If you've been to a Hawkeye athletic event over the last four years, chances are good that you've seen Nils Thorson perform. Not as an athlete, but as the guy who sings the national anthem before the start of the game.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program has just announced that University of Iowa graduate student Briana Smith has received a Fulbright award for 2013-14 to conduct research in Germany.

The UI’s Chicago Alumni Association offered a $250 prize in 1916 for best original song about the University of Iowa. “On, Iowa,” a fan favorite now performed at every football and basketball game, did not make the final cut.

The Iowa City Fire Department will be practicing high-angle rescue drills on the water tower near University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Kinnick Stadium from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday, May 14. The activity isn't expected to interfere with pedestrian or vehicle traffic in the area.

A $5 million gift to the University of Iowa Foundation from Henry B. Tippie (1949 B.S.C.) is benefiting students in the UI Henry B. Tippie College of Business, and student-athletes and building projects in the UI Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

One in three women and one in six men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes. To help them on their healing journey, the University of Iowa’s Rape Victim Advocacy Program seeks volunteers for its 32-hour Volunteer Training Program, which begins June 10. The deadline to apply is May 31st.

Filmmaker and social activist Mary Morten in 2009 began filming her first feature, "Woke Up Black," which followed five black Chicago youth, including University of Iowa engineering degree candidate Morgan Price, for two years. Now the crew will be back following Morgan, as they film her taking part in the the UI's May 2013 Commencement for inclusion in a sequel, "Woke Up Black. Again."

The Civil War experiences of six eastern Iowans, including two with links to the University of Iowa and its Old Capitol building, are the focus of a free public lecture set for Thursday, May 16, at 5:30 p.m. in the Hanson Family Humanities Gallery of the UI’s Old Capitol Museum.

The Get to Know series asks University of Iowa faculty and staff a few questions about their work and their outside interests. Today we visit with UI Alumni Association CEO Vince Nelson.

Andrew Shepherd, UI postdoctoral scholar in pharmacology, studies cell processes that regulate potassium. When the balance of potassium is disturbed, cell death may occur. Shepherd focuses on a mechanism underlying the regulation of neuronal excitability, survival, and death—processes central to such diseases as epilepsy, neuro-HIV, and stroke.

Students living in the University of Iowa residence halls can help reduce the amount of landfill waste at move-out by participating in a Year-end Donation Drive on Wednesday, May 15 and Thursday, May 16.

Nearly 5,200 University of Iowa students will receive their degrees during spring 2013 commencement ceremonies May 16-18 and June 7, including dual ceremonies for liberal arts and sciences graduates.