Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz said that you could tell whether a person is clever by his answers and whether he is wise by his questions.

At the University of Iowa, we ask a lot of questions. In fact, discovery and innovation are proud traditions and core missions of this top-tier public university.

Our research faculty and staff—often assisted by undergraduate and graduate students—commit entire lifetimes to unlocking the mysteries of the universe, from the complex systems of this planet to the motions of heavenly bodies in space. We seek to better understand the origins of earth and of humanity and to develop medical interventions to extend and enhance quality of life.

Through humanities scholarship and creative endeavors, we seek to understand and express not only what makes humans tick but also what imbues life with purpose and meaning. Our scholars conduct research on, and in many cases create, music, dance, painting, sculpture, and other art; they plumb history to help contextualize current events; they study language in its many forms; and they work to better understand the social, legal, and political systems that govern much of our lives. 

We’re a vibrant and diverse community of thinkers, creators, builders, doers, and helpers. But creation and inquiry aren’t solely the vocation of professional educators, researchers, and scholars in the field of higher education; they are the birthright of every human being.

Publicly funded universities simply help focus, support, and shape those energies for the good of humanity. In fact, basic research is responsible for most of the technological, scientific, and medical breakthroughs that have occurred over the past 70 years. More than half of U.S. economic growth since World War II can be traced to science‐driven technological innovation, a real testament to the power and strategic national importance of academic research and scholarship.

The smartphone you depend on daily, the vaccines and medical devices that keep you healthy, and most of the technologies that help make the U.S. military the world’s most effective fighting force all had their start in federally funded basic research.

At the University of Iowa, we’re developing virtual environments to test military gear to make soldiers safer and more effective on the battlefield, improving flood prevention strategies, and creating personalized medicine that delivers treatments unique to each patient.

We’re also a leader in scholarship and creativity in the arts and humanities. The Iowa Writers' Workshop, the first creative writing degree program in the United States, has produced 17 Pulitzer Prize winners, four recent U.S. poets laureate, and numerous other major-award winners. The UI’s world-class Center for the Book developed the special paper that now sits beneath the Charters of Freedom in their encasements at the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, D.C.

Equally exciting are the many opportunities our undergraduate and graduate students have to work alongside our best and brightest faculty and research staff. They’re not only getting a top-notch education; they’re bringing their own ideas to the table as budding scientists and scholars (see for yourself by watching some of the Three-Minute Research Stories on the  Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates YouTube page). 

Every one of us has a role to play in discovery and innovation at the University of Iowa. Just ask a question and see where it leads you.