New storytelling platforms are emerging as audiences continue to consume news digitally and students in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication are exploring new ways to use their journalism skills. Valerie Royzman, ‘21, traveled with Assistant Professor Susan Zake to a hack-a-thon at West Virginia University. In the competition, she had to combine journalism and technology to create a solution to accessibility issues in elementary school classrooms. “We saw a great need for our product because teachers across the board don’t have enough resources in the classroom,” Royzman ...

Kent State University researchers create cutting-edge geospatial technology to map drug points, find solutions Driving through the streets of Ravenna on a weekday afternoon, you probably wouldn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Gray clouds hover overhead. There is a steady hum of traffic lurking in the air. A mom pushes a stroller down West Main Street. But as a Ravenna police officer looks at the parking lot of a popular fast food restaurant, it sparks haunting memories of a quiet killer lurking around every-day people in broad daylight. “The bathroom is very common for heroin overdose...

Supporters give more than $1 million Kent State University’s Giving Tuesday 2017 doubled the 2016 campaign – hitting more than $1 million just before midnight on Tuesday, Nov. 28. The single largest gift of the day was a $100,000 donation to the Fashion School Study Away Fund. From multiple student study abroad scholarships to research opportunities and poetry programs, there were more than 40 featured giving options across the Kent State system from which to choose. Watch thank you video from Kent State President Beverly Warren.     “We are beyond thrilled that Gi...

It’s not every day that you try your hand at developing a sophisticated software that can adapt to unique situations presented by each user--not unlike Apple’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) service, Siri or Amazon’s Echo App. But for some, it’s simply another day on the job. What is it? For the past month, a select team from Systems Development and Innovation (SDI) has been “kicking the idea around” of experimenting with some new services that Amazon has made available to the public--namely, access to the same programming interface used by the Echo App. For a fee, Amazon allows access to ...

Tunneling 200 Feet Underneath Connecticut For Cleaner Water, At A Cost A giant, miles-long tunnel is about to be drilled hundreds of feet beneath Connecticut’s capital. This subterranean project will take years, cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and the hope is, result in cleaner water for the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound. The size is impressive. About 200 feet below ground will lie a tunnel, 18 feet in diameter that’s drilled through rock -- and extending about four miles. Overlooking a giant shaft in Hartford that’s getting deeper and deeper -- Susan Negrelli, directo...