eInside Briefs
News Briefs
- Physics Professor Earns Distinguished Award of Council by the Akron Council of Engineering and Scientific Societies
- Kent State’s Transfer Center Moves to New Location in Schwartz Center
- Kent State Installs Green Roof at Taylor Hall
- Kent State University Press Catalog Wins Great Lakes Graphics Excellence Award
- Share Your Holiday Photos and Favorite Recipes
Physics Professor Earns Distinguished Award of Council by the Akron Council of Engineering and Scientific Societies
Satyendra Kumar, Ph.D., professor of
physics at Kent State University, received
the Distinguished Award of Council from
the Akron Council of Engineering and
Scientific Societies (ACESS).
The Akron Council of Engineering and Scientific Societies (ACESS) selected Satyendra Kumar, Ph.D., professor of physics at Kent State University, to receive the Distinguished Award of Council. The award was presented at the 66th Annual ACESS Honors and Awards Banquet on Nov. 7 at Guy’s Party Center in Akron, Ohio.
The purpose of the award, given annually since 1959, is to recognize an outstanding Akron-area citizen for his or her involvement in civic activities, as well as technical and managerial abilities. Recipients are noted for their outstanding involvement, which increases the prestige and enhances the image of the engineering and scientific profession.
At the event, Austin Melton, Ph.D., computer science professor at Kent State, and two Kent State students, David Steinberg and Brian Katona, delivered a presentation about internships and co-op programs at Kent State. Certificates of Achievements also were presented to the best science and math students in area high schools, and STEM scholarship awards were presented to Kent State and the University of Akron students.
“It is quite humbling to be in the company of previous recipients of this award, such as Ohio Sen. Thomas Sawyer, University of Akron President Louis Proenza, George Newkome, Raj Chowdhury, Kenneth Batcher, Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic and other stalwarts of our society,” Kumar says.
A professor at Kent State since 1987, Kumar was named a Distinguished Scholar by the university in 2007. During his time at Kent State, he has served as a graduate coordinator and most recently as associate vice president for research. He also served as a program director at the National Science Foundation (NSF) where he was awarded the NSF Director's Award for Merit Review Excellence, Interdisciplinary Condensed Matter Physics Team in June 2007. His research areas include liquid crystal physics and organic photovoltaics with expertise in liquid crystal structures, X-ray diffraction, small angle neutron scattering, thermal measurements and electro-optical devices.
Kumar has been engaged in civic activities both locally and regionally. He was a member of the advisory committee of the India Sunday School in Akron, served as a judge at the Science Olympiad competition at the University of Akron and formed a group of 15 graduate students and several faculty members to serve as mentors to Kent Middle School's class of gifted science students.
Kumar has participated in events organized by the Northeast Ohio Technology Consortium, BioOhio, PolymerOhio, FlexMatters and served as a member of the Executive Board of the University Clean Energy Alliance of Ohio for three years. He coordinated a major joint proposal for the establishment of an Energy Frontier Research Center to the U.S. Department of Energy and participated in meetings of the stakeholders of Water Resource Research and Management in Northeast Ohio.
Kumar assisted with a successful proposal to the Ohio Board of Regents, led by Melton and Stephane Booth, Ph.D., former Kent State associate provost who retired earlier this year. The proposal led to $700,000 being made available for multiyear student internships at local Ohio companies. Kumar also helped to secure Kent State’s membership in the Ohio Space Grant Consortium which makes scholarships and fellowships available to Kent State students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
In 2001, he earned the Best Basic Research Leading to Applications Award by the Ministry of Science and Technology of South Korea. He is the holder of 14 patents and several patent disclosures mostly in the research area of liquid crystals.
Kumar has been a member of several professional societies, including the International Liquid Crystal Society (where he served as president from 2004-2008 and past president from 2008-2012), American Physical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, International Union of X-ray Crystallography, Society for Information Display, Neutron Scattering Society of America, Materials Research Society and Society for Information Display. He also has served on the editorial board of several journals.
He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Physics Honors School at Panjab University, India, a Master of Science degree from the University of Nebraska and a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also served as a postdoctoral research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Before joining Kent State in 1987, he worked on liquid crystal light valves at Tektronix Inc. in Beaverton, Ore.
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Kent State’s Transfer Center Moves to New Location in Schwartz Center
Pictured is the Schwartz Center where the Transfer
Center is located in Room 204.
Kent State University’s Transfer Center has relocated from Room 108 to Room 204 in the Schwartz Center to provide easy access for all current and future transfer students. The Transfer Center also has online access for students who cannot make the trip to its Kent Campus location.
Serving all domestic and international transfer students at all Kent State campuses, the Transfer Center is the point of contact for students to learn how their credits will transfer to Kent State. In addition to credits from other public and private universities, the Transfer Center evaluates transient credits, military, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, CLEP and Credit-by-Exam work.
“Our role is to provide a seamless transition for transfer students at all eight campuses,” says Barbara Miller, coordinator of Kent State’s Transfer Center. “Our new location provides a more welcoming environment for our students and their families.”
Transfer students who are considering Kent State can get information from the Transfer Center that will help them make informed decisions, including pre-admission services, such as advising and unofficial transcript evaluations.
“We can help prospective students get an idea of how their current coursework will apply to their intended major or answer other questions students may have about the transfer process,” Miller says. “We can only give an official transcript evaluation after the students have applied. The staff members are knowledgeable and are happy to help students make the decision to apply to the university.”
The Transfer Center also has undergone many service enhancements.
“We have spent the last two years evaluating all operations of our Transfer Center,” says Brian Pekarek, director of admissions operations and transfer systems at Kent State. “We have implemented new systems that will make our processes more efficient, reduce our reliance on paper, as well as several initiatives that provide students with better and faster services.
“We launched a Transfer Kent State (TKS) orientation and advising program that provides transfer students with critical information,” Pekarek adds. “Even though students have previously attended a college or university, this one-day program gives new transfer students Kent State-specific information. The program is offered monthly during the academic year and then once a week during the summer months leading up to the beginning of the fall semester.”
Transfer students who transferred with one full year of credits and received a GPA of 3.5 or higher are invited to join the Tau Sigma Honor Society, which is dedicated to recognizing the achievements of transfer students.
“Many transfer students don’t live on campus, and so it is difficult for them to make friends," says Miller, who also is the honor society advisor. “The Tau Sigma Honor Society is a great vehicle for transfer students to get to know each other and learn more about the university, as well as be recognized for their outstanding achievement.”
For more information, including resources regarding the transition to Kent State, and to schedule an appointment for pre-admission advising, students can call 330-672-8950 or visit www.kent.edu/transfercenter.
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Kent State Installs Green Roof at Taylor Hall
Workers install a green roof at Taylor Hall on the Kent
Campus.
Kent State University’s first green roof was installed at Taylor Hall on Oct. 22. The green roof project was funded through bond money that is part of the university’s Foundations of Excellence initiative.
Melanie Knowles, sustainability manager at Kent State, says a green roof like this has many benefits.
“Green roofs help maintain cooler temperatures, reducing cooling costs for buildings,” she says. “They protect roof membranes, so roofs may last longer. They slow the speed of storm water to release stress on drainage systems. And on top of that, they’re visually appealing.”
The rooftop garden installation is part of a $2.3 million Taylor Hall renovation project, which also included window replacements, concrete and masonry restoration and upper roof replacement.
The green roof has a leak-detection system and encompasses roughly 6,200 square feet of the roof plaza area. The garden roof has a walkway that partially overlooks the May 4, 1970, Site and Memorial.
Beth Ruffing, assistant director in the Office of the University Architect and project manager for the roof garden, says the green roof will require very little maintenance. The plants, which come in 12 varieties of sedum, are watered by an irrigation system and do not require mowing. There will be no chemical weed control.
Tom Euclide, associate vice president for Facilities Planning and Operations, says the new green roof may have educational benefits for students.
“Green roofs tend to stand out and encourage people to ask about them. They become an educational tool for students to learn about sustainability,” Euclide says.
Kent State plans to install green roofs at the new architecture building and on at least one building at Kent State University at Stark.
Click here to watch a short video of the green roof installation at Taylor Hall.
For more information about the green roof at Taylor Hall, contact Ruffing at eruffing@kent.edu.
For more information about sustainability initiatives at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/sustainability.
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Kent State University Press Catalog Wins Great Lakes Graphics Excellence Award
The 2013 Kent State University Press
Catalog, which was designed by Darryl
Crosby, won an Award of Excellence in
the Great Lakes Graphics Association’s
Graphics Excellence Competition.
The 2013 Kent State University Press Catalog, designed by Darryl Crosby, has won an Award of Excellence in the Great Lakes Graphics Association’s Graphics Excellence Competition.
The catalog, printed by Ripon Printers in Wisconsin, earned second place in the Web Press Printing- Uncoated Paper (four or more colors) Heatset category in 2012-13 printing competitions.
The Graphics Excellence Awards honor companies that demonstrate superb craftsmanship in creating visual artistry.
“The best thing about an award like this is the visibility it gives to the University Press as a whole and to Kent State University,” says Crosby, ’92, ‘04, assistant publication production manager with the Kent State University Press. “The effort and quality we put into our catalog is indicative of the care and attention to detail we put in all of our publications, not just visually but editorially as well.”
For more information about the Kent State University Press or the catalog, visit www.kentstateuniversitypress.com.
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Share Your Holiday Photos and Favorite Recipes
The holiday season is fast approaching, and e-Inside would like to feature some of your best holiday photos and recipes. Photos can include holiday decorations, holiday dinner settings, family photos, your ugly holiday sweaters, pets in costumes or any other fun photos. Recipes could range from traditional to vegan or vegetarian and more.
Photos and recipes will be selected for publication in e-Inside based on the number of responses that we receive.
Submit your holiday recipes by Tuesday, Nov. 19, to einside@kent.edu. Use “Holiday Recipes” in the email subject line for recipe submissions.
Submit your holiday photos by Tuesday, Dec. 3, to einside@kent.edu. Use “Holiday Photos” in the email subject line for photo submissions.
Individuals who are interested are asked to submit no more than two submissions per category, please.
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