Research & Graduate Studies Newsletter

"RAGS . . . enhancing the quality of life through research and creative activity . . ."

Inside This Issue

NEWS

IMAGINATION 2 INNOVATION

TRANSITIONS

New Appointments /  New Faces

John L. West, Ph.D.,Vice President for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies at Kent State University, recently joined NorTech, a regional economic-development organization in Northeast Ohio, as the first Senior Fellow of the NorTech Fellows Program. The program allows for senior business or academic professionals interested in leadership, technology, entrepreneurship, innovation and regional economic development to come to NorTech for a 12-18 month period and work in areas important to the region consistent with their technical, industry and academic background. John, who took a leave from his duties as Vice President for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies beginning July 1, will be with NorTech for 12 months.

Peter C. Tandy, Ph.D., 2001 Kent State University Distinguished Scholar and a member of Kent State’s Department of Physics since 1979, was named Acting Vice President for Research in July.

Peter, who served as chair of the physics department from 2001 to 2004, received his Ph. D. in Theoretical Nuclear Physics at The Flinders University in Southern Australia. His current research activities are in quantum field theory of sub-atomic particles and the fundamental structure of matter. An internationally recognized physicist, he has been invited to speak at over 40 national and international physics conferences and has published nearly 100 papers.

In addition to his research appointments, which include University of Surrey, UK; University of Maryland, College Park, MD; Institute of Advanced Studies, and Australian National University, Peter was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1996, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics, and has had 30 continuous years of single Principal Investigator research funding through the National Science Foundation.

Peter and his wife, Teresa, have two children, both of whom graduated from Kent State University; Robert, who is currently doing his Ph. D. in physics at Yale University, and James, who is currently doing his Masters degree studies in classical piano performance at the Manhattan School of Music. Teresa, who has worked in various offices at Kent State, now raises and works with French Poodle show dogs.

Daniele Finotello, Ph.D., who joined RAGS in 2003 as the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, was named Acting Dean of Graduate Studies in July, following John West’s announcement of his 12-month leave to serve as a NorTech Fellow.

As the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Dan’s broad responsibilities included graduate program review, graduate program development, general graduate studies administration, university fellowships/assistantships program, and the Graduate Schools Catalog. A familiar face to many at Kent State, he joined the university in 1988 as a member of the Department of Physics, and since 1997, holds the rank of full professor.

Before arriving at Kent, Dan received his Ph.D. from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo in 1985 in low temperature physics and spent 3 years post-doc at Penn State University.

A widely-recognized scholar and researcher, Dan’s interests focus primarily on low temperature and liquid crystal physics: phase transitions and structures. He was an active researcher in the ALCOM Center funded by the National Science Foundation; is currently a Principal Investigator on an NSF-INT collaborative grant with Slovenia, two OBR Research Challenges, and in collaboration with Dr. S. Kumar, also from the physics Department; and was recently awarded an NSF-SGER for exploratory studies on new biaxial nematic materials. In addition to his substantial research accomplishments, Dan, who served on the College and Provost Advisory Committees and Faculty Senate, remains a committed teacher and experienced higher education administrator.

By his own report, Dan has been an avid soccer aficionado since before birth, highlighted by his attendance at the Soccer World Cup final in Mexico in 1970. He has coached youth traveling teams and has coached/managed a Kent-based adult soccer team for the last 12 years. Dan says he’ll be on cloud nine for the next four years thanks to Italy’s most recent and fourth World Cup Soccer Championship win earlier this year. Dan, who also loves to play racquetball, enjoys reading fiction novels from authors like Brown, Cronwell, Grisham or Kellerman, watching movies like Cinema Paradiso and Like Water for Chocolate, and listening to pop music. He also plays a little guitar.

Sheila Pratt. Research and Graduate Studies welcomes Sheila Pratt. Sheila, who has been with Kent State University since January 1998, joined the Office of Technology Transfer in May 2006 as the Administrative Secretary. A familiar face here at Kent State, Sheila has worked in the School of Speech Pathology and Audiology, the Division of Human Resources and in the Development Office. Prior to coming to Kent State University, she worked at Edwin Shaw Hospital, Akron General Medical Center, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Owens-Illinois.

Sheila and her husband, Bob, have been married for 28 years. They have a daughter, Melissa, 23, a fifth-grade teacher in Cuyahoga Falls, and a son, Bryan, 22, a senior in the Justice Studies Program at Kent State.

Tom Bialke, manager of the Office of Research Safety for Research and Graduate Studies, has been appointed chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Tom, who was hired as chemical hygiene officer in 1995 to implement the OSHA Laboratory Standard for all Kent State University main campus laboratories, was appointed radiation safety officer in 1998, and became a permanent member of the Human Subjects Review Board in 2001, and the IACUC in 2002.

Tom has worked for various companies in multiple areas of health and safety, bringing significant experience to his new appointment. Before coming to Kent State in 1995, he worked for the Minnesota Department of Health, BF Goodrich, Glidden Research Center, Continental/General Tire Company and was an environmental science officer in the military.

A member of the Kent City Health Board and Kent City Board of Housing Appeals since 2005, Tom earned his B. A. at the University of Minnesota and his Masters of Science in Public Health at the University Of Minnesota School Of Public Heath. He holds professional certifications in Certified Industrial Hygiene, Comprehensive Practice and American Board of Industrial Hygiene.

Tom’s interests include photography, computers and home improvement. He and his wife enjoy travel and have been to nearly twenty destinations since their marriage in 2001. Between them they have five children and seven grandchildren (soon to be nine—his oldest daughter is having twins in December). Tom says his weekends are usually filled with visits from their children and grandchildren, although he does like to read mystery and suspense novels, and occasionally some science fiction.