Societies for those that build our world

Study the atmosphere, build rockets and learn analytics. These are just a handful of things that can be done at BYU-Idaho in the engineering and physical science societies.

In the High Altitude Research Team, or HART, students prepare equipment used to measure different things in higher atmospheres, like air pressure and radiation. They have also attached cameras to their weather balloons to take photos and videos while the balloon is 30 miles in the air.

Caleb Malcarne, a freshman studying mechanical engineering, said he enjoys “sending things up and seeing how they work.”

The team not only looks at how their equipment is working, but how the universe works, too. They have researched specific types of radiation, such as muon particles, and they have researched other high atmosphere sciences like the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The Rocket Dynamics Society design and build rockets hoping to participate in the Spaceport America Cup.

According to the Spaceport America Cup website, it is “the world’s largest intercollegiate rocket engineering conference and competition.”

The rocket society builds every part of the rocket from scratch. They design all the parts, then build and assemble them. They even make the fuel from scratch.

The Data Science Society works with clients to help develop programs that do various things. In Spring 2019, they worked with the Construction Management Department in developing a program to help students find internships to better fit their interests. They have also worked with different companies helping develop programs that improve things like forklift paths.

“I think that any major could benefit from data science,” said Cali Almeida, a junior studying data science. “It teaches skills that everyone could use.”

These societies are not just for engineering and science majors. They are always looking for different people to join and welcome students from other majors that can bring in a different perspective.

Other engineering and physical science societies on campus are:

• Advancement of Material and Process Engineering Society
• Amateur Radio Society, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
• American Welding Society
• Architecture and Construction Management (ACMS) Society
• Artificial Intelligence Society
• ASME- Mechanical Engineering Society
• Astronomical Society
• Automotive Engineering Society
• Biomedical Engineering Society
• Chemistry Society
• CIT Society
• Computing Machinery Society
• Cyber Security Society
• Geological Society
• IEEE Student Branch Society
• Manufacturing Engineers Society
• Mathematics Society
• Physics Society
• SAMPE Student Chapter Society
• Tau Beta Pi
• Web Design & Development Society
• Women in Physics Leadership Society

Students can learn about the other societies by searching “societies” on the BYU-I website and clicking the “Join a society” link.