Ariel Chaffin

“It was hard work, but in the end, the results were very rewarding,” said Dr. Georgi Lukov, assistant professor in the department of Biochemistry and Physical Science, who co-authored an article which was published in the most recent Nature Immunology. Lukov has been a professor at BYU–Hawaii since July 2010, and before teaching here, he researched at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, which is where the research for the article was conducted with main author Dr. Fabian Zohren, a hematologist-oncologist from the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, Germany, and under the leadership of Dr. Margaret Goodell, Director of the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center at Baylor College of Medicine.

Beginning Fall Semester 2012, BYU–Hawaii students will be expected to have access to a portable computing device for use in class, if required by the professor, and in their study and preparation for class. With technology advancing and more easily accessible, students bringing their own device will bless both faculty and students in two key ways: Having technology in the classroom will promote computer literacy among all students, and it will set a standard expectation for professors of what access all students will have.

The BYU–Hawaii Biochemistry and Physical Science Department readied their telescopes to capture the transit of Venus on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. As Venus passed between the Earth and the Sun, professors from the department helped visitors in using telescopes and answering questions about the once-in-a-lifetime natural event. Since the next transit of Venus will not be until 2117, it was a unique experience to witness Venus pass in the Sun’s light. While the cloud cover periodically obstructed the view of Venus, it did not deter would-be astronomers from trying their hardest to see the event.

“Given what needs to be accomplished, time is something you really don’t have a lot of here at BYU-Hawaii.” Alfred Grace, president of the Laie Hawaii Married Student Stake, focused on the way time is spent and how daily choices affect the final destination of life in his May 8 BYU–Hawaii Devotional address.