College of Science

How and where viruses gain virulence April 30, 2026 Above: Stock photo of a research mouse by Pixabay via Pexels. In mice, viruses gain virulence in some individuals, depending on genetics and sex. During the early stages of a pandemic, viruses tend to evolve in ways that enhance their ability to reproduce and spread, rather than to evade the host’s immune system. The genetics and sex of the host…

College of Science Students at Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research 2026  For two decades, the Utah Conference […]

The College of Science is committed to recognizing excellence in education, research, and service and congratulates all 2025 college award recipients.

Which comes first to the mind of Goldwater recipient Adeline Hiemstra: music or science?

College of Science Undergraduate Students Present Research on Capitol Hill  Each year undergraduate […]

Undergraduate Research Symposium: Spring 2026 Each Semester the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) hosts an Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) featuring […]

From Bats to Breakthroughs: The Making of a Distinguished Professor April 21, 2026 Above: Christoph Boehme Three years ago, as the world opened back up from the coronavirus pandemic, a video dropped designed as a pitch for funding of a new applied science building at the University of Utah. Featured prominently in the outing was the Department Chair of Physics and Astronomy Christoph Boehme. Stan…

Exposed GSL playa can threaten human health in new ways April 20, 2026 Above: Great Salt Lake playa USU-led research supported by U geochemist finds toxins from Great Salt Lake dust are absorbed by plants, soils and human bodies Adapted from Utah State Today. Shrinking water levels at the Great Salt Lake are not just about Utah’s water supply—they may pose a serious risk to public health. New res…

U geologist ultrarunners experience rock formations and the landscape at large through a unique filter.

Doorway into wonder April 6, 2026 Above: Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, Katharine Coles Science, Literature and Euphoria: A special event with mycologist Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian and U poet Katharine Coles This April, the Utah Symposium in Science and Literature will present a special event in partnership with the National Book Foundation – an evening with mycologist Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, autho…

Two Science Students selected as Fulbright Semi-finalists April 3, 2026 Above: Abby Tang and Lucy Leary, 2026 Fulbright Semi-Finalists in the College of Science Five University of Utah students are selected as Fulbright semi-finalists. Two of them call the College of Science home. The Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships (ONCS) is proud to announce that five University of Utah students h…

Image of Research winners capture the spark of discovery April 2, 2026 Above: Collage of winning images Behind every data set, field note, and experiment lies a story of curiosity, creativity and persistence. The University of Utah celebrated those stories through the Image of Research, a new campus-wide competition and exhibition inviting faculty, research staff, and graduate students to showcas…

Oh, the Places Curiosity Will Take You April 2,2026 Above: Geri Richmond headlines Frontiers of Science. All photos by Todd Anderson. Chemist, policy architect and champion of women in science, Geri Richmond brings her Seussian wisdom to the U's Frontiers of Science On the last evening of March the University of Utah got a science lecture unlike any other—one populated by Whos, Things One and Two…

What’s driving Salt Lake City’s downward emissions trends? April 2, 2026 Above: Morning rush hour traffic on Salt Lake City’s 700 East by Hawthorne Elementary School. Photo credit: Brian Maffly Emissions of NOx and carbon monoxide have dropped on the city's streets since 2005, according to new atmospheric sciences research that could help Utah address its air quality problems. Emissions of two ma…

SRI Stories: Leaning into nature At 24, Daniel Souto Vilarós—who worked in insurance in Mexico City—took a hiking trip in Nevado de Toluca, MX. At 4,000 m (13,000+ feet) in elevation, the underdressed Daniel got caught in a snowstorm, but instead of resisting the inherent harshness of nature he developed a fascination, even a love for it. Daniel wanted to understand ecosystems instead of being de…

SRI Stories: Humans and Climatic Instability Corrin Laposki grew up enamored with paleontology—that is until she took an anthropology class at Montana State University. It changed her life. Corrin appreciated the human aspect to anthropology where we weren't viewed as an externality but rather an integral variable of our earth systems. Corrin mentions, "There's this human aspect of our past, pres…

Bridging Biology and Math — A Beckman Scholar’s Interdisciplinary Path March 23, 2026 Above: Prisca Amematsro Prisca Amematsro’s academic journey weaves together biology, mathematics, and a deep curiosity about the brain. In 2025, she was named a Beckman Scholar, one of two University of Utah undergraduates selected for this nationally competitive award from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundatio…

Freshwater under Great Salt Lake playa March 23, 2026 Above: A helicopter crew prepares to fly airborne electromagnetic survey equipment from a staging area on Antelope Island on Feb. 28, 2025. Photo credit: Brian Maffly, University of Utah. In a first of its kind breakthrough, U geophysicists used electromagnetic data from airborne surveys to characterize a deep freshwater reservoir under Farmin…