BYU team conducts study to improve health in Nepal
An interdisciplinary BYU team studied air pollution and its effects in Nepal, specifically regarding Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley brick workers. The BYU team was made up of students and faculty from fields such as nutrition, public health, cell biology and engineering. Collaborators from the University of Utah, as well as local Nepali universities and leadership, also participated.
Brick workers in Nepal inhale air containing many dangerous particulates and aerosols daily. The BYU-Nepali team hopes to improve living conditions. They assessed the brick workers’ respiratory health and the air they breathe.
The initial data analysis was published in the Atmosphere journal. The BYU team anticipates returning to Nepal to continue their research.
New species named after BYU professor
BYU biology professor Byron Adams’ long-lasting impact on students was noted when a new species was named after him.
Adams has a unique love for nematodes, which has inspired many of his students. In fact, more than 100 of Adams’ students have gone into fields involving nematode research and study. Though microscopic, these little roundworms are some of the oldest, most abundant animals on earth and make a great impact.
Adler Dillman graduated from BYU in 2006 and was one of Adams’ students. Dillman currently works as a full-time professor and chair of the Department of Nematology within the center for Infectious Disease and Vector Research at UC- Riverside. During his field research in Thailand, Dillman found a new-species of nematodes and had the task of naming his new discovery.
Dillman thought of no one better to name the species after, than the man inspiring him in the first place. The official name of the new nematode species is Steinernema adamsi.
BYU cyber security program earns CyberCorps Scholarship for Service
BYU’s cyber security program was one of six schools in the United States to receive the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service from the National Science Foundation.
The scholarship is a five-year, $3.7 million grant that celebrates students’ technical talent, second language skills, moral integrity and leadership. To help students finance their tuition and have ample gratuity, undergraduate student recipients will receive $27,000 and graduate students will receive $37,000. Student recipients will also receive another $6,000 for things such as books, certifications, travel and training.
