The Glenn H. Brown Liquid Crystal Institute® in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University will host the 26th International Liquid Crystal Conference on the Kent Campus from July 31-Aug. 5. The event is open to the public, but paid registration is required.
Organized by the International Liquid Crystal Society, more than 700 scientists, engineers and students from around the world are expected to attend the conference, which features cutting-edge research and technology presentations on liquid crystals, plus a variety of social activities, including a dinner at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. The biennial conference was first organized and hosted by the Liquid Crystal Institute in 1965, the same year that the institute was founded, and was hosted by Kent State again in 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1996.
“Liquid crystals is one of the most multidisciplinary fields of research in the physical sciences, so this conference is the best way for physicists, chemists, biochemists, biophysicists, theoreticians and engineers from all over the world to meet and discuss the latest research,” said Hiroshi Yokoyama, Ph.D. conference chair and director of Kent State’s Liquid Crystal Institute. “It is a great honor for us to be hosting it during our celebration of the Liquid Crystal Institute’s 50th anniversary.”
The conference kicks off on July 31 with a full day of tutorials led by pioneering scientists in the liquid crystal field, followed by a welcome reception that evening starting at 6:30 p.m. On Aug. 1, at 8 a.m., Kent State President Beverly Warren and members of the International Liquid Crystal Society organizing committee will give their opening remarks and welcome the international audience to Kent. Throughout the rest of the week, the daily format includes a plenary speaker each morning at 8:30 a.m. followed by parallel sessions on topics ranging from physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology and materials to applied liquid crystal research and industrial perspectives.
Conference plenary speakers include John Ball, Ph.D., University of Oxford (UK); Shin-ichi Ishiwata, Ph.D., Waseda University (Japan); Tom Lubensky, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania; Jose Luis Serrano, Ph.D., Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain); and Achin Bhowmik, Ph.D., Intel Corp. There will be more than 200 oral presentations throughout the week, including 70 from invited speakers, and poster presentations.
One highlight of many will be Bhowmik’s presentation on “Interactive and Immersive Devices with Intel® RealSense TechnologyTM” on Aug. 5 in the Kent Student Center Ballroom at 8:30 a.m. Bhowmik is vice president and general manager of the Perceptual Computing Group at Intel Corporation and an adjunct professor at the Liquid Crystal Institute. At Intel, he leads the research, development, productization and deployment of advanced computing solutions based on natural sensing and interactions, branded as Intel RealSense TechnologyTM. No stranger to Kent State, he has collaborated with Philip Bos, Ph.D., associate director of the Liquid Crystal Institute, and his laboratory group on advanced applications of liquid crystal technologies in machine vision and human-interface areas, including image steering and natural eye accommodation in virtual reality and augmented reality displays.
“The Liquid Crystal Institute has been at the forefront of research on the fundamentals and applications of liquid crystal technologies for many decades,” said Bhowmik. “So I am excited that the institute is hosting the International Liquid Crystal Conference this year. I am honored to be a plenary speaker and looking forward to the conference.”
Several honors and awards will be presented by the International Liquid Crystal Conference on Aug. 4, including the Samsung and LG Display Mid-Career Awards and the Glenn H. Brown Prize, which honors the best recent dissertations. The Michi Nakata Award is given for early career (postdoctoral) achievement. Very distinguished established scientists are awarded the status of Honored Member of the International Liquid Crystal Conference. The Pierre-Gilles de Gennes ILCS Prize, named after the liquid crystal pioneer and Nobel Prize winner, is the highest honor and will be awarded to a recipient who has exhibited outstanding interdisciplinary research.
For more information about the Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State, visit www.lcinet.kent.edu.
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Photo Caption:
Glenn H. Brown, Ph.D. (1915-1995) established Kent State University’s Liquid Crystal Institute, later named in his honor, on March 18, 1965, and served as its director from 1965-1983.
Media Contacts:
Jim Maxwell, jmaxwel2@kent.edu, 330-672-8028
Kristin Anderson, kander62@kent.edu, 330-672-7907