Oleg D. Lavrentovich graduated from the Department of Physics at Kiev State University in 1980 and received his Ph.D. (1984) and Doctor of Sciences (1990) degrees in Physics and Mathematics from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. He became a Senior Research Fellow and Director of Characterization Facilities at the Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, in 1992. He is a Professor of Chemical Physics at KSU. He has directed seven Ph.D. dissertations (four has been already successfully completed). He has held different Visiting Scientist and Invited Professor positions at CNRS (France) laboratories and at the Universities Paris V and Paris VI. He currently directs and co-directs nine research grants funded by NSF, CRDF and other institutions. His scientific interests are in the area of liquid crystals: topological and structural defects; electrooptic effects; surface phenomena; lyotropic systems. His group maintains close collaboration with colleagues in France (M.Kleman), Italy (C. Zannoni and P. Pasini), and Ukraine (V. Pergamenschik, V. Nazarenko). Lavrentovich Home Page
Liou Qiu graduated from Fudan University in Shanghai, China with a degree in physics. She has worked as a laboratory instructor at Fudan University, Utah State University and the University of Akron, and has also been employed as a laboratory technician at the University of Akron, Eastern Michigan University. In 1998, she began working at the Liquid Crystal Institute as a laboratory technician and maintains the Materials and Surface Characterization Facility.
Sergij Shiyanovskii is a visiting scientist at the Liquid Crystal Institute since 1997, while on leave from the his position as a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Nuclear Research in Kiev, Ukraine.
Oleg Pishnyak graduated from Chernivtsi State University, Chernivtsi,
Ukraine in 1997 with a Diploma of Specialist in Optical Engineering.
In
2000, he began his studies at Kent State University and is currently
a
Ph.D. candidate in the Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program (CPIP).
His research interests are in electro-optical applications of liquid
crystals in beam-steering devices, electrically switchable lenses and
negative refraction. He is currently interested in the behavior of
colloidal particles in liquid crystals, electrically-controlled
manipulation and jamming phenomena.
Bohdan Senyuk graduated from Lviv Polytechnic National University (Lviv, Ukraine) in 1994 with a B.S. in Physics and Engineering and received his M.S. in Material Science from the same university in 1995. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program at Kent State University (Kent, OH, USA). His research interests include cholesterics, liquid crystal colloids, biaxial nematics and optical trapping in liquid crystals. Currently, he is studying dielectric and optical properties of the thermotropic biaxial nematic liquid crystals.
Heung-Shik Park received his undergraduate and Maters degree at Korea
University in Chemistry, and worked for several years as a research engineer
in a liquid crystal display company. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate
at Kent State University in Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program.
His research experience ranges from measuring physical properties of
liquid crystal, making anisotropic thin film for flat panel display,
to characterizing lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLC) and developing
new technological applications with using their unique physical properties.
He is currently working on the study of the phase behavior of LCLC with
additives and the alignment of nanoparticles.
Israel Lazo received his B.S in Physics (2003), and M. S. in Optics (2005) from National Institute in Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics in Mexico. He became a student at Kent State University in 2006 and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program (CPIP). During his first two years in the program, he was involved in projects related with liquid crystals, biology and nanotechnology. Presently, he is a member of our group, working on the dynamics of colloidal particles suspended in anisotropic media.
Luana Tortora graduated in 2000 with a B.S. in Chemistry from University of Calabria (Italy), where she received (in 2004) her PhD in Science and Technologies of Mesophases and Molecular Materials. She is currently a research associate at the Liquid Crystal Institute. Her present research interests include characterization and study of additives effect on Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals; synthesis and functionalization of metal-oxide and gold nanorods.
Andrii Golovin received his M.S. degree in optical and electrical engineering from the physics department of Kiev State University, Ukraine, in 1987. He received his Ph.D. in physics and mathematics from the Institute of Physics, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Ukraine, in 1994. He has held Research Fellow positions in Institute of Applied Optics, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Ukraine and International Center of Physics, Colombia (1995-2000). He has taught courses of Optics at National University of Colombia, Colombia (1999-2000) and Laboratory part of Chemical Physics (course 6/72245) of Liquid Crystals at Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University (2006-2007). He is Research Associate at Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University. He has conducted research in the area of Material Science, Optical Engineering, and Laser Physics. He has authored and co-authored 7 patents and more than 30 research publications.
Hugh Wonderly received his B.S. in physics from Kent State University in 1993, after which he came to the LCI in 1996 as a display tech working with Dr. Doane. In 2000, through working with the Industrial Partnership Program with Dr. Bos he left LCI to join Viztec, an Ohio startup company making plastic displays. In the fall of 2006 he took a class in the CPIP program and subsequently applied for and became a doctoral student. His work at LCI involved many areas of display fabrication and testing, and his work at Viztec was as a Sr. Display Engineer. His current research interests include dielectric memory and biaxiality of liquid crystals.
