Congratulations to Dr. Joseph Ortiz, one of six Kent State faculty members presented with the 2020 President's Faculty Excellence Award, which recognizes exceptional performance that leads to the achievement of national or international recognition. Joseph Ortiz, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Geology. His research focuses on paleoclimate change and water quality, particularly in the Great Lakes and Lake Erie. He research is widely known and has had major impacts on the impact of human influences on the water quality of Lake Erie and its neighboring watershed. His knowledg...
Apple and Google partnered in early April to create a new smartphone app that uses Bluetooth to track coronavirus cases. Using a technology called contact tracing, the app alerts a user when they come in contact with someone who has been positively diagnosed with COVID-19. Apple and Google focus on a promise of privacy and data security, however, there are still concerns as contact tracing is new in the way of mobile technology. Gokarna Sharma, Ph.D., assistant professor in Computer Science and the director of Scalable Computer Architecture & Emerging Technologies Laboratory (SCALE) i...
Kent State’s famous food truck, known for its mouth-watering pulled pork sandwiches and fresh-cut french fries, is now becoming known for giving back to its community. Kent State is loaning its campus food truck to Aramark to provide meals to students from Kent, Elyria and Lorain City School Districts who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus outbreak has caused all schools in Northeast Ohio to close and move to online learning, which has spiked the concern of how meals will be provided to students who depend on school lunches. Through the university's food truck, Ken...
Since a traditional pinning celebration was not possible due to COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions, recent Kent State University at Tuscarawas Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program graduates received their nursing pins and special recognition through an innovative drive thru procession that wound through campus on Thursday, May 7. The pinning ceremony is a time-honored nursing school tradition signifying the nursing student’s official initiation into the brotherhood and sisterhood of nurses. “We could not have a traditional ceremony, so a nursing pinning drive thru was he...
In honor of the class of 2020, we are profiling a very recent alum, Linden Lehner and her business, Linden Lane Artworks.How did the idea for your business come about?I grew up around talented artists and taking art classes in high school, sparking my passions in the art industry. While studying at Kent State, I thought I was going to study Art History to learn more about the culture and what it takes to bring to life an art gallery. I also took entrepreneurship classes to pair it. Half way through my first semester in Art History, I gave that a big good-bye and took marketing as my minor...
Using Kent State University’s exceptional student support and career resources, senior aerospace engineering major Sydney Bihn followed her instincts to her true career calling. Since high school, Sydney Bihn’s plan was to become a teacher, specifically in middle childhood education. When it came time to choose a university, she wanted to stay in Ohio to take advantage of in-state tuition. She visited several Ohio universities, including the University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, Ohio State University and Miami University. Then, she and her father ...
Silver spoon or plastic fork? Every child is born with certain economic advantages and disadvantages that shape their futures. The fledgling Rising Scholars program was initiated last year to level the playing field for at-risk Geauga County students who face uncertain outcomes after high school graduation. Thanks to a $14,079 grant from the Lake-Geauga Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, this intervention program administered by Kent State University Geauga and Twinsburg Academic Center will expand opportunities for even more local students throughout the 2020 calendar year. &nb...
Stephanie Smith, associate professor in the College of Communication and Information, kicked off the first edition of Contemplating COVID-19 With KSU Faculty, a new, weekly series. Contemplating COVID-19 provides a platform for Kent State faculty to share how their disciplinary perspectives can help people understand and respond to the virus. Professors also describe how personal lives have been affected by the Corona virus pandemic. The next two contributors are Chi-hua Chui, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biological Sciences (May 6); and J. Leigh Garcia, assistant professor in the ...