The

DEAN’S MESSAGE

DEPT. NEWS

Dear alumni and friends, we are in need of your help. CPMS is teaming up with the BYU College of Engineering and Technology to hire a research specialist to assist faculty in their pursuit of research funding.

This individual should have at least a bachelor's degree (preferably a graduate degree) and should have significant experience in proposal preparation in a science and/or engineering academic environment. The ideal candidate would have at least three years' experience in a leadership or managerial role that includes development and submission of successful grant proposals.

We are very eager to fill this position, and I am confident that our alumni and friends can help us identify someone who will be a great fit. If any of you would be interested in this position, or perhaps know someone who has the desired skills, please contact Associate Dean Tom Sederberg at tom@cs.byu.edu.

Our faculty and staff are constantly striving to provide more opportunities for in-depth learning and hands-on involvement for our students. By adding a research specialist to our team, we expect to see even greater opportunities open up for our students in terms of mentored research.

Through our on-campus mentorship program, undergraduate students who successfully apply for these mentorships receive funding to conduct cutting-edge research in their field of choice. Working alongside their professors, these mentored students are able to gain one-of-a-kind experiences.

Furthermore, mentorships can be incredibly helpful to students financially.

A large percentage of our students need employment now to help support their college education. Mentored research allows our students to work their way through school while also enhancing their future career prospects. It's an astounding opportunity that I wish we could provide to every single one of our qualified undergraduates.

While money gained through the research of our professors makes a significant contribution, there is still so much more we can do with the financial backing of our alumni and friends.

If you would like to help sponsor a mentorship and open up a whole new world of possibilities for one of our students, please contact Brent Hall via email at brenth@byu.edu.

Thanks for your continued support. We look forward to staying in touch.

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STATS STUDENTS ADVANCE GENETICS

In late June, researchers from the University of Utah published a groundbreaking study that may further the identification and treatment of rare genetic diseases. As part of the research of Dr. Evan Johnson, of the BYU Department of Statistics, several BYU students were able to make contributions to this publication — combining their knowledge of statistics with new software.

Using only blood samples from a few family members, the authors of the study were able to pinpoint the specific DNA mutation that results in a rare and lethal genetic disease. Tentatively called "Ogden Syndrome," after the residence of the local family they studied, this disorder results in boys who are born with wrinkled skin, a broad mouth, and big eyes and rarely live more than one year.

Since everyone has many mutations in their DNA, finding what ones lead to health problems is very complex. Modern sequencing technologies read large quantities of cut-up DNA strands, outputting massive sets of data. In order to identify the bases that are potentially disease causing, the small snippets of DNA have to be mapped back to their original order.

Nathan Clement, a former BYU computer science student who is now studying at the University of Texas, worked with Mark Clement and Quinn Snell, from the BYU Department of Computer Science, to develop an algorithm that makes this process possible.