When Kent State student Franck Steve Guepjop Fotso was in high school in Cameroon, Africa, he and his family looked at colleges in the U.S. that had great engineering programs but found them to be quite expensive. 

That all changed when Guepjop Fotso ran across information about Kent State’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering (CAE). The university had an impressive engineering curriculum, which catered to his career aspirations and had a robust program for international students, all at an affordable price that would fit into his family's budget. 

Guepjop Fotso, now in his senior year as a mechatronics engineering major at Kent State, found that the knowledge and skills he has acquired in CAE placed him in perfect alignment with a co-op position at Rovisys Automation and Information Technology in Aurora. 

He started his co-op in spring 2022 in Northeast Ohio and continues to work at Rovisys in Columbus while he attends classes at Kent State. 

 “Fall semester (2022) was very busy, even though I only had one class,” Guepjop Fotso said. “Even though my class did not take a lot of my time, I still had projects to do while I’m working at the same time. I’m also in two different student organizations.” 

Guepjop Fotso said he is gaining valuable on-the-job training such as how to work with Programmable Logic Controllers, or PLCs, which are industrial computers used to control various electro-mechanical processes in manufacturing and other automation environments. 

And he has honed more basic, practical time management skills to effectively juggle work with classwork and his participation as secretary of the Kent African Student Association. 

Guepjop Fotso’s visa will allow him to do practical work in the U.S. for three years after graduation, then enroll in a graduate program. His plan is to earn his master’s degree at Kent State as well. 

He decided to study engineering because he recognized that he had an aptitude for it in high school.  

“I was good at critical thinking,” he remembers. “I always loved physics and math. I always got lost in the aspect of constructing my own store, of creating something new, in all of the aspects of engineering. I just knew I wanted to be an engineer.” 

But he was conflicted about the type of engineering to study. Should he study mechanical engineering or electrical engineering? That is when his cousin told him about mechatronics, he researched the topic and pursued it at Kent State. 

“I realized that mechatronics is all about a combination of different aspects of engineering,” Guepjop Fotso said. “I really love it.” 

For more information about CAE, go to https://www.kent.edu/cae.  

When Kent State student Franck Steve Guepjop Fotso was in high school in Cameroon, Africa, he and his family looked at colleges in the U.S. that had great engineering programs but found them to be quite expensive. 

That all changed when Guepjop Fotso ran across information about Kent State’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering (CAE). The university had an impressive engineering curriculum, which catered to his career aspirations and had a robust program for international students, all at an affordable price that would fit into his family's budget. 

Guepjop Fotso, now in his senior year as a mechatronics engineering major at Kent State, found that the knowledge and skills he has acquired in CAE placed him in perfect alignment with a co-op position at Rovisys Automation and Information Technology in Aurora. 

He started his co-op in spring 2022 in Northeast Ohio and continues to work at Rovisys in Columbus while he attends classes at Kent State. 

 “Fall semester (2022) was very busy, even though I only had one class,” Guepjop Fotso said. “Even though my class did not take a lot of my time, I still had projects to do while I’m working at the same time. I’m also in two different student organizations.” 

Guepjop Fotso said he is gaining valuable on-the-job training such as how to work with Programmable Logic Controllers, or PLCs, which are industrial computers used to control various electro-mechanical processes in manufacturing and other automation environments. 

And he has honed more basic, practical time management skills to effectively juggle work with classwork and his participation as secretary of the Kent African Student Association. 

Guepjop Fotso’s visa will allow him to do practical work in the U.S. for three years after graduation, then enroll in a graduate program. His plan is to earn his master’s degree at Kent State as well. 

He decided to study engineering because he recognized that he had an aptitude for it in high school.  

“I was good at critical thinking,” he remembers. “I always loved physics and math. I always got lost in the aspect of constructing my own store, of creating something new, in all of the aspects of engineering. I just knew I wanted to be an engineer.” 

But he was conflicted about the type of engineering to study. Should he study mechanical engineering or electrical engineering? That is when his cousin told him about mechatronics, he researched the topic and pursued it at Kent State. 

“I realized that mechatronics is all about a combination of different aspects of engineering,” Guepjop Fotso said. “I really love it.” 

For more information about CAE, go to https://www.kent.edu/cae.  

When Kent State student Franck Steve Guepjop Fotso was in high school in Cameroon, Africa, he and his family looked at colleges in the U.S. that had great engineering programs but found them to be quite expensive. 

That all changed when Guepjop Fotso ran across information about Kent State’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering (CAE). The university had an impressive engineering curriculum, which catered to his career aspirations and had a robust program for international students, all at an affordable price that would fit into his family's budget. 

Guepjop Fotso, now in his senior year as a mechatronics engineering major at Kent State, found that the knowledge and skills he has acquired in CAE placed him in perfect alignment with a co-op position at Rovisys Automation and Information Technology in Aurora. 

He started his co-op in spring 2022 in Northeast Ohio and continues to work at Rovisys in Columbus while he attends classes at Kent State. 

 “Fall semester (2022) was very busy, even though I only had one class,” Guepjop Fotso said. “Even though my class did not take a lot of my time, I still had projects to do while I’m working at the same time. I’m also in two different student organizations.” 

Guepjop Fotso said he is gaining valuable on-the-job training such as how to work with Programmable Logic Controllers, or PLCs, which are industrial computers used to control various electro-mechanical processes in manufacturing and other automation environments. 

And he has honed more basic, practical time management skills to effectively juggle work with classwork and his participation as secretary of the Kent African Student Association. 

Guepjop Fotso’s visa will allow him to do practical work in the U.S. for three years after graduation, then enroll in a graduate program. His plan is to earn his master’s degree at Kent State as well. 

He decided to study engineering because he recognized that he had an aptitude for it in high school.  

“I was good at critical thinking,” he remembers. “I always loved physics and math. I always got lost in the aspect of constructing my own store, of creating something new, in all of the aspects of engineering. I just knew I wanted to be an engineer.” 

But he was conflicted about the type of engineering to study. Should he study mechanical engineering or electrical engineering? That is when his cousin told him about mechatronics, he researched the topic and pursued it at Kent State. 

“I realized that mechatronics is all about a combination of different aspects of engineering,” Guepjop Fotso said. “I really love it.” 

For more information about CAE, go to https://www.kent.edu/cae.  

When Kent State student Franck Steve Guepjop Fotso was in high school in Cameroon, Africa, he and his family looked at colleges in the U.S. that had great engineering programs but found them to be quite expensive. 

That all changed when Guepjop Fotso ran across information about Kent State’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering (CAE). The university had an impressive engineering curriculum, which catered to his career aspirations and had a robust program for international students, all at an affordable price that would fit into his family's budget. 

Guepjop Fotso, now in his senior year as a mechatronics engineering major at Kent State, found that the knowledge and skills he has acquired in CAE placed him in perfect alignment with a co-op position at Rovisys Automation and Information Technology in Aurora. 

He started his co-op in spring 2022 in Northeast Ohio and continues to work at Rovisys in Columbus while he attends classes at Kent State. 

 “Fall semester (2022) was very busy, even though I only had one class,” Guepjop Fotso said. “Even though my class did not take a lot of my time, I still had projects to do while I’m working at the same time. I’m also in two different student organizations.” 

Guepjop Fotso said he is gaining valuable on-the-job training such as how to work with Programmable Logic Controllers, or PLCs, which are industrial computers used to control various electro-mechanical processes in manufacturing and other automation environments. 

And he has honed more basic, practical time management skills to effectively juggle work with classwork and his participation as secretary of the Kent African Student Association. 

Guepjop Fotso’s visa will allow him to do practical work in the U.S. for three years after graduation, then enroll in a graduate program. His plan is to earn his master’s degree at Kent State as well. 

He decided to study engineering because he recognized that he had an aptitude for it in high school.  

“I was good at critical thinking,” he remembers. “I always loved physics and math. I always got lost in the aspect of constructing my own store, of creating something new, in all of the aspects of engineering. I just knew I wanted to be an engineer.” 

But he was conflicted about the type of engineering to study. Should he study mechanical engineering or electrical engineering? That is when his cousin told him about mechatronics, he researched the topic and pursued it at Kent State. 

“I realized that mechatronics is all about a combination of different aspects of engineering,” Guepjop Fotso said. “I really love it.” 

For more information about CAE, go to https://www.kent.edu/cae.  

When Kent State student Franck Steve Guepjop Fotso was in high school in Cameroon, Africa, he and his family looked at colleges in the U.S. that had great engineering programs but found them to be quite expensive. 

That all changed when Guepjop Fotso ran across information about Kent State’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering (CAE). The university had an impressive engineering curriculum, which catered to his career aspirations and had a robust program for international students, all at an affordable price that would fit into his family's budget. 

Guepjop Fotso, now in his senior year as a mechatronics engineering major at Kent State, found that the knowledge and skills he has acquired in CAE placed him in perfect alignment with a co-op position at Rovisys Automation and Information Technology in Aurora. 

He started his co-op in spring 2022 in Northeast Ohio and continues to work at Rovisys in Columbus while he attends classes at Kent State. 

 “Fall semester (2022) was very busy, even though I only had one class,” Guepjop Fotso said. “Even though my class did not take a lot of my time, I still had projects to do while I’m working at the same time. I’m also in two different student organizations.” 

Guepjop Fotso said he is gaining valuable on-the-job training such as how to work with Programmable Logic Controllers, or PLCs, which are industrial computers used to control various electro-mechanical processes in manufacturing and other automation environments. 

And he has honed more basic, practical time management skills to effectively juggle work with classwork and his participation as secretary of the Kent African Student Association. 

Guepjop Fotso’s visa will allow him to do practical work in the U.S. for three years after graduation, then enroll in a graduate program. His plan is to earn his master’s degree at Kent State as well. 

He decided to study engineering because he recognized that he had an aptitude for it in high school.  

“I was good at critical thinking,” he remembers. “I always loved physics and math. I always got lost in the aspect of constructing my own store, of creating something new, in all of the aspects of engineering. I just knew I wanted to be an engineer.” 

But he was conflicted about the type of engineering to study. Should he study mechanical engineering or electrical engineering? That is when his cousin told him about mechatronics, he researched the topic and pursued it at Kent State. 

“I realized that mechatronics is all about a combination of different aspects of engineering,” Guepjop Fotso said. “I really love it.” 

For more information about CAE, go to https://www.kent.edu/cae.  

When Kent State student Franck Steve Guepjop Fotso was in high school in Cameroon, Africa, he and his family looked at colleges in the U.S. that had great engineering programs but found them to be quite expensive. 

That all changed when Guepjop Fotso ran across information about Kent State’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering (CAE). The university had an impressive engineering curriculum, which catered to his career aspirations and had a robust program for international students, all at an affordable price that would fit into his family's budget. 

Guepjop Fotso, now in his senior year as a mechatronics engineering major at Kent State, found that the knowledge and skills he has acquired in CAE placed him in perfect alignment with a co-op position at Rovisys Automation and Information Technology in Aurora. 

He started his co-op in spring 2022 in Northeast Ohio and continues to work at Rovisys in Columbus while he attends classes at Kent State. 

 “Fall semester (2022) was very busy, even though I only had one class,” Guepjop Fotso said. “Even though my class did not take a lot of my time, I still had projects to do while I’m working at the same time. I’m also in two different student organizations.” 

Guepjop Fotso said he is gaining valuable on-the-job training such as how to work with Programmable Logic Controllers, or PLCs, which are industrial computers used to control various electro-mechanical processes in manufacturing and other automation environments. 

And he has honed more basic, practical time management skills to effectively juggle work with classwork and his participation as secretary of the Kent African Student Association. 

Guepjop Fotso’s visa will allow him to do practical work in the U.S. for three years after graduation, then enroll in a graduate program. His plan is to earn his master’s degree at Kent State as well. 

He decided to study engineering because he recognized that he had an aptitude for it in high school.  

“I was good at critical thinking,” he remembers. “I always loved physics and math. I always got lost in the aspect of constructing my own store, of creating something new, in all of the aspects of engineering. I just knew I wanted to be an engineer.” 

But he was conflicted about the type of engineering to study. Should he study mechanical engineering or electrical engineering? That is when his cousin told him about mechatronics, he researched the topic and pursued it at Kent State. 

“I realized that mechatronics is all about a combination of different aspects of engineering,” Guepjop Fotso said. “I really love it.” 

For more information about CAE, go to https://www.kent.edu/cae.  

Kent State President Todd Diacon meets with Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute (AMLCI) Trustees Research Professor Oleg Lavrentovich, Ph.D., to discuss how his team is using liquid crystals to “domesticate” bacteria. Established in 1965, AMLCI is the birthplace of liquid crystal displays and the world’s first research center focused on the basic and applied science of liquid crystals. AMLCI played an enormously important role in the development of modern technologies, including the technology behind flat-panel TV screens, laptops and smartphones.

Kent State President Todd Diacon meets with Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute (AMLCI) Trustees Research Professor Oleg Lavrentovich, Ph.D., to discuss how his team is using liquid crystals to “domesticate” bacteria. Established in 1965, AMLCI is the birthplace of liquid crystal displays and the world’s first research center focused on the basic and applied science of liquid crystals. AMLCI played an enormously important role in the development of modern technologies, including the technology behind flat-panel TV screens, laptops and smartphones.

In honor of Women’s History Month, Kent State Today will be looking at the accomplishments of Kent State women who have advanced the cause of women, broken glass ceilings and left a lasting impact on women’s history. 

In 1991, Carol A. Cartwright, Ph.D., made history when she was named president of Kent State University, becoming not only Kent State’s first female president, but also the first woman to serve as president of any Ohio public college or university. 

 Cartwright served at Kent State for 15 years, until her retirement in 2006. 

In 2009, she was named the first female president of Bowling Green State University after serving as interim president in 2008. She retired from BGSU in 2011.  

She also served for 20 years on the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, including serving as co-chair from 2017 to 2020, when she retired from the commission.

 Now living in Napa, California, Cartwright remains a highly respected voice in higher education. 

Cartwright Hall, on the Kent Campus, is named in her honor.  

In honor of Women’s History Month, Kent State Today will be looking at the accomplishments of Kent State women who have advanced the cause of women, broken glass ceilings and left a lasting impact on women’s history. 

In 1991, Carol A. Cartwright, Ph.D., made history when she was named president of Kent State University, becoming not only Kent State’s first female president, but also the first woman to serve as president of any Ohio public college or university. 

 Cartwright served at Kent State for 15 years, until her retirement in 2006. 

In 2009, she was named the first female president of Bowling Green State University after serving as interim president in 2008. She retired from BGSU in 2011.  

She also served for 20 years on the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, including serving as co-chair from 2017 to 2020, when she retired from the commission.

 Now living in Napa, California, Cartwright remains a highly respected voice in higher education. 

Cartwright Hall, on the Kent Campus, is named in her honor.  

In honor of Women’s History Month, Kent State Today will be looking at the accomplishments of Kent State women who have advanced the cause of women, broken glass ceilings and left a lasting impact on women’s history. 

In 1991, Carol A. Cartwright, Ph.D., made history when she was named president of Kent State University, becoming not only Kent State’s first female president, but also the first woman to serve as president of any Ohio public college or university. 

 Cartwright served at Kent State for 15 years, until her retirement in 2006. 

In 2009, she was named the first female president of Bowling Green State University after serving as interim president in 2008. She retired from BGSU in 2011.  

She also served for 20 years on the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, including serving as co-chair from 2017 to 2020, when she retired from the commission.

 Now living in Napa, California, Cartwright remains a highly respected voice in higher education. 

Cartwright Hall, on the Kent Campus, is named in her honor.  

Currently, the United States is the top country for pet ownership with 76 million domestic dogs and 58 million domestic cats, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

We never want to consider the possibility of our pets getting sick, but when they do, it places caregiving responsibilities on the owner. What pet owners may not have considered is the burden and stress that can come with caring for a pet with a chronic illness.

Kent State University professor of psychological sciences Mary Beth Spitznagel, Ph.D., has experienced this burden of caregiving when caring for her beloved dog, Allo, who developed bladder cancer. This influenced her research into how a pet with chronic illness can affect caregivers.

Spitznagel describes the burden of caregiving in two ways: objective challenges and subjective challenges. Objectively, a difficulty of caregiving for an ill pet can include time management. Often ill pets will require medication, specific meals or other necessities that can be challenging to incorporate into a person’s schedule. In contrast, subjectively, caregivers are often affected emotionally and may feel guilt or anger around the illness of a pet.

“So many of us are pet owners,” Spitznagel said. “Whether you have a cat or a dog, the vast majority of pets are animals that don’t live as long as we do. So, we have a lot of them, and this is something we take on and do over and over again.”

Spitznagel’s original research on this topic examined people who were caring for a seriously ill pet compared to demographically matched owners of a healthy pet. What she found was that there were significant levels of anxiety, depression and stress in about half of the population of pet owners who were caring for a sick pet.

“It begs the question, what drives the burden?” Spitznagel asked. “Why do some people experience this caregiver burden but not everyone?”

The answer may be multifaceted. Spitznagel has continued to examine certain factors such as how the animal physically presents, the clinical symptoms of the animal or even how challenging the treatment routine may be. All of these factors play into how burdened a caregiver may feel.

Recently, Spitznagel received funding from Zoetis, an animal pharmaceutical company, to continue her research.

“They’ve been really great supporters of the caregiver burden research that I’ve done in recent years,” Spitznagel said.

In past research, Spitznagel has only been able to look at a snapshot of caregiver burden. This entails taking one point in the timeline of a caregiver's burden and looking at how it affects an owner in that one moment.

The hope is that with this research funding, Spitznagel will be able to look at caregiver burden over time to see how different factors develop as time passes.

“I’d like to look at caregiver burden in a longitudinal way,” Spitznagel said. “If we have a good understanding of the best predictors of caregiver burden over time and an understanding of determinants and predictors, that gives us a good idea of what we might be able to try for interventions.”

If these determinants and factors can be identified over the course of an animal's diagnosis and illness, Spitznagel says it will make it easier to develop interventions that can be implemented to help caregivers adapt to their pet’s illness. A few of the early ideas of what this intervention may look like are social media support groups or information pamphlets.

“If we can better understand why caregiver burden develops,” Spitznagel said. “it gives us a much better chance at targeting the specific mechanisms for that burden that may help us alleviate it.”

Aside from research on caregiver burden, Spitznagel also offers worksh