On July 15, Jill Kolesar became the 10th dean of the University of Iowa (UI) College of Pharmacy. In addition to her role as dean, she is a professor of pharmaceutical sciences and experimental therapeutics, holding the Jean M. Schmidt Chair in Drug Discovery. In this interview, Kolesar discusses her research, her motivation for becoming dean, and her long-term goals/excitement for the future of Iowa Pharmacy.

Inspired by first responders training, Krista Davidson, a clinical professor in the Department of Communications Sciences and Disorders in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, developed a speech-generating application to assist first responders when communicating with nonspeaking individuals.

Chemical and biochemical engineering professor Hyeongmin Seo was awarded $1.5 million to contribute to the Global Center for Sustainable Bioproducts. Seo, who joined the College of Engineering this year, will further investigate the chemistry of biomass, or organic waste such as scraps of wood or agricultural residue, and how to turn organic waste into renewable and biodegradable plastics for use in products, such as environmental sensors.

To solve one of space science’s most enduring puzzles, University of Iowa researchers have been awarded a $733,873 NASA grant to investigate how turbulence in the solar wind heats plasma. Led by University of Iowa Professor Gregory Howes and Dr. Daniel McGinnis, the team will utilize data from the Solar Orbiter spacecraft to uncover the mechanisms behind this turbulent dissipation, aiming to protect Earth from the impacts of extreme space weather.

Rishab Nithyanand, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, will tackle the enforcement of consumer privacy regulations with the help of a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award, the NSF’s most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty, includes a five-year grant for $633,023. Nithyanand and his team will develop a variety of computational tools to help enforcement agencies perform large-scale audits to determine if organizations are complying with consumer privacy regulations.

Kirkwood Community College and the University of Iowa are partnering to offer a four-year Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) Bachelor of Science degree, beginning this fall. The MLS program will help address a major workforce shortage of medical laboratory scientists.

M. Lindell Joseph, University of Iowa College of Nursing clinical professor, has been selected as the next editor-in-chief of "Nurse Leader," the journal of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership. She will begin the position in January 2025.

Beth Walker, associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, is leading a project focused on training graduate students in audiology and speech-language pathology on how to work with and treat children with disabilities who come from multicultural backgrounds.

Professor Jasper Halekas has been selected to serve on the National Academies of Sciences' Panel on Atmospheric Science and Space Physics, which will identify atmospheric science and space physics objectives for human exploration of the surface of Mars.

A group of 20 University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine faculty members will be honored for their work as scientists, scholars, and educators at the fourth annual Celebration of Excellence in Research, Scholarship, Teaching, and Service.