News and Events

Businesses growing in Iowa from Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute

The Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute convenes for the fourth time next week, and the program's alumni have already started several businesses around the state.

UI sets own record with $429.5M in grants (Chicago Tribune, July 29)

Officials at the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA say the school set an all-time record of $429.5 million in grant funding in the fiscal year that ended June 30. University representatives say grants in fiscal 2009 were up by 10.3 percent from the previous year. The increase includes $5 million in national stimulus funding. The Associated Press carried the story, which also appeared on KMTV in Omaha, Neb.

UI external support increases 10.3 percent to record $429.5 million

Despite the historic flood, which displaced and interrupted many research programs last summer, University of Iowa faculty generated impressive growth in extramural support in fiscal year 2009. Total external funding achieved yet another all-time record of $429.5 million, which represents an impressive 10.3 percent increase over 2008 and continues a trend that has seen consistent increases over the past 23 years.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals opens new laboratory at UI BioVentures Center

The University of Iowa Research Park and Vertex Pharmaceuticals are hosting a laboratory opening event from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 29 for Vertex's expansion to the UI BioVentures Center business incubator, 2500 Crosspark Road in Coralville.

UI entrepreneurial contest winner to start green business

University of Iowa senior Brandon Yoder is embracing Iowa's statewide green initiatives, hoping to create jobs for people in a troubled economy and help people live more sustainably through a company he plans to start in August, Green Transitions, Inc.

 

UI development consortium develops drugs, dosages for clinical studies

Nanoparticles deliver life-saving drugs to the body, tablets go down easily with a film coating, and a nasal spray delivers vaccines. Behind each product is the work of a member from the University of Iowa Pharmaceuticals Development Consortium. The recently formed consortium formalizes the relationship between pharmaceutics faculty and UI Pharmaceuticals in the UI College of Pharmacy to develop new drugs and dosage forms.

Software Startup Launches iPhone Application

The iPhone has a new app.

That's nothing new; applications are added daily to the iPhone app store.  One aded last week was created in the Corridor by a start-up software company.

There are more than 25,000 applications available for the iPhone, many of which are games and bug-ridden.  As of last week, there were 2,100 educational applications available, many offering study guides for math, classic literature and learning foreign languages.

Iowa student engineers develop hand-held water sanitizer for a thirsty world

A presentation by UI faculty member Craig Just on Feb. 14 at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago featured the work of 15 College of Engineering students who won a 2008 U.S. EPA award for their project to design a $5, hand-held device to sanitize water in developing countries.

Tenants settle in at eco-friendly BioVentures Center

Finishing touches are all that remain for the University of Iowa’s BioVentures Center, which celebrated a ribbon cutting last week. The 90,000-square-foot, $20 million project serves as the university’s new business incubator, specifically geared toward taking scientific startups to the commercialization stage.

Financial Times ranking reflects Tippie MBA focus on experiential learning

The Financial Times recently ranked the University of Iowa's Tippie MBA Finance program as the top public graduate finance program in the world -- an achievement that administrators say reflects the college's emphasis on learning by doing.

 

NADS Engineer receives $900,000 federal contract to bring simulators to road design

A University of Iowa College of Engineering researcher has received a $900,000 contract from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration to make driving simulators more useful to highway designers who want to build safer roadways.

BioVentures Center business incubator opens at UI Research Park

The University of Iowa Research Park has opened its BioVentures Center, a business incubator that will house both start-up companies commercializing UI biotechnology research as well as life science ventures wanting to locate near the university and use its research capabilities.

UI Small Business Center helps local entrepreneur build businesses

From life coaching with Tony Robbins to owning a marina, entrepreneurship is a way of life for Iowa City native Kristen Stephens, thanks in part to the University of Iowa's Small Business Development Center.

Optherion, UI ophthalmology department open new facility at UI Research Park

Optherion Inc. and the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences have opened a new corporate and academic research facility at the University of Iowa Research Park in Coralville. Researchers and employees are developing products to diagnose and treat age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in developed countries.

UI program teaches business skills to arts students

A new University of Iowa program hopes to help graduates who become artists to keep from starving. The Performing Arts Entrepreneurship Certificate program teaches performing arts majors the basics of business management so they can make a living from the art they love.

Researchers develop new model for cystic fibrosis

In a first, researchers at the University of Iowa and the University of Missouri have developed a pig model for cystic fibrosis (CF) that appears to closely mimic the disease in human infants. The striking similarities between disease manifestations in the CF piglets and human newborns with CF suggest that this new model will help improve understanding of the disease and may also speed discovery of new treatments. The study appears in the Sept. 26 issue of Science.

UI research links creativity, economic growth in Iowa counties

A new study by University of Iowa economics professor John Solow suggests that Iowa counties with a higher concentration of people who are part of the so-called "creative class" have stronger prospects for economic growth. The study ranks all of Iowa's 99 counties in a Creativity Index based on the one developed by economist Richard Florida. Perhaps not surprisingly, the top four counties are made up of Johnson and Story counties (home to the state's two largest universities) and Polk and Linn counties (home to Iowa's two largest metro areas and financial centers).

Some wind technology students may transfer to UI under Iowa Lakes agreement

The University of Iowa College of Engineering and Iowa Lakes Community College of Estherville, Iowa, have signed an agreement that will allow some Iowa Lakes students to transfer to either the UI Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering or the UI Department of Mechanical Engineering, effective fall semester 2009. The transfer program is designed specifically for students enrolled in the Iowa Lakes Wind Energy and Turbine Technology Associate in Applied Science program.

Collegiate divisions merge to become 'UI Pharmaceuticals'

Leaders at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy have announced the merger of two of its service divisions to better facilitate the college's drug development and manufacturing capabilities.

VIDEO FEATURE: UI inspires the next generation of entrepreneurs

More than 85 youth from eastern and central Iowa learned the nuts and bolts of starting their own businesses by attending the 12th annual Jacobson Institute for Youth Entrepreneurship, organized through the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.

UI and ISU establish shared DNA sequencing instrumentation

The University of Iowa and Iowa State University are pooling their resources to significantly enhance both institutions' genetic research capabilities.

Iowa students build business, get help from Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute

Lessons learned at the Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute last year are helping a University of Iowa student and a recent UI graduate from Sioux City build their business.