Kent State University hosted a two-day symposium on Sept. 26-27 to showcase cutting-edge university research and industry innovations in flexible liquid crystal devices such as displays, e-writers, eyewear, photovoltaics, sensors and biomedical devices.
“It’ brought the best and brightest working in this field to report on the latest developments in materials and devices being used for flexible displays and biomedical material applications,” said John West, Ph.D., Kent State’s Trustees Research Professor and chair of the symposium. “It’s an area where we truly lead worldwide, with the potential to really change the economic landscape of Northeast Ohio with new industries and high-paying jobs.”
The Symposium on Flexible Liquid Crystal Devices began Sept. 26 at 9:30 a.m. in the Kent State University Kiva and concluded Sept. 27 at noon. The event featured a keynote presentation on the flexible electronic industry from Michael McCreary, Ph.D., deputy chief technology officer for E Ink Corporation, the world’s largest supplier of displays to the eBook industry which appear in products such as Amazon’s Kindle.
The symposium also included a poster session reporting the latest research and developments from members of the FlexMatters®Cluster. A regional innovation cluster has emerged around the flexible electronics industry in Northeast Ohio, named FlexMatters. The cluster consists of interconnected businesses, suppliers, service providers and institutions focused on advanced manufacturing of flexible electronic devices and materials. Based on Northeast Ohio’s industrial and research strengths in polymers and liquid crystals, theFlexMatters Cluster is recognized as a leader in flexible electronics products sold globally.
Other academic and industry speakers at the symposium included: Asad Khan, Kent Displays; Bahman Taheri, AlphaMicron; Byron Clayton, NorTech; Shizuo Tokito, Yamagata University; Miko Cakmak, University of Akron; Joe Klinehamer, Genvac Aerospace; John West, Kent State; Jan Lagerwall, Seoul National University; Deng-Ke Yang, Kent State; Nicholas Abbott, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Gary Wnek, Case Western Reserve University; Matthew Putman, Columbia University and Nanotronics Imaging; Christopher Malcuit, Kent State; and Alberto Fernandez-Nieves, Georgia Institute of Technology.
The symposium was supported by Kent State’s Division of Research and Sponsored Programs and Liquid Crystal Institute as well as its partners Kent Displays, AlphaMicron, NorTech, NSF Partnerships for Innovation and the Richard Desich SMART Commercialization Center for Microsystems at Lorain County Community College.
Immediately following the symposium, NorTech hosted its Fall FlexMatters Cluster Meeting from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in room 204 of the Kent State Student Center. Adam J. Bartsch, Ph.D., director of the Spine Research Laboratory at Cleveland Clinic, spoke about the need for integrated smart technologies to help mitigate the risk associated with these injuries. A tour of Kent State’s Liquid Crystal Institute labs was offered at the conclusion of the meeting. T
“Based on a recent roadmapping process led by NorTech, Northeast Ohio’s FlexMatters Cluster has the potential to create 3,020 direct jobs by 2019,” said Rebecca O. Bagley, president and CEO of NorTech. “Given the region’s industry and research strengths, FlexMatters has the potential to capture significant share of this emerging global market, which will result in significant economic impact for Northeast Ohio.”
Kent State’s Glenn H. Brown Liquid Crystal Institute (LCI), established in 1965, is the world’s most comprehensive research, technology transfer and education program of its kind. Building on their extensive research in displays and electro-optics, Kent State researchers are exploring new frontiers in energy and medicine through their work on flexible organic photovoltaics (flexPV™) and flexible implanted bioelectronics (bioFLEX™) for diagnosis and therapeutics.
Led by Vice President for Research Grant McGimpsey, Ph.D., the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs at Kent State forms interdisciplinary collaborations and inter-institutional partnerships on projects of scientific, technological and national importance.