Principal Investigators
Principal Investigators
 |
David W. Allender (Kent State University) Allender received his Ph.D. (1975) in Physics from the University of Illinois. He joined the Kent Physics faculty and the Liquid Crystal Institute research staff in 1975. His contributions to the ALCOM theoretical component concern modulation and instabilities, surfaces and linear/nonlinear optical properties. He is a member of the Operations Committee. |
|
 |
Laura M. Bartolo (Kent State University) Bartolo received her Master’s degree in Information and Library Science (1979) from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her work in ALCOM focuses on information management and technology. |
|
 |
Philip J. Bos (Kent State University) Bos received his Ph.D. (1978) in Physics from Kent State University. He is a member of the Chemical Physics graduate faculty. At the Liquid Crystal Institute he specializes in applications of liquid crystals. He serves ALCOM as director of the Industrial Partnership Program. |
|
 |
Stephen Z.D. Cheng (University of Akron) Cheng received his Ph.D. (1985) in Polymer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a professor in the Department of Polymer Science at the University of Akron. His contribution to ALCOM is physical characterization of liquid crystalline polymer structures. |
|
 |
L.-C. Chien (Kent State University) Chien received his Ph.D. (1988) in Polymer Chemistry from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is a member of the Chemical Physics graduate faculty within the Liquid Crystal Institute. His contributions to ALCOM include research on liquid crystal materials and polymer stabilized liquid crystals and devices. |
|
 |
Daniele Finotello (Kent State University) Finotello received his Ph.D. (1985) in Physics from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He joined the Kent Physics faculty in 1988. A member of the Liquid Crystal Institute, his research under the ALCOM program concerns liquid crystal phase transitions in restricted geometries using high resolution AC calorimetry, and studies of liquid crystal orientational order using deuterium NMR. Finotello's Home Page |
|
 |
Julia E. Fulghum (Kent State University) Fulghum received her Ph.D. (1987) in Chemistry from the University
of North Carolina. She joined the Kent Chemistry faculty in 1989.
Her work in ALCOM focuses on surfaces and alignment layers using
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. |
|
 |
Eugene C. Gartland, Jr.
(Kent State University) Gartland received his Ph.D. (1980) in Applied Mathematics
from Purdue University. He joined the Kent State Mathematical
Sciences faculty in 1987. His contribution to the ALCOM theoretical
program is the application of numerical computational methods
in the simulation of liquid crystal materials under confinement.
|
|
 |
William L. Gordon (Case Western Reserve University) Gordon received his Ph.D. (1954) from The Ohio State University. He joined the Case Western Reserve University Physics faculty in 1955. He is involved in the ALCOM Educational Outreach Program through work on the World Wide Web based multimedia textbook "Polymers and Liquid Crystals.” |
|
 |
Frank W. Harris (University of Akron) Harris received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry (1968) from the University of Iowa. He joined the University of Akron faculty in 1983 as a professor of Polymer Science. Dr. Harris contributes his expertise in polymerization and structure/property relationships in liquid crystal polymers to ALCOM and serves as Akron's representative on the Operations Committee. He is co-director of the New Materials and Effects project. |
|
 |
Steven
D. Hudson (Case Western
Reserve University) Department of Macromolecular Science, (216) 368-6373 sdh6@po.cwru.edu Hudson received his Ph.D. (1990) in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He joined the Macromolecular Science faculty at CWRU in 1993. His research involves the study of morphology of polymer/liquid crystal composites by optical and electron microscopies. He has developed a simple model that predicts their structure. He is co-director of the Heterogeneous Structures project. |
|
 |
Antal Jakli (Kent State University) Jakli received his Ph.D. (1986) in Statistical Physics from Eotvos University, Budapest, Hungary. He joined the Liquid Crystal Institute staff in 1999. His research centers on electro-optical, electro-mechanical and rheological properties of ferroelectric liquid crystals. Jakli's Home Page |
|
 |
Jack R. Kelly (Kent State University) Kelly received his Ph.D. (1979) in Physics from Clarkson University. He joined the Liquid Crystal Institute staff in 1988. He is an associate professor in the Chemical Physics graduate program within the LCI. His contributions to ALCOM emphasize display devices and physical properties of liquid crystals. He serves on the Operations Committee and as co-director of the project on Device Modeling and Applications. |
|
 |
Jack L. Koenig (Case Western Reserve University) Koenig received his Ph.D. (1959) in Physical Chemistry from the University of Nebraska. He joined the CWRU faculty in 1963. He is the J. Donnell Institute Professor in the Macromolecular Science Department and director of the NMR laboratory. ALCOM contributions include NMR and FTIR analysis of polymer/LC blends. He serves as ALCOM associate director and Operations Committee member. Koenig's Home Page |
|
|
Satyendra Kumar (Kent State University) Kumar received his Ph.D. (1981) in Solid-State Physics from the University of Illinois. He joined the Kent Physics faculty in 1987. He is a member of the LCI and holds a joint appointment as Professor in the Chemical Physics program. His basic research centers on structure and phase transition studies using microcalorimetry, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and small angle neutron scattering. His group's applied research focuses on applications of ferroelectric LCs and LC alignment layers. Kumar's Home Page |
|
 |
Thien Kyu (University of Akron) Kyu received his Ph.D. (1980) in Polymer Chemistry from Kyoto University, Japan. He joined the Polymer Engineering faculty at the University of Akron in 1983. His specialities in the ALCOM program are thermodynamics and kinetics of electro-optical polymer blends and dispersions. Kyu's Home Page |
|
 |
Jerome B. Lando (Case Western Reserve University) Lando received his Ph.D. (1963) in Physical Chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. He joined the Case Western Reserve University Macromolecular Science faculty in 1965. His expertise in the ALCOM program is Langmuir-Blodgett films. |
|
 |
Oleg D. Lavrentovich (Kent State University) Lavrentovich received his Ph.D. (1984) in Physics and Mathematics from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. He joined the Liquid Crystal Institute research staff in 1992 and the Chemical Physics graduate faculty in 1994. His ALCOM research includes the study of field effects, defects and pattern formation. He is co-director of the Alignment and Surface Induced Phenomena project. Lavrentovich's Home Page |
|
 |
J. Adin Mann (Case Western Reserve University) Mann received his Ph.D. (1962) in Physical Chemistry from Iowa State University. He joined the CWRU Chemical Engineering faculty in 1974. His work in the ALCOM program concerns planar liquid crystal/substrate interfaces. |
|
 |
Mary E. Neubert (Kent State University) Neubert received her Ph.D. (1968) in Chemistry from the University of Rochester. A senior research fellow in the Liquid Crystal Institute, she is director of the Organic Synthesis Group. Her contributions to ALCOM include synthesis of low-molecular-weight liquid crystals, study of structure/property relationships, and microscopic texture identification. Neubert's Home Page |
|
 |
Peter Palffy-Muhoray (Kent State University) Palffy-Muhoray received his Ph.D. (1977) in Physics from the University of British Columbia. He joined the LCI staff in 1987. He is Professor of Chemical Physics and LCI Associate Director for basic research. He is the ALCOM Education Program Director and Operations Committee member. His areas of expertise include nonlinear optics, pattern formation, and nonequilibrium phenomena in liquid crystals. He is co-director of the Heterogeneous Structures and Optical Switching and Storage projects. Palffy-Muhoray's Home Page |
|
 |
Rolfe G. Petschek (Case Western Reserve University) Petschek received his Ph.D. (1981) in Physics from Harvard University. He joined the Case Western Reserve University Physics faculty in 1983. His specialities in ALCOM are the relationship between chemical structures and material properties, linear and non-linear optics, and phase sequences and structures. He serves as co-director of the New Materials and Effects project. |
|
 |
Charles Rosenblatt (Case Western Reserve University) Rosenblatt received his Ph.D. (1978) from Harvard University. He joined the CWRU Physics faculty in 1987. His ALCOM contributions include studies of phase transitions, magnetic and electric field effects, and surface phenomena. He is a member of the ALCOM Operations Committee and co-director of the Alignment and Surface Induced Phenomena project. Rosenblatt's Home Page |
|
 |
Donald E. Schuele (Case Western Reserve University) Schuele received his Ph.D. (1962) in Physics from Case Institute of Technology (now CWRU). He joined the Physics faculty where he holds the Albert A. Michelson Chair. His contributions to ALCOM include dielectric studies of polymer liquid crystals, polymer dispersed liquid crystal systems, photo-polymerization, electro-optic films and Langmuir-Blodgett films. |
|
 |
Kenneth D. Singer (Case Western Reserve University) Singer received his Ph.D. (1981) from the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the CWRU Physics faculty in 1990. His specialty area is nonlinear optical measurements, materials, and devices. He is co-director of the Optical Switching and Storage project. Singer's Home Page |
|
 |
Samuel N. Sprunt (Kent State University) Sprunt received his Ph.D. (1989) in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the Kent State Physics faculty in 1995. His ALCOM research focuses on optical studies of structure and dynamics in chiral liquid crystals and liquid crystal/polymer composites. |
|
 |
Philip L. Taylor (Case Western Reserve University) Taylor received his Ph.D. (1962) in Physics from Cambridge
University. He joined the Case Western Reserve University Physics
faculty in 1964. His theoretical work in the ALCOM program adresses
structure and finite-size effects. |
|
 |
Robert J. Twieg (Kent State University) Twieg received his Ph.D. (1975) in Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. He joined the Chemistry Department and LCI at Kent in 1997. His work currently involves the design and synthesis of molecules and polymers with novel electronic and optical properties, including liquid crystals and nonlinear optical and photorefractive chromophores. |
|
 |
John L. West (Kent State University) West received his Ph.D. (1980) in Physical Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University. He joined the LCI staff in 1984. He serves as director of the Liquid Crystal Institute and ALCOM. His research in the ALCOM Center concentrates on PDLC materials and electro-optical devices. |
|
 |
Deng-ke Yang (Kent State University) Yang received his Ph.D. (1989) in Physics from University of Hawaii. He is a member of the Chemical Physics graduate faculty within LCI. His specialities in ALCOM are cholesteric liquid crystals, liquid crystal/polymer composites and electro-optic devices. He is co-director of the project on Device Modeling and Applications. |
