Up until approximately 10^(-5) seconds after the Big Bang, the Universe was in a primordial state of matter called a quark-gluon plasma (QGP).  This is due to the fact that the early Universe was extremely hot and, in such a hot environment, normal matter, e.g., atoms, atomic nuclei, and even neutrons and protons, did not exist.  Fundamentally, the melting of protons of neutrons in the early Universe is predicted to occur at temperatures on the order of 2 trillion Kelvin, with this temperature being predicted by the fundamental theory governing quarks and gluons, which is called...

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded a $1.86 million grant to Dr. Thorsten-Lars Schmidt to develop molecular tools that help researchers to understand membrane proteins. The R35 or “Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award” (MIRA) provides promising researchers with a five-year funding for a broader research program, rather than funding a specific project. This gives investigators a great deal of freedom to develop new research directions as opportunities arise, rather than being bound to specific aims of a more narrow study. This flexibility makes this an extremely co...

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded a $1.86 million grant to Thorsten-Lars Schmidt, Ph.D., to develop molecular tools that help researchers to understand membrane proteins. The R35 or “Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award” (MIRA) provides promising researchers with a five-year funding for a broader research program, rather than funding a specific project. This gives investigators a lot of freedom to develop new research directions as opportunities arise, rather than being bound to specific aims of a more narrow study. This flexibility makes this an extremely com...

Astrid N. Sambolin Morales, Ph.D., (she/her/ella) lives in Northeast Ohio, but when Hurricane Fiona hit her hometown of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, she could not help but be devastated as her parents, brother and grandparents lived through the aftermath of the storm without electricity. Sambolin Morales was born and raised in Cabo Rojo, and after seven years in the U.S., she is spending her first year at Kent State as an assistant professor in the College of Education, Health and Human Services (EHHS). Her husband, Francisco Torres, is also an assistant professor in EHHS. She...

The first full week of fall is the most spirited week at Kent State University. The week of Sept. 26 to Oct. 1 is Spirit Week and includes homecoming weekend. The week will be full of events celebrating Kent State spirit. On Monday, the Flash Advisory Board (FAB) is hosting FlashBash from 5 to 7 p.m. at Risman Plaza. FlashBash includes musc, free roller skating and Kent State bucket hat giveaways. Wednesday is Mid-Day Crafting day with FAB, which will provide Kent State-themed crafts for students. Crafting activities will be on the second floor of the Kent Student Center from 12 to 2 p....

It may surprise you to learn that “Captain Underpants,” “Frankenstein,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Hunger Games” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” are all popular books that have been banned, along with many others. In honor of Banned Books Week, the Second Annual Banned Books Read-In was held Wednesday night in Taylor Hall. Participants read passages from their favorite banned books and were encouraged to dress as literary characters from those books. Several characters from "The Handmaid's Tale," Mothman and even Batman showed up. The importance of Banned Books Week was not lost on Stephan...