CHAS Stories & News

UNI physics professor Paul Shand

An electronics revolution

The word “spintronics” may not be a household name, but it has the potential to revolutionize the electronic devices we use every day.

A hurricane in the Atlantic

Evacuating a hurricane in the age of COVID-19

The southeastern states have seen a record-breaking number of hurricanes already make landfall in a year when the nation is also grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. When researchers wanted to know how people would balance the danger of contracting the virus with the need to evacuate their homes, they turned to UNI professor Mark Welford for help. Welford, who heads UNI’s geography department, is also an expert on global pandemics like the medieval Black Death.

A new infant simulator for UNI students to use in their class work.

Next generation learning

The UNI Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders has welcomed a new addition to their department: baby “Paul.”

Weighing just under two and a half pounds, “Paul” is a preterm infant born at 27 weeks. He has a pulse, real hair, and can breathe and cry.

Paul is not a real infant, though, but rather a top-of-the-line high emotion simulator that students in the department will soon begin using for classwork.

UNI history professor Jennifer McNabb

A history of witchcraft

Witches have long been part of popular culture, from “Bewitched” to “Charmed” to the countless children knocking on people’s doors dressed as a witch this Halloween. But those modern myths have dark origins of persecution, prosecution and execution. University of Northern Iowa history professor and department head Jennifer McNabb has studied the causes and consequences of witch hunts for years, publishing articles in journals and writing material for textbooks on Western civilization and European history.

New UNI Opera Director Richard Gammon

A new voice for UNI's opera

New UNI Opera Director Richard Gammon aims to help students become “whole artists” — “fully fledged human beings co-existing on stage” — as he puts it, and his experience creating and directing modern, dance-accompanied operas offers the perfect vehicle to do just that.

New UNI Director of Orchestral Activities Erik Rohde

Rohde picks up the baton as Director of Orchestral Activities

Orchestral music has been around for centuries, and Erik Rohde is working to be sure it is around for many more.

As the next step in a career that has seen him perform in recitals and festivals throughout the United States, Europe and Asia as well as lead several well-renowned performing groups, Rohde became UNI’s new orchestra director earlier this year after hearing glowing reviews about the university.

Associate professor Laura Pitts works with a UNI students.

Giving a voice to those in need

Speech and communication are some of the most basic functions in our everyday lives – and they come so naturally to most, it’s easy to take them for granted.

But what if you weren’t able to communicate, or express your thoughts and ideas effectively? It would be frustrating, and even frightening – and that’s an everyday reality for the millions of people living with neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer's and dementia.

Maria alverio

Molding her Future in Metal Casting

The first time she stepped inside of the UNI Metal Casting Center, surrounded by the red-hot glow of molten metal, Maria Alverio knew she was hooked. “There are two types of people in this world: the type who see molten metal and run away, and the type who can’t help but go closer. I’m definitely the second type,” Alverio said.
abby hedley

UNI, Hearst partnership supports local artists

Tucked away in the corner of an old, ranch-style home turned art studio, Abby Hedley found her personal oasis – a place to explore and create alongside other local artists.
Windmills

UNI awarded more than $800,000 for energy-focused projects

The Iowa Energy Center announced more than $800,000 in grant funding to two University of Northern Iowa projects working to boost energy efficiency in underserved rural areas and educate the next generation about career opportunities in an ever-evolving energy market.

The IEC awarded $418,696 to the Developing an Iowa Energy Curriculum for Secondary Classrooms project proposed by UNI’s Earth and Environmental Sciences department, which will develop and disseminate an energy curriculum for Iowa middle and high school students that incorporates career connections into each topic.