Professor emeritus Hans Breder passed away Sunday at age 81. Breder founded the internationally renowned and highly influential Intermedia program in the UI’s School of Art and Art History in 1968; Breder directed Intermedia from its establishment until his retirement in 2000 and remained a prolific artist throughout his life.

Sanjena Anshu Sathian, who will be a student in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop starting in the fall 2017 semester, was named a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow for New Americans.

Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation, the UI Museum of Natural History is upgrading the storage of its ornithology collection, which features more than 31,000 bird, nest, and egg specimens. Meanwhile, students are getting valuable experience in museum collections management.

Research completed by Leslie Schwalm, UI professor of history and gender, women’s, and sexuality studies, has inspired a play written by UI graduate student Margot Connolly. Arts Share is bringing Cross-Examined, a play about the desegregation of Keokuk schools, to libraries in Keokuk and Coralville, Iowa.

A UI study shows that a unique all-female lineage of salamander equally balances genes from the males of three other salamander species. The findings highlight the bizarre ways some animals reproduce in order to preserve their species. The results were published in the journal “Genome Biology and Evolution.”

A June 11 fire in the Bowen Science Building caused an estimated $500,000 in damage, not including water damage. Administrators are working to determine the logistics for those impacted. Many will be housed within other space in the building. More information will be shared as it becomes available.

A UI study shows that a unique all-female lineage of salamander equally balances genes from the males of three other salamander species. The findings highlight the bizarre ways some animals reproduce in order to preserve their species. The results were published in “Genome Biology and Evolution.”

Even simple cell phone conversations can cause distracted driving. Researchers have found listening on the phone while driving creates a lag in the mind as it extracts itself from one task before fixing attention on another.

Fifty years ago, the Beatles released “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” which many consider the greatest rock and roll album. UI faculty members Donna Parsons and Kembrew McLeod discuss the landmark work, one they both use in their courses.

UI alumni Scott Beck and Bryan Woods have been writing scripts and making films for years, even as students. They recently signed a deal with Paramount Pictures for what will be their biggest project yet.

Since the 1950s, the University of Iowa has given undergraduates the opportunity to work with top space scientists to build instruments that have travelled throughout our solar system and beyond. That hands-on experience has landed Hawkeyes jobs with NASA and prepared them for success in many other important industries.

A group of 26 students from seven high schools across Iowa got to study with faculty and graduate students in the UI’s Nonfiction Writing Program through the Lloyd-Jones Residency for Versatile Writing. “I thought this only happened in the movies,” said one participant after attending a graduate student reading.