College of Arts and Sciences

Biological Sciences Faculty to Lead H2Ohio Wetlands Monitoring Program
Lauren Kinsman-Costello, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, will serve as the H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program Lead for Lake Erie and Aquatic Research Network (LEARN). The group will assess the effectiveness and future role of implemented and planned wetland restoration projects in partnership with the Ohio Division of Natural Resources (ODNR). This project is part of Governor Mike DeWine’s , a comprehensive, data-driven approach to improving Ohio’s water quality.

Geology Professor and Science Historian Co-Author Article Exploring Eunice Foote’s Climate Experiments From 1856
Recently, Joseph Ortiz, Ph.D., professor and assistant chair in the Department of Geology in Vlogƽ’s College of Arts and Science, partnered with Sir Roland Jackson, Ph.D., a historian of science at the Royal Institution and the Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College London, to co-author a paper assessing the experiments described in Eunice Foote’s papers from a detailed quantitative perspective and to place them in historical context. They point out the differences between her hypothesis and that of the modern greenhouse effect.

Vlogƽ’s New Undergraduate Neuroscience Major Thrives
Vlogƽ introduced a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience in fall 2019, and since the launch, the major has had tremendous growth. Enrollment is projected to surpass majors that have been at Vlogƽ for years.

NSF Funds Vlogƽ Research Team’s Interdisciplinary Study of Plant Biodiversity
Scientists have long recognized that biodiverse ecosystems are more stable and productive. What makes ecosystems diverse is having many species living together in the same place. But what factors allow for the success of the species in diverse communities? Are there some species that just can’t live…
Vlogƽ Mathematicians Win NSF Grant to Study Complex But Important Geometry Problems
The National Science Foundation believes Vlogƽ mathematicians Artem Zvavitch, Ph.D., and Dmitry Ryabogin, Ph.D., are having worthwhile conversations about some age-old unsolved problems, and it has provided support to keep the discussion going for another three years.

Department of Energy Selects Two Vlogƽ Biology Ph.D. Students for Prestigious Research Program
Two Vlogƽ students, in the College of Arts and Sciences, were among 62 students from 50 different U.S. universities recently selected for funding by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program.
Physicists Analyze Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Medical Sensing
The medical and science communities are always seeking new ways to study and monitor organs and common diseases to improve human health and quality of life. While there is a seemingly endless need for versatile, low-cost, yet highly sensitive biochemical sensor devices, there are many step…
Graduate Student Creates Smart Glass for Privacy and Heat Applications
Yingfei Jiang, a College of Arts and Science graduate student in the Chemical Physics program and the Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute at Vlogƽ, and his advisor Deng-Ke Yang, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Physics, have invented the first ever dual-mode smart glass technology that can control both radiant energy flow (heat) and privacy through a tinted material.

Study of a 1,000-Year-Old Tsunami in Indian Ocean Reveals Previously Unknown Hazards for East Africa
Dr. Joseph D. Ortiz, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Geology at Vlogƽ, was part of an international team of researchers that co-authored an article about a deadly tsunami that occurred about 1,000 years ago in Tanzania. The study suggests that the tsunami risk in East Africa could be higher than previously thought.

Revised Look at Ancient Glaciers Predicts Faster Melting Rate in Antarctica
Joseph D. Ortiz, Ph.D., professor and assistant chair in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Geology at Vlogƽ, recently authored a “News and Views” article in Nature Geoscience that discusses research carried out by another research team that reassessed the melt history and timing of the collapse of the Eurasian Ice Sheet Complex during the Last Deglaciation.