Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering
The BYU college of engineering was awarded the opportunity to work on a project at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center. This competitive flagship project is the second to be awarded to BYU, the first of which was in 1986. BYU engineers will work with the University of Arizona to develop a Center for Quantum Networks, a program lasting at least five years and funded by at least $25 million. Their work will center on developing a new quantum internet that will enhance security, discovery, material design and data privacy on computers. This NSF project stems from a 2018 United States law putting America on the front lines in the race to quantum internet.
“It’s really a privilege for BYU to be a part of the new NSF Center for Quantum Networks,” professor Ryan Camacho said. “Quantum networks will enable fundamentally different and radical ways of connecting people and machines. In the future, devices won’t just share data, but will be quantum mechanically entangled across space and time.”
College of Fine Arts and Communications
Two 2020 graduates are finding unexpected uses for their BYU dance education in their work as elementary school teachers. Eliza and Taft Robinson sought employment in New York City’s artistic and performative networks as they prepared to graduate in April. They were not expecting to find work as teachers but were open to the “incredibly fulfilling” idea of teaching, Eliza Robinson said. The Robinsons were thrilled to be hired as remote teachers by NYC’s Success Academy. Eliza Robinson said her time at BYU was essential to her artistic, mental, and emotional development and prepared her well for her current job, even though her major was not directed towards elementary education.
“The dance program at BYU facilitated my creativity and put my work ethic into overdrive, and that’s exactly what teachers have to do every day,” Eliza Robinson said. “Teaching, like dancing, is not just a job. Teaching is a craft that will take me years and years of hard work to cultivate.”
“I expected this job to be challenging, but I never anticipated the intellectual and emotional growing pains that come with being a first-year teacher,” Taft Robinson said. “This job is more of a refining fire than I ever anticipated, and I’m hoping to become a better person through it.”
Freshman photography student Emma Squire recently won a prestigious award from the Fujifilms Students of Storytelling competition. Out of 600 entrants, Squire was one of 30 to be awarded new photography equipment and a personal Fujifilms profile page. Squire’s visual story on the history of prosperity was inspired by paintings she saw in an art history class. The photo series involved researching items that signified wealth in different time periods, interviewing people to assess symbols of modern affluence, and photographing her interpretations of those items.
“My art is either telling a story or trying to make a statement,” Squire said. “I want the viewers to be caught up in the narrative or to reflect on the message the image is trying to convey. My ultimate goal is to create meaningful art that I’m proud of.”
You can follow Squire's photography journey on Instagram @theemmasquire.
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