Three current or former University of Iowa students are co-authors of a study that determined our galaxy is surrounded by a clumpy halo of hot gases that is continually being supplied with material ejected by birthing or dying stars. In other words, they've discovered the Milky Way is in the recycling business.

Patrick Highland is one of more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students currently conducting hands-on experimental research in the labs at the University of Iowa's Iowa Technology Institute. Highland is also among a handful of student researchers profiled on the ITI website.

Kawther Rouabhi is one of more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students currently conducting hands-on experimental research in the labs at the University of Iowa's Iowa Technology Institute. She's also among a handful of student researchers profiled on the ITI website.

As Alexia Sanchez, a 2020 graduate of the University of Iowa, readies to begin her fellowship with Running Start, a non-profit, non-partisan organization with a mission of getting more women involved in politics, she recently took some time to reflect on the impact of her three global learning experiences as an undergraduate at Iowa.

Caitlin Ward, a doctoral student in the University of Iowa's College of Public Health, is using her statistical skills to tackle important public health issues like COVID-19. Originally from Iowa City, Ward found her calling close to home in Iowa's biostatistics program, where opportunities to engage in research and teaching and the chance to build relationships with faculty and other students has made an positive impact on her educational experience.

As a doctoral student in nursing at the University of Iowa, Elyse Laures is studying pain assessment in children who are sick. She hopes to decrease their lengths of stay in pediatric intensive care units and expedite their healing.

University of Iowa doctoral student Jackson Russo is researching temperature-sensitive polymers that could provide prolonged pain relief to patients with chronic wounds.

Marissa Mueller didn't plan to get involved with research in college. But the biomedical engineering student found a new love while studying the accuracy of devices similar to Fitbits and Nike Fuel Bands.

Abigail Carney came to the Iowa Writers' Workshop to write a novel. As she prepares to graduate, she has not only finished her novel, but also is developing a television series.

University of Iowa doctoral student Iurii Bakach is conducting research that helps delivery companies better prepare for the day when deliveries are made by automated vehicles.

Since enrolling at Iowa, Bernardo Pohl Duarte discovered a passion for social psychology and an appreciation for research. He aspires to uncover the genesis of people's prejudicial attitudes and determine how those biases can be diminished.

Chad Rhym grew up running through the hallways of the psychology building at the University of Georgia, where his mother is associate dean of arts and sciences. "When I was 6 or 7, I would meet deans and I didn't know they were deans. I remember seeing those deans riding away on motorcycles," Rhym says. "I also remember my mom going through the tenure track process when I was 14 or 15." Given his exposure to higher education from a young age, it's no surprise that Rhym is pursuing his doctorate in sociology. The native of Athens, Ga., chose to pursue his graduate studies at the University of Iowa after a spending a successful summer on the Iowa City campus as part of the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) in 2018.

The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine experience is centered around community. This helps students build a support network that allows them to pursue their interests, wherever they may take them. For fourth-year medical student Luci Howard, they've taken her around the world.

Briar Voy never wanted to be anything other than a dentist. The University of Iowa third-year dental student feels her educational and leadership opportunities are preparing her to jump right into the profession and confidently care for patients.

The University of Iowa's Carver College of Medicine periodically profiles graduate students in its program. Meet Chandler Jensen-Cody, a student in the molecular medicine graduate program.

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."

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.

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."

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.

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.

Two University of Iowa students are discovering that the skills and training that made them elite athletes are a surprisingly good fit with another role on campus - a researcher.

For one Iowa high school senior, research was always a part of her future plans. To achieve this aspiration, undergraduate Margaret Mungai began her journey toward that goal of research shortly after stepping on campus, when she met first Antentor Hinton, Jr., PhD, at an on-campus networking event. A year later, as a sophomore, Mungai became Hinton's mentee, working in the lab directed by E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD. Now a senior neurobiology major, Mungai spends 20 to 30 hours of her week in the lab, focusing on the mitochondria's effect on the development of diabetes.

University of Iowa Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student Brittany Hamm, BSN, RN, has been selected as an American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) Board of Directors Student Scholar. Hamm, who is a candidate in the DNP's Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) and Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) programs, is honored and fully aware of the positive impact this scholarship program will have on her professional development.

Scott Shaw, associate professor in the University of Iowa Department of Chemistry, wanted to minimize that learning curve for select incoming students at the UI by creating the Rural Scholars program. The initiative, beginning its fifth year this fall, is for rural Iowa students who have been accepted to the UI and live in communities not located near an in-state research institution. The idea, Shaw says, is to expose rural students to research the moment they step on campus and thus reduce, if not eliminate, the challenge of learning about and benefiting from a research setting. The most recent group of Rural Scholars completed its project, which compared the costs of creating various blends of ethanol fuel with the cost of producing unleaded gasoline. That group included -Evangeline Holyoake and Erick Fadness from Decorah, Iowa, and Camryn Norton from Pella, Iowa-spent the academic year designing its project, performing experiments, and gathering results that they presented in a poster session at the ICRU research fair in May. The students say they knew next to nothing about research before becoming Rural Scholars. The experience was eye opening, they say, highlighted by weekly meetings with Shaw and frequent interactions with graduate students in Shaw's lab, who introduced them to lab equipment, practices, and other facets of a successful research enterprise.

One example is the work done by Emma Mankin, a UI senior and geoscience major who will graduate in December. Mankin processed radar imagery, or interferograms, from a 6.9 magnitude quake that struck Indonesia in August 2018. She then used this imagery to produce a model of the earthquake and where it was located. The USGS used this model directly to update its predictions of ground shaking and earthquake impact that were incorporated into its disaster-response systems. "Emma's rapid work on the Indonesia earthquake directly contributed to the operational analysis of a global earthquake," Barnhart says. "Her contributions improved earthquake impact estimates for that event and helped to further demonstrate that these satellite approaches can provide actionable information that benefits society."

The Engaging Across Cultures certificate is awarded by the University of Iowa International Student and Scholar Servies office to students who succesfully complete the Engaging Across Cultures program. The program is a non-academic, professional development certificate program that creates an opportunity for UI graduate and professional students to learn more about fostering an intercultural campus while honing skills that will carry into the future workplace. For more information visit https://international.uiowa.edu/connect/intercultural-training/engaging-across-cultures.

The Bridging Domestic and Global Diversity certificate is awarded by the University of Iowa International Student and Scholar Servies office to students who succesfully complete the Bridging Domestic and Global Diversity program. The program is a diversity and leadership training program designed to increase intercultural awareness and skills for both international as well as domestic students at all academic levels. For more information visit https://international.uiowa.edu/connect/intercultural-training/bridge.

Molecular medicine PhD student Jordan Kohlmeyer is researching new therapies for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, which are deadly, resistant to drug therapies, and often unable to be operated upon due to their location.

The Bridging Domestic and Global Diversity certificate is awarded by the University of Iowa International Student and Scholar Services office. Recipients of the certificate have successfully completed a diversity and leadership training program designed to increase intercultural awareness and skills. The program is open to both international as well as domestic students at all academic levels. For more information visit https://international.uiowa.edu/connect/intercultural-training/bridge.