Five presidential scholars for 2024 have been announced by the U's President Taylor Randall. Mathematician Sean Lawley is one of them.

The newest cohort of Presidential Scholars at the U are navigating frontiers in cyber law and artificial intelligence, plunging into the earth to understand the impact of humans on the environment, breaking language barriers in diabetes treatment, using mathematical equations to solve biological quandaries, and preventing heart disease and dementia. Recipients of this award are chosen for their leadership in their field and significant contribution to scholarship, education and outreach at the U.

The 2024 Presidential Scholars were nominated by the U’s deans and will receive $10,000 in funding, provided by an anonymous donor, each year for three years. The scholars are Matthew Tokson, associate professor in the S. J. Quinney College of Law; Tyler Faith, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology in the College of Social and Behavioral Science; Michelle Litchman, associate professor in the College of Nursing; Sean Lawley, associate professor in the Department of Mathematics in the College of Science; and Adam Bress, associate professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences in the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine.

“The work being done by these exceptional researchers is crucial to our university-wide goal of impacting the lives of all Utahns,” Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Mitzi Montoya said. “I am proud of their dedication to tackling problems that affect all of us. Their findings can help us build a brighter, healthier future.”

A new cohort of Presidential Scholars is selected every year as a means of retaining faculty who have strong scholarly recognitions, significant promise for continued achievement and are likely targets for outside recruitment.

Math: A Magical Tool

To hear Sean Lawley talk about the power of math, you would think he was describing a magical tool that answers the unanswerable and predicts the future. To an extent, you’d be right. Lawley has published more than 70 papers, many with undergraduate mentees — in less than 10 years — about the power of probabilistic models and analysis to answer questions in physiology and medicine. He uses stochastic math to answer questions like, can a cryopreservation procedure delay menopause? If so, how much tissue and what age is needed to be most effective? What nutritional supplements can speed up arsenic detoxification of the body? What should you do if you miss a dose of a prescription medication? Through math, Lawley is able to answer questions that couldn’t be found in a lab or by any other means. “The equations become the laboratory from which you can explore and do experiments and solve some of these things,” Lawley said. “What I get really excited about and am passionate about is using mathematics to improve public health, to make an impact. I think mathematics is a very purposeful tool—a very big hammer.”