Nearly 5,000 University of Iowa students received their degrees at spring 2016 commencement ceremonies May 12 through 14. Take in the sights and sounds from commencement weekend through Office of Strategic Communication photos and video.

Special World comments on a new study involving a University of Iowa professor. Karla McGregor and fellow researchers found that though children with autism may take longer to learn new words than non-autistic children, they do so the same way as their peers: They follow their teachers' gaze.

University of Iowa chemists have learned about a molecular assembly that may help create quicker, more responsive touch screens, among other applications. The researchers report the interfacial layer—when molecules interact with a surface—of electrically charged fluids called ionic liquids is thicker than previously known.

This fall, Emily Duncan, a University of Iowa graduating senior, will begin a two-year master's program in flute performance at the Juilliard School in New York City.

When Marilynne Robinson began teaching at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, she quickly became an influential instructor and nationally respected figure. Now, after 25 years, she retires from the workshop having inspired many.

Bill Bryson is the author of 21 nonfiction books, his most recent being "The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island."

Tim Havens, a communications studies professor at the University of Iowa who studies the intersection of race, ethnicity and the media, says it’s been hard to pin down a definitive answer to the lingering question of why so many black TV shows are missing from streaming services.

Scott Baalrud, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has won a $750,000 Early Career Research Program award from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance his research into using fusion energy for electricity production.

Morgan Brittain, from Winterset, Iowa, has been selected for an internship at the Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

This year, about 4,930 University of Iowa students will be recognized at spring 2016 commencement ceremonies, which begin May 12 with the College of Pharmacy commencement, and end June 3.

The UI's Studio Arts programs have been in temporary quarters since the 2008 flood damaged their main buildings. This week, the departments are moving back to campus and into a new building.

The University of Iowa recently named the recipients of the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award. The awards are given annually to a few of the many graduate teaching assistants who spark learning and creativity in the classroom.