 |
| |
| ||
News FlashUniversity news and events update for Winter 2007Fossil crabs are focus of Kent State Stark researcherDr. Carrie Schweitzer, associate professor of geology at Kent State Stark, recently traveled to the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria, to study thousands of fossilized crab specimens.Previously unexamined, these ancient crabs from the Prosopidae and Galatheidae families existed more than 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period. “Studying crabs helps determine various aspects of biodiversity and patterns of evolution, such as when arthropods diversified,” says Schweitzer. Arthropods, which include crabs, insects, lobsters, spiders, millipedes and ticks, are a large part of the earth’s ecosystem. As a source of food, crabs also are important economically. Read the full, online-exclusive story, "Professor Studies Ancient Crabs with an Evolutionary Tale." New provost to lead academics, researchThis past July, Dr. Robert G. Frank became senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, the chief academic office for the university’s eight-campus network.Frank has a long history in administration, academic service and professional practice. A board-certified clinical psychologist, Frank previously was dean and professor of clinical and health psychology for the College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville. “I was pleased with the positive feedback from our academic community about Dr. Frank’s potential to lead expanded university research efforts, as well as the all-important initiatives for student success,” says Kent State President Lester A. Lefton. Frank, who became dean at Florida in 1995, also directed the Florida Center for Medicaid and the Uninsured. Prior administrative and academic posts include service at the University of Missouri, Columbia, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research and the Missouri Department of Health. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of New Mexico and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association. Scientist honored for “Hottest Research Worldwide”Kent State Department of Physics research associate Dr. Mikhail Kopytine was ranked as the second most cited scientist worldwide for 2006 by the periodical Science Watch.Kopytine shares the second-place ranking with six other scientists. Three physicists are listed among the eight scientists with rankings of first or second; Kopytine is the only physicist from a United States institution listed in the top two slots. The Science Watch ranking relies entirely on citations, making it completely objective. To determine the rankings, Science Watch tracks the number of citations received by scientists in fields ranging from immunology to biostatistics in papers published in peer-reviewed journals. Kopytine works in collaboration with other physicists at Kent State’s Center for Nuclear Research, which is part of a large international collaboration (deemed STAR) that studies nuclear collisions at Brookhaven National Lab. The Kent State group was among the 13 groups that founded STAR, which has grown to include 52 institutions representing 12 countries. Kopytine earned a doctorate in physics from the State University of New York-Stony Brook, and has been a Kent State research associate since 2001. Get more lowdown about Kopytine, his in-demand research and the Science Watch ranking from the Physics Department Web site. Kopytine can also be reached at 631-344-7603. |