In a special event co-sponsored by the University of Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program, Cheryl Strayed will read from and talk about her work at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 8, at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

At UI's Van Allen Hall, tucked away in a metallic chamber wrapped in insulating tin foil is a tiny polarimeter—a detector set to measure and study gamma ray bursts, and a tool that puts research assistant Hannah Marlowe on the forefront of space research, collaborating with NASA.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a chamber music recital at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, in Riverside Recital Hall on the UI campus. The performance is free and open to the public.

UI senior Kelsey Zlevor, an environmental sciences major, has made an enormous impact on campus...by leaving behind a tiny footprint. An intern at the Office of Sustainability, she's been responsible for many key sustainability initiatives on campus, including tray-less dining, water-bottle filling stations, and energy conservation.

The University of Iowa College of Engineering Solar Power Car Club will be exhibiting at the UI School of Art and Art History's ArtsFest 2014 from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, May 2, at Studio Arts, 1375 Highway 1 in Iowa City.

The University of Iowa Opera Theatre will present "Die Fledermaus" by Johann Strauss II Friday-Sunday, May 2-4, in the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City. The performances, conducted by William LaRue Jones and featuring stage direction by Bill Theisen, will be at 8 p.m. May 2 and 3 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4.

The UI is addressing the cultural divide impeding growth in the number of minorities with doctorate degrees in STEM fields, establishing a new University Center of Exemplary Mentoring with a $1.2 million grant from the New York City-based Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Undergraduate dance majors in the University of Iowa Department of Dance will present their choreography to the public in the Undergraduate Concert at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, May 8-10, in Space Place Theatre, 101 North Hall, on the UI campus.

The University of Iowa’s Hancher and Department of Religious Studies are collaborating to present Niyaz featuring Azam Ali on Thursday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. at Old Brick. The concert is free and open to the public.

A UI biology professor will discuss what she has learned from studying snails in a free public lecture, “Sex in Nature (And Especially in New Zealand),” which will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 8, in the Biosphere Discovery Hub at the UI Museum of Natural History.

Phil's Day marks—literally—the impact of private gifts on University of Iowa facilities, programs, and people. This year's celebration takes place Thursday, May 1.

The University of Iowa’s Graduate College has awarded 35 doctoral students with Ballard and Seashore Dissertation Year Fellowships for 2014.