University of Utah

University of Utah student Dexonna Talbot was crowned Miss Utah 2019. The title comes with a $10,000 scholarship and keys to a brand new car for a year. Talbot will also receive multiple in-kind donations and services from the sponsors of the Miss Utah Scholarship Organization, and she will be eligible to compete for the title of Miss America in 2020.

The University of Utah students behind PureWare have received two grants from the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute to create a prototype and secure a patent for their startup company. PureWare offers a portable utensil with interchangeable heads that can conveniently collapse yet extends to full size when in use.

University of Utah graduate student Trevor Tippetts was among a group of scientists from U Health and Merck Reserach Laboratories that led research that determined how a small chemical change makes the difference between mice that are healthy and mice with insulin resistance and fatty liver, major risk facotrs for diabetes and heart disease. Making the change prevented the onset of these symptoms in mice fed a high-fat diet and reversed prediabetes in obese mice. The scientists changed the trajectory of metabolic disease by deactivating an enzyme called dihydroceramide desaturase 1 (DES1). Doing so stopped the enzyme from removing the final hydrogens from a fatty lipid called ceramide, having an effect of lowering the total amount of ceramides in the body.

Recent University of Utah graduate Alisa Cloward was chosen as the student speaker at the institution's 150th general commencement ceremony. She came to Utah after living in Japan for 17 years with her parents and 11 siblings. After working multiple jobs on top of a full-time class load, she earned a bachelor's degree in business administration as part of the Miller Enrichment Scholarship program and will go on to a position with Microsoft in Washington. Cloward was among 8,465 U students to celebrate graduation as part of the Class of 2019. The graduates ranged in age from 18 to 72, and collectively earned 9,126 degrees.

Six University of Utah students have received highly competitive Fulbright Student Program grants from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for the 2019-20 academic year.

More than 500 University of Utah undergraduate students, representing every college and more than 70 academic departments and schools, presented their research projects in the 2019 Undergraduate Research Symposium, held April 9, 2019. The symposium highlighted the U's commitment to undergraduate research and featured oral, poster and performance presentations.

Approximately 40 University of Utah students were accepted to intern in Washington, D.C., this summer through the university's Hinckley Institute of Politics. Living in the nation's capital, students will perform research, assist with event planning and execution, conduct analytical writing and more.

Nearly 150 University of Utah students volunteered with the U's Alternative Breaks program this spring. The U's award-winning Alternative Breaks program gives students an opportunity to immerse themselves in a weeklong or weekend experience focused on social and environmental issues.

Undergraduate students at the University of Utah and Utah State University showcased their research for Utah lawmakers and the general public on Tuesday, March 5 in the rotunda of the Utah State Capitol. Research on Capitol Hill, now in its 19th year, gives lawmakers and the public a glimpse of the breadth of research programs at the U and reinforces the value of state-funded higher education. https://unews.utah.edu/ROCH19/

The following people recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

The following people recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

The following local students recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.