For Robert Twieg, Ph.D., a professor in Kent State University’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the recent news of his longtime collaborator William E. Moerner winning the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was actually no surprise at all. In fact, he believes that “he’s deserved it for a while.” On Oct. 8, Moerner, a professor at Stanford University, was one of three researchers to win the prize for “the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy.” These researchers developed new techniques that give microscopes much sharper vision than was originally thought possible, and...

Kent State University’s May 4 Visitors Center was recently recognized with two prestigious awards — one for the visitors center and one for a student-perspective film in the center’s exhibit. The May 4 Visitors Center received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Ohio Local History Alliance (OLHA), which recognized 16 historical centers across Ohio for their accomplishments. Lori Boes, assistant director of the May 4 Visitors Center, said the application for the award included a narrative, pictures and visitors’ responses, and was sent to the Ohio Local History Alliance to be reviewed ...

Dr. Heather Caldwell recently received a $400,000.00 grant from the National Science Foundation to fund her research. This research project will examine how prenatal hormones can reorganize brain circuits and impact behavior.  Understanding how these hormones work during development will provide important insights into the species-specific behaviors that underlie social behavior and social structure.  The goal of this project is to determine how the neurohormone oxytocin acts during development to organize neural structures important for displays of aggressive behavior in adulthood. ...

Kent State University has enhanced safety on campus and in the surrounding area with the introduction of Dexter, the university’s newest officer and explosive-detection canine. Funding for the canine and its ongoing care is provided by Ohio Homeland Security, a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, through a federal grant and Ohio Homeland Security budget funds. “To protect the people that we care about most, there’s probably no better way I can think of than through preventative measures,” said Ohio Department of Public Safety Director John Born. “The fact that we can not only re...