In December, more than 1,800 University of Iowa undergraduate, graduate, and professional students participated in ceremonies celebrating the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. As these students donned their caps and gowns-some of them the first in their family to do so-they embarked on a long journey that will forever be connected to their time at the UI as Hawkeyes.

Rajula Elango, a graduate of the University of Iowa who is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, is a rising star in the field of DNA repair and genomic instability. Her graduate school research contributed to a paradigm shift in the field and she showed that a unique DNA repair pathway, called break-induced replication, has a mode of DNA synthesis that contradicts the accepted understanding that all DNA replication leads to a semi-conservative inheritance of DNA. This important discovery by Elango and her colleagues was published in a leading research journal Nature.

The Dare to Discover campaign showcases researchers, scholars, and creators from across the University of Iowa on banners throughout downtown Iowa City. The campaign is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research.

University of Iowa MFA student Donte K. Hayes was named the 2019 winner of the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art by the Gibbes Museum of Art. Hayes, a Georgia-based ceramicist, explores themes in Afrofuturism, a projected vision of an imagined future which critiques the historical and cultural events of the African Diaspora and the distinct black experience of the Middle Passage. Hayes will be awarded a $10,000 cash prize and will be celebrated at the Amy P. Coy Forum and Prize Party hosted by Society 1858 at the Gibbes on Feb. 6-7, 2020.

Allexis Mahanna, a UI senior majoring in global health studies, won the inaugural Undergraduate Library Research Award (ULRA) offered by the University of Iowa Libraries. Mahanna was selected from a competitive pool of undergraduate researchers who applied for the award and presented their work at the University of Iowa's Fall Undergraduate Research Festival in November. Mahanna's research focuses on the differences in migration policies between the autonomous community of Catalonia and the local municipality of Barcelona, Spain. She evaluated the local migration policies of Barcelona through a case study framework analyzing country-wide policies and community perceptions of migrants.

University of Iowa graduate student Lynn Nakad was playing a scary virtual reality (VR) game with her brother when she wondered how this technology could help the medical field. "It immersed me so much that I got the idea that maybe there's more to this that could be applied to the medical fields," says Nakad. "At the time, I was in nursing school, so I was really looking at everything with a fresh new perspective." As a fourth year PhD student in nursing, Nakad's dissertation focuses on the effects that VR has on distracting people suffering from acute or chronic pain. Nakad is currently working on a project to implement VR as an alternative route for pain management therapy at UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids.

For first-year medical student Kenten Kingsbury, one day in high school sparked an interest that's fueled him ever since. "I remember my anatomy teacher brought in a deer to class that one of her colleagues hit that morning with their car," Kingsbury says. "She brought the deer in, and we dissected it on the back lawn of our school."

This scholarship program was provided under the terms of the will of Laurence R. Fairall, who died in 1973. Laurence R. Fairall scholarships are given to students in journalism, creative writing and political science. Students must be Iowa residents by birth and have been educated in Iowa (graduated from an Iowa High School). Students must have at least a 3.0 cumulative University of Iowa GPA and be enrolled full-time. Each scholarship is $7,500 - students receive half fall semester and half spring semester. Congratulations to these seven students who have been notified of their awards to utilize in their education toward and active career in Journalism: Audrey Felderman, Sara Stortz, Katie Wang, Josie Fischels, Amanda Spars, Julia DiGiacomo, and Haley Yordanoff. Great Job!!

Lyndsey DuBose chose the University of Iowa after hearing rave reviews about the university from a former Hawkeye rower. DuBose, from Texas, will earn a doctorate this December in health and human physiology, and will begin a postdoctoral fellowship to investigate aging on the blood vessel network in the human heart and brain.

Harsh Patel wants to solve problems and help people. Through the University of Iowa's combined bachelor's and master's degree program in computer science and engineering, he's well-positioned to do both-and perhaps develop the Next Big Thing.

Morgan Kofoid has landed not one but two great gigs after her December graduation from the University of Iowa College of Nursing: one in an intensive care unit and one in the limelight.

When Karl Ihrig started his academic journey, he was unaware of the world of business analytics. But in the Tippie College of Business, he found a program with the right focus and a place where he and his classmates could build a supportive and encouraging culture.

A family love connection saw Daniela Pacheco move from Costa Rica to the Midwest as a young adult. The ensuing period of major change culminated with Pacheco enrolling at Iowa, where she majored in marketing and made meaningful relationships. And she's started a firm with her source for inspiration: her mom.

After discovering a passion for education while at the University of Iowa, Kaleb Farnham is making an impact as a student and teacher.

Suman Sherwani is well on her way to becoming a rocket scientist. The December 2019 graduate will stay at the University of Iowa to work as a design engineer on NASA-funded rocket and satellite missions in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Caleb Smith says the University of Iowa showed him that he can make a difference in the world-and he intends to do just that.

Sydney Blitchok initially chose the University of Iowa because of soccer, but she quickly discovered Iowa's stellar journalism and political science programs.

University of Iowa undergraduates have myriad opportunities to participate in meaningful research. Sometimes, as Iowa biology student Marissa Roseman can attest, that research can lead to a rare discovery. The senior from Wheaton, Illinois, found a left-coiled snail while working in biologist Maurine Neiman's lab. The find is considered a one-in-a-million occurrence.

A collaboration between the University of Iowa 3D Design team and Department of Theatre Arts that included nine undergraduate and graduate students won top honors in CONNECT, the design school competition at the 2019 Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA) Fair staged in late October 2019 in Chicago.

While medical school is already a mountain to climb for third-year medical student Claire Castaneda, she has an added challenge: she writes. But if you ask her, she'll tell you that her writing isn't work at all. "Writing has always been the way that I process the things I think about a lot," Castaneda says. "It's a way for me to access and ponder things that aren't necessarily related to medicine."

As an archaeologist, Christie Vogler says it's important for people to have a true picture of what she does for a living. "Archaeologists are fantasized and represented in media in ways that are not very accurate," says the University of Iowa doctoral candidate in Classical archaeology. Too often, she says, the traditional portrayal of an archaeologist's life is one of swashbuckling adventure, a la Indiana Jones. While her professional life is often an adventure, it's rarely swashbuckling. "It's important to explain to people what it's really like," says Vogler. To help change peoples' perceptions of her field, Vogler participated in this year's Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. The annual event, sponsored by the UI Graduate College, encourages graduate students to learn how to clearly and concisely articulate their research to non-specialist audiences by explaining what they do in three minutes or less.

A collaboration between the University of Iowa 3D Design team and Department of Theatre Arts that included nine undergraduate and graduate students won top honors in CONNECT, the design school competition at the 2019 Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA) Fair staged in late October 2019 in Chicago.

University of Iowa students will be able to take a class in which they will design, build, and fly instruments into space. The class, The Edge of Space: Mission and Instrument Design for Spaceflight, will debut in spring 2020 in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, with Iowa State University on board as a partner.

Meet Ameya Walimbe, a graduate student in the University of Iowa's Carver College of Medicine

Not often do college students get the chance to make headlines with a class assignment, but that's what happens in the Hawkeye Poll class offered by the University of Iowa Department of Political Science. The class is an introduction to the mechanics of creating a public opinion poll-including survey design, sampling, and question wording-and provides students with a critical understanding of how polls work. It's also a hands-on learning experience: Students design and execute the Hawkeye Poll itself, writing the questions and helping call the more than 13,000 registered Iowa voters in the sample through the university's Iowa Social Science Research Center.

Almost 150 University of Iowa students in the UI School of Music's University Choir, Camerata, Women's Chorale ensembles recently performaned in the annual Choral Collage staged inside the award-winning Voxman Music Building. Performance is a core component of all of the academic programs at the UI School of Music. Its more than 30 ensembles, large and small, are filled with students pursuing their passion for making music on and off campus. The University of Iowa takes pride in the quality of our ensembles, but most of all, we care about the achievement of our students.

Three University of Iowa were students recognized at the inaugural First-Generation Student Awards and Recognition Ceremony staged earlier this month as part of the 2019 National First-Generation College Celebration. The UI First-Generation Task Force established the awards to recognize first-generation student achievements as well as the outstanding advocacy and support efforts of faculty and staff. Each recipient received a plaque and $250.

University of Iowa students recently creatively addressed an existing critical global health challenge in the UI's annual IIPHRP Global Public Health Case Competition, an activity of the nationally ranked University of Iowa's College of Public Health. The competition offers an innovative student learning experience that adds to the education and training of future public health leaders. It is structured similar to that of a business school case competition where student teams formulate recommendations for business-oriented problems.

The University of Iowa is often regarded as "The Writing University" because of its world-renowned Iowa Writers' Workshop, but an appreciation and commitment to great writing is evident across the entire UI campus-including the Carver College of Medicine. The college's Writing and Humanities Program offers elective courses and activities that focus on the humanistic and creative aspects of medicine and medical education. The program also provides consultation and assistance to students preparing their written personal statements for residency interviews or developing research papers or abstracts. The Writing and Humanities Program also oversees the Humanities Distinction Track, which is designed to encourage and support students interested in scholarship and learning opportunities in creative writing, philosophy, visual arts, social sciences, and related topics. This fall, with the support of an anonymous donor's gift, the Carver College of Medicine held a poetry competition for students in the MD, PT (physical therapy), and PA (physician assistant) programs. Three of the competition's entrants were honored Oct. 17 at the college's annual scholarship luncheon. First-place ($400), second-place ($300), and third-place ($200) scholarship prizes were awarded and will be applied to the students' tuition, fees, or academic travel.

University of Iowa students were recently singled out for "bringing ideas to life" as members of teams competing in the annual Iowa Startup Games, an activity of the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center. The Iowa Startup Games is a three-day event where students from all areas of study pitch their ideas to have an impact. After a student pitches, teams are formed and work together to bring the best ideas to life. By the end of the third day, each team will have had the opportunity to make their four-minute pitch to a group of panelists for a chance to win cash prizes.