This spring, the Lawrence & Sandra Armstrong Gallery inside Kent State University's John Elliot Center for Architecture and Environmental Design hosted an inspiring exhibition highlighting innovative designs for structural walls.The "Opus Versatilium: A Meta-Vernacular Approach for Contemporary Load-Bearing Walls Exhibition" was created by Pablo Moyano Fernandez, an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, where he has been teaching since 2006.Fernandez has extensive experience in the field of architecture, developing his career in firms with a strong connection to constr...

Kent State University earned first-place honors in the annual Campus Race to Zero Waste, a nationwide college campus recycling competition.Kent State placed first in the large campus division for Food Organics waste, for diverting more food waste than any other large-size university in the competition.Melanie Knowles, manager of sustainability at Kent State.Melanie Knowles, manager of sustainability at Kent State, said the university looks broadly at food waste reduction and other waste reduction and recycling strategies.“That starts with University Culinary Services minimizing the creation of...

Victoria Humphreys, '13, found her way as a communications professional in Washington, D.C., due to her passion for helping advance Native American communities, including her own. After attending a guest lecture from Associate Professor Stephanie Danes Smith (COMM and MDJ) about her experience working with the federal government, Humphreys began studying Federal Indian Policy and the complexities of the nation-to-nation relationship between Tribes and the federal government.While completing her undergraduate program, she received an offer to intern with Secretary John Kerry at the Department o...

RESEARCHERS MAP AQUATIC-BASED, HUMAN-DRIVEN IMPACTS ON CLIMATE CHANGEA set of cotton fabrics placed in Breakneck Creek, Portage County, OhioA study published in the journal Science uses a global experiment and predictive modeling to illustrate how human impacts to aquatic ecosystems are contributing to the global climate crisis.The study estimates rates of organic-matter decomposition in freshwater ecosystems (a source of carbon emissions) across the world, including areas such as the tropics that have been underrepresented in prior studies. Researchers Scott Tiegs (Oakland University), Krista...

Each year the Environmental Science and Design Research Institute (ESDRI) hosts a competitive request for proposals which are reviewed by an interdisciplinary panel, awarding seed grants with funding up to $12,000 for multidisciplinary research related to ESDRI’s wide-ranging areas of focus. These seed grants provide funds for preliminary or early-stage research, facilitating the building blocks to apply for extramural funding.The application cycle for seed grants is typically early spring. To apply, at least one person from the research team must be an ESDRI affiliated faculty ...

View ArticleCampuses Divert 105 Million Single-Use Plastics from Landfill During 2024 Campus Race to Zero Waste CompetitionBy: Alex DombNational Wildife Federation2.7 million students, faculty and staff across more than 150 college campuses donated, composted and recycled more than 30 million pounds of waste.RESTON, Va. – Campus Race to Zero Waste, a program of the National Wildlife Federation and RecycleMania Inc., has recognized 30 colleges and universities as winners in this year’s competition. Winners are selected in each major category representing small, medium and large campus sizes, wi...

Managers and supervisors should have received information from the Controller's Office regarding the cut-off dates for financial transactions for the current fiscal year, which ends on June 30. View the deadlines for receipt of information and other year-end announcements online at www.kent.edu/controller under Fiscal Year End Cut-off Dates tab.  The Controller's Office appreciates timely submissions of documents to ensure that a timely year-end cut-off has occurred.The FY2024 year is scheduled to close the evening of July 12, 2024, and the final June Flashline reports should be available...

The environment is something that many people take for granted. But it affects us all. Some recent Kent State University students spent the semester putting environmental issues front and center.Environmental studies students recently showed off their environmental research projects at the Environmental Science and Design Research Institute Showcase on April 22. The institute is “dedicated to research and investigations within natural, human, and built systems, as it develops innovative knowledge, products, and solutions to address local, regional, and global issues.”Participants of the showca...

Every spring and fall millions of birds migrate through Northeast Ohio on their way to or from their breeding grounds. With their song and bright colors, birds help brighten our campus after a long winter.  Kent State University’s Department of Biological Sciences distinctive programs study and track the migration of different birds. Sangeet Lamichhaney, Ph.D., assistant professor, said that Northeast Ohio is one of the best places for bird watching.“Northeast Ohio is one of the most popular channels for the birds to migrate between South America and North America,” Lamichhaney said. &nbs...

INSPIRING YOUNG MINDS AT THE COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM During a visit to the Cleveland Zoo as a small child, Maureen “Moe” Duffy, B.S. ’17, witnessed a zookeeper working with a gorilla, sparking a lifelong interest in animals.When it came time to pick a college, Duffy knew two things for certain: she wanted to pursue a career where she could work with animals and she wanted to stay in Ohio.She looked into three different schools in Ohio and said, “Kent State’s where I ended up finding my happy place.” Duffy earned her bachelor of science degree in z...