BYU College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences

05/05/2026

Wise words from our graduating class of 2026.

We’re proud of Nicholas Lewis, Rebekah Partington, Fritz-Carl Morlant, Hongting Wang, Josh Christensen, and Hannah Wehrmeister and the way they represent BYU. They were nominated by their departments to represent the hundreds of students graduating this April.

We’re proud of all the ways our new graduates will now “go forth to serve” in their families, communities, and careers. They’ve excelled in their academic fields and are prepared to lead, lift, and serve.

Congratulations everyone! We’re proud to welcome you as the newest alumni of Brigham Young University.

04/16/2026

04/07/2026

Our students and faculty are using AI for good!

The scriptures tell us that everyone will hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in their own language. But what about languages that are difficult to translate, such as Xhosa, Twi, and Zulu?

BYU’s Pathsay AI Language Project is tackling just that, using recordings provided by native speakers to train AI translation models in low-resource languages.

Read more about the Pathsay AI Language Project: https://magazine.byu.edu/article/byu-pathsay-project-sounded-in-every-ear/

Photo courtesy of Intellectual Reserve.

02/14/2026

For the first time in Cougar history, Brigham Young University students competed in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's annual quantum hackathon from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 — and won.

Read more at the link in our bio.

09/03/2025

03/27/2025

As we get ready for the big game, we’re doing what we do best—sharing some math and statistics. 🤓

According to an article by the NCAA, the chances of getting a perfect bracket is 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 if you just guess or flip a coin, and 1 in 120.2 billion if you actually know something about basketball.

Although your chances increase depending on your knowledge of the current teams and bracket history, it still is very unlikely to achieve a perfect bracket.

The article shared this to help illustrate how unlikely it is:

“A group of researchers at the University of Hawaii estimated that there are 7.5 quintillion grains of sand on Earth. If we were to pick one of those at random, and then give you one chance to guess which of the 7.5 quintillion grains of sand on the entire planet we had chosen, your odds of getting it correct would be 23 percent better than picking a perfect bracket by coin flip.”

So, safe to say no one will be getting a perfect bracket anytime soon.

While you definitely will not be getting a perfect bracket this time around, we hope you enjoy the game. Go Cougs!

article: https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/bracketiq/2023-03-16/perfect-ncaa-bracket-absurd-odds-march-madness-dream

02/06/2025

We had a great time celebrating our hardworking students at the College Dean’s List Lunch who achieved a perfect 4.0 for the first time! We are incredibly proud of their dedication and perseverance. 🤩⭐️

01/08/2025

Welcome back to school!

While the first few days might feel a bit overwhelming, we know you’re capable of amazing things. You’ve got this! We hope you learn, grow, and accomplish great things. And remember, you’re not alone. Your professors, classmates, and countless campus resources are here to help you succeed every step of the way.

Here’s to a fantastic semester ahead! 🎒✏️❄️

11/22/2024

What would you do if you had to opportunity to witness a launch of the largest and most powerful rocket in the world?

For BYU students from the Physics and Aerospace Student-Centered Acoustics Laboratory (PASCAL), led by physics professor Dr. Kent Gee, they took this opportunity and decided to measure the actual sound and air pressure of SpaceX’s Starship launch.

BYU is currently the only university studying rocket noise to this extent, making the data they capture very valuable. How blessed we are to see our students participate in these life-changing opportunities.

Read more through the link in our bio.