Atomic-Level Student Research
At BYU, undergraduate students will have access to two transmission electron microscopes in the newly expanded Eyring Science Center.
Philanthropies
1450 N. University Ave
Provo, UT 84604
801-356-5300
Email Us
A Future Shaped by Curiosity and Math
March 2026
Jackson Pond grew up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, cheering for BYU and imagining a future shaped by curiosity and math. Now in his fourth year as an applied mathematics major, Pond is combining data science, machine learning, and biology in undergraduate research.
Working with faculty across physics, computer science, and structural biology, Pond helps train AI models to automatically annotate protein structures in bacterial images, streamlining a process that once took hundreds of hours by hand.
At BYU, undergraduate research isn’t the exception—it’s the norm. “My peers are amazed that I’m an undergraduate doing research,” Pond says of friends at other universities. “But here, all my classmates are doing research.”
Supported by academic scholarships and donor-funded experiential learning, Pond can focus fully on discovery without worrying about finances. “The generosity that I have received as an undergraduate student has blown my mind,” he says, adding that the experience has inspired him to one day give back to the program that gave him so much.
Learn more about how you can help BYU students in the College of Computational, Mathematical, and Physical Sciences here.
Related Articles
What Do Sharks Hear?
Sharks don’t hear the way humans do. They detect lower-frequency sounds through a network of sensory cells along their sides that enables them to sense vibrations and movement in the water.
Blending Research and Revelation for Better Translation
BYU PhD student uses AI to expand gospel access through improved translation for more languages.