Chan ignored the skeptics and completed a degree at the University of Iowa. Now he's giving back to help other students realize their dreams.

What would it take for you to be famous in your field? This and other questions will be probed as Dean Keith Simonton, an Ida Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor, explores the development of eminence, creativity, genius, and leadership. Simonton will visit the UI campus Oct. 30 through Nov. 1.

University staff, faculty, students, and alumni are accomplishing great things every day. See who's making news with awards, publications, promotion and tenure, and more.

The University of Iowa has made a new academic portal available that allows researchers to connect with colleagues and potential collaborators worldwide. The KNODE platform connects life-sciences faculty and experts in industry and academia.

Have you ever wanted to go back in time to your favorite event in history? Or hop aboard the Enterprise or Tardis and travel deep into space? Set your time machine to Friday, Oct. 25, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and join Pentacrest Museums for the eighth annual Creepy Campus Crawl.

Iowa Cello Daze, an annual celebration for performers and fans of the violoncello, will be hosted by the University of Iowa School of Music Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 26-27. All the Daze events are free and open to the public.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present “Jazz That Moves,” a performance featuring the UI World Beat Ensemble and the UI Latin Jazz Ensemble, from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in The Mill in downtown Iowa City.

For more than 30 years, the University of Iowa's Dance Gala has wowed audiences by showcasing some of the best choreography and dance from one of the most highly acclaimed dance programs in the country. Don't miss the program, which runs through Oct. 26.

The University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts will present a Gallery Production, "thisisnotaWarPlay | thisisaWarPlay," written by Micah Ariel James and directed by Joshua Raheim, at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 24-26, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, in Theatre B of the UI Theatre Building.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a free recital by the Clarinet Studio at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in the University Capitol Centre on the UI campus.

Writers’ Workshop graduate and instructor Don Waters will read from his new novel, "Sunland," at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

In October, 14 UI International Writing Program writers traveled to New Orleans; Craig Cliff, a fiction writer, poet, and columnist from New Zealand, and Roland Rugero, a fiction writer, journalist and filmmaker from Burundi, reflect on the trip.