Certified Archivist Trudy Huskamp Peterson will be on the University of Iowa campus Monday and Tuesday, April 7 and 8, as part of the Department of History Visiting Lecturer Series. Peterson is former acting archivist of the United States.

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development recognized research and innovation excellence among UI students, faculty, and staff April 3 with its inaugural Distinguished Research Awards. Recipients were honored Thursday at a private dinner and ceremony at hotel Vetro alongside other distinguished colleagues.

See a roundup of recent University of Iowa activities, research, public engagement, and campus life in Iowa Now Minute 4/4/2014.

Students in the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences find the Pomerantz Career Center invaluable in helping them identify and prepare for careers—and the college has the placement rates to prove it.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a joint performance by the University of Iowa’s Johnson County Landmark and the University of Northern Iowa’s Jazz Band One at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 9, in the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City. The concert is free and open to the public.

Susan Lagos Lavenz, associate dean of teacher education and student services at UI, says the College of Education is looking at ways to partner with the Iowa City Community School District to place minorities in education jobs.

Concert organist Ann Marie Rigler, a University of Iowa alumna, will present a free concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 6, in Riverside Recital Hall on the UI campus.

University of Iowa junior Liam Hovey has received a 2014 Goldwater Scholarship, the premier undergraduate award for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

A recent study led by Bruce Tomblin, UI professor of communication sciences and disorders, found that greater improvement in hearing via hearing aids led to better speech and language skills for children with mild and moderate-to-severe hearing loss.

In celebration of Bill Sackter—the namesake of Wild Bill’s coffee shop in North Hall and Uptown Bill’s Coffee House and Community Arts Center—a series of events will take place April 10, 12, and 14, including a birthday bash with live music.

Researchers at University of Iowa and colleagues found that pigeons, like humans, use selective attention to look at specific features of an object. The ability to locate unique signs helps the birds accomplish the task of sorting objects just like humans.

"Gifts and Grants" is a roundup of research grants and other funding obtained by University of Iowa faculty, staff, and students in support of work across disciplines—from the sciences to the arts and humanities—that will be published regularly in Iowa Now.