The National Science Foundation announced that University of Iowa Computer Science researcher Zubair Shafiq is part of a team receiving a $10 million grant. The grant is part of NSF’s Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program, which supports cybersecurity research. Shafiq’s team’s project is titled “ProperData: Protecting Personal Data Flow on the Internet.”

A researcher from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry was part of a research team that found vaping significantly increases the likelihood of cavities and other oral health problems caused by excess bacteria in the smoker’s mouth.

Three Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty members received a National Science Foundation (NSF) RAPID grant titled  “RAPID: High-Throughput and Low-Cost Testing of COVID-19 Viruses and Antibodies through Compressed Sensing and Group Testing,” to develop a novel high-throughput and low-cost testing technology that has great potential of breaking the testing bottleneck of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A $115 million space mission awarded by NASA to the University of Iowa can now proceed in earnest. Called TRACERS, it will study interactions between the sun’s and Earth’s magnetic fields. NASA also approved an extra $7.6 million for a magnetic field instrument to be designed and built at Iowa.

University of Iowa genetics expert Val Sheffield has converted part of his lab to help fight the coronavirus pandemic by creating a simple specimen-collection method that skips the swab and removes the need for medical personnel. All people have to do is spit in a cup.

Engineers at the University of Iowa and the University Notre Dame are collaborating with a UI College of Public Health faculty member to develop protective equipment that captures and kills viral pathogens, thereby improving protective equipment performance and reusability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spring rains wash away some pollen, but not all. University of Iowa researchers have found tree pollen fragments can remain airborne for hours after a storm. The tiny particles can make their way deep into the lungs, exacerbating allergies.

Three University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine faculty and staff have received gap funding for innovative translational research projects that potentially could lead to new, commercially viable medical devices or technologies.

OVPR recognized faculty, staff, and students who stand out for their commitment to discovery, their shepherding of young students, their entrepreneurship, their gifts as research communicators, and their support of the campus research enterprise with the office’s annual Celebrating Excellence Awards.