• Evan McMullin will speak at a banquet held in the Hinckley Center Assembly Hall from 6-8 p.m. on March 28. Tickets can be purchased for $12 in room 745 of the Kimball Tower. McMullin’s address is titled “About Liberty, Equality and Truth in America.” Attendees will have the chance to submit questions for McMullin.

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology

• Graduate engineering students Casey Messick and Caleb Lystrup of Khione Outdoor Gear won first place and the crowd favorite award at the Student Innovator of the Year Competition on March 15. They developed SHEL, a lightweight hammock covering using heat transfer technology to keep campers warm while sleeping outdoors. Messick and Lystrup were presented $6,000 in prize money by Rollins Center managing director Steven Fox, Advancement Council for Engineering and Technology chair Mark Cluff and Ira A. Fulton College dean Michael Jensen.

David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies

• A lecture about refugees titled “Their Story is Our Story” will be held on April 4 at 7 p.m. in the Harold B. Lee Library auditorium. The lecture will feature photographs, interview footage and discussion of individual refugees and their stories.
• Eve Bratman, assistant professor of environmental studies at Franklin and Marshall College, will speak about environmental policy and the Amazon in an academic conference call at 10 a.m. on April 5 in room 257 of the Herald R. Clark building.

Marriott School of Management

• A team of five BYU students from different majors used their diverse skill sets as an advantage to win first place in the Society of Human Resource Management Case Competition on March 15. The team — Erin Hildebrandt, Jacob Valentine, Stefan Chase, Ella Madsen and Codi Peterson — won funds to help future BYU teams compete at similar events.

• The BYU MBA program was ranked No. 34 in the country by the U.S. News and World Report ranking. The accounting program came in at No. 7, international business at No. 19 and entrepreneurship at No. 21. Approximately 3,300 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.

College of Humanities

• Literary agent Erin Harris spoke on Feb. 22 at an event for the Department of Linguistics and English Language about what it’s like to work with a literary agent and as a literary agent. Harris emphasized the importance of creating relationships of mutual respect, trust and enthusiasm. She works at Folio Literary Management in New York City.
• University of Delaware English professor Thomas Leitch spoke at a Feb. 24 lecture discussing film adaptations of bestselling novels from the 1950s. His lecture discussed censorship during the 50s and the difference between the adaptations and the literature.

College of Fine Arts and Communications

• Professor Robert Barrett recently received Signature Status by the Portrait Society of America. Signature Status recognizes artists who are dedicated to the educational mission and high aesthetic standards of the society. Three BYU students — Ashley Glazier, Hillary Laurent and Peter Beck — received scholarships after attending the group’s annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences

• Professor Adam Simon of the University of Michigan will give this year’s Quey Hebrew Memorial Lecture. His lecture, “Sustaining the Supply of Metal Resources for Society: Can We Do It?” will be on March 30 at 7 p.m. in room W111 of the Benson Building. Light refreshments will be served before the event.

• In April 2016, BYU alumni Dave Alderks found fossils of what he believes to be a plesiosaur, a long-necked swimming creature that would resemble Scotland’s Loch Ness monster. Alderks is the chief museum preparator at Utah State University’s Eastern Prehistoric Museum in Price, Utah. The fossilized bones were found in April 2016 and collected throughout that summer until August 2016. They are the first of their kind to be found in Utah.

J. Reuben Clark Law School

• The National Moot Court Team found success at the regional competition of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition in San Francisco in early March. Rob Ahlander, Madelyn Blanchard and Brooke Ellis were awarded Best Brief and were placed in the top seed of the competition entering the semifinal round. Ellis was awarded Third Place Outstanding Oralist. Madilyn Cole, Steve Dearing and Peter Hecker also represented BYU Law at the competition.

• The Howard W. Hunter Law Library celebrated its 20-year mark on March 21 with an open house and display featuring photos, news articles, one of the groundbreaking shovels and an original student carrel. The library was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley on March 21, 1997.

Library

• The Documentary Film Series will continue on April 6 with the screening of “Eagle Huntress” at the Harold B. Lee Library auditorium at 7 p.m.