A $1.5 million gift from University of Iowa alumnus Norman E. Johnson and his wife, Barbara J. Johnson, of Naples, Fla. and Franklin, Tenn., will benefit two areas within UI Health Care—the Department of Otolaryngology in the Carver College of Medicine, and the new UI Children’s Hospital.

Voice votes, common in civic and political decision making at all levels, can be skewed by a single, loud voice, according to a study led by the University of Iowa. The researchers propose locating everyone within equal distance from the vote recorder or controlling for sound on voters’ microphones. Results appear in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop alumna and former visiting faculty member Ayana Mathis will present a free reading at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, in the Frank Conroy Reading Room of the Glenn Schaeffer Library, adjacent to the Dey House.

A prestigious award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will help a University of Iowa engineering professor to create 3D-printed pancreatic endocrine tissues to effectively manage diabetes.

Nancy Purington will display her paintings and be on hand to chat with art enthusiasts for the University of Iowa Museum of Art’s First Friday reception at hotelVetro in downtown Iowa City from 5 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 7.

Small businesses in Iowa are less knowledgeable than larger businesses about the Affordable Care Act, according to a new study conducted by the UI's Public Policy Center, in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Public Health, the state Health Insurance Marketplace Interagency Workgroup on Health Care Reform, and the UI College of Public Health.

The University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts will present "Makeover," a new musical freely inspired by the lives of entrepreneurs Estée Lauder and Mary Kay, as its Iowa Partnership in the Arts production for the 2013-14 season. This work premieres at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, in the David Thayer Theatre of the UI Theatre Building.

Join the award-winning Iowa Percussion for a look at the art of creating music during a free concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, in the UI’s Riverside Recital Hall. The UI’s Arts Share and the Community Foundation of Johnson County are the sponsors of this annual concert.

University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Chinelo Okparanta will read from her debut story collection centered on Nigerian women, "Happiness, Like Water," at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City.

Piano Sundays, a series of free public concerts presented by the University of Iowa Pentacrest Museums, will resume its 2013-14 season Feb. 2, in the Senate Chamber of the Old Capitol Museum. “Mostly Liszt” begins at 1:30 p.m. and features the works of 19th century virtuoso Franz Liszt.

Naturally 7 has risen to prominence while touring extensively with Michael Bublé. But make no mistake: This group has headliner power in its own right. The University of Iowa’s Hancher will present Naturally 7 on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City.

"Stalking: Know It. Name. It. Stop It." is the theme of an awareness campaign launched by the University of Iowa Anti-Violence Coalition in collaboration with a number of stakeholders running January through mid February.