A virus may have influenced the evolution of multicellular life. University of Iowa Biologist Albert Erives found a virus family that has a similar set of genes as eukaryotes, placing giant viruses in the evolutionary journey of most plants and animals.

University of Iowa Interim Provost Sue Curry has named Sarah Gardial, dean of the Henry B. Tippie College of Business, and David Ryfe, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, as co-chairs of the search committee for the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Lena Hill, associate professor of English and African American Studies and senior associate to the president, discusses the importance of continuing the University of Iowa's historic commitment to diversity. Hill also serves as the interim chief diversity officer and associate vice president at the UI.

Meet Hannah Gulick, an undergraduate from Spirit Lake, Iowa, whose passion for astronomy is leaving a mark on the UI campus—and the galaxy.

The University of Iowa has a new sandbox—and it’s used to explain gravity. Undergraduates in the Department of Physics and Astronomy designed and built an augmented-reality sandbox where users can design their own universe and then watch how gravity affects an object as it travels through the imagined environment.

The 45-year-old former Marine decided six years ago to get a college degree. After transferring from a community college to the University of Iowa, the Iowa native is on track to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in geosciences in May 2019.

A University of Iowa initiative called Tiny Trash encourages recycling and reduces waste on campus. More than 2,000 faculty and staff in 18 buildings have joined the effort, which ties into the UI’s goal to divert 60 percent of campus-generated waste to recycling by the year 2020.

Kerry Howley, assistant professor in the Nonfiction Writing Program, wrote about former NSA contractor and leaker Reality Winner in an essay for New York Magazine. The piece is generating buzz, with Howley making media appearances to discuss it, including on The Today Show.

Rachel Maller, intern in the University of Iowa Public Policy Center’s Social and Education Policy Research Program under director Sarah Bruch, was selected as the speaker for the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) commencement on Saturday, Dec. 16.

A new online class being taught this fall at the University of Iowa Microfabrication Facility allows students from across the country to participate in laboratory experiments and exercises in real time via state-of-the-art instrumentation.

The Iowa Native Spaces project, led by graduate students and faculty from UI’s History Corps, works closely with tribal partners to help prevent the erasure of Meskwaki and Ioway history and bring Native perspectives to more Iowans.

To help international students feel more involved on campus, a group of students developed the Conversation Center and a class that goes with it.