An infrared microscope designed by a University of Iowa team led by Thomas Folland helped produce information that could help advance electronic technologies.

Mariola Espinosa, associate professor of history in Latin American Studies, was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant, the nation’s most prestigious humanities scholarship.

At a news conference in early January 2025, President-elect Donald Trump rambled through a grab bag of grievances and proposals, including his disdain for wind power and low-flow showerheads and his thoughts on the possible acquisition of the Panama Canal, Canada and Greenland. On the latter, he mused, “People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up, because we need it for national security.” The negative commentary in prominent news outlets was swift. Such “vague threats” and “messianic promises” were “shocking … in their craziness,” a harbinger of a “chaotic and stream-of-consciousness presidency, a succession of opinion writers suggested. Yet, with respect to Greenland, Trump’s proposal has a long history. Here, he is guilty less of territorial ambitions than of saying the quiet part out loud.

Earlier this semester, we asked some students to write thank you notes to faculty and instructors who made a difference during your time at Iowa. We recorded them reading the letters for the first time.

On Dec. 19—22, more than 1,700 University of Iowa students will receive their degrees during in-person and livestreamed commencement ceremonies, beginning with the College of Education’s undergraduate and Teacher Education Program recognition Dec. 19 and concluding with the College of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and University College ceremonies on Dec. 22.

President-elect Donald Trump has picked former football player Scott Turner to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. While not much is known about Turner’s positions as he awaits confirmation by the Senate, Trump’s selection draws attention to the incoming administration’s housing policies.

Jamel Brinkley, assistant professor in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, was named the winner of the fourth annual Maya Angelou Book Award for Witness: Stories. He was named Nov. 21 during the Writers for Readers literary event co-sponsored by the Kansas City Public Library and the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s MFA Program in Creative Writing.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education awards UI a gold rating for its sustainability efforts in curriculum, energy use, and more.

The University of Iowa is uniquely known for being a place where art meets science, where students are encouraged to explore and innovate across these disciplines. Paras Bassuk, UI’s newest Rhodes Scholar, personifies exactly what that means—and more.

The University of Iowa continues to push forward with several projects that are part of its 10-year facilities master plan, a key component of which is a new patient care tower on UI Health Care’s university campus.

Ever since the NCAA permitted college athletes to get paid by companies that use their names, images and likenesses, athletes have tested the limits of their increasing power.