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A star-studded lineup of scientists will return to ����Թ� April 25-26 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute.

The institute, formed in 1965, and its former directors, will welcome back numerous accomplished alumni to celebrate its past and look toward the future.

Torsten Hegmann, Ph.D., current director of the institute, said the event will celebrate the technology scientists are presently researching and the institute’s illustrious past.

“����Թ� State is the world’s leading institution in the area of liquid crystal – not in Ohio, not in the U.S. – in the world,” Hegmann told ����Թ� State Today.

Founder Glenn H. Brown

While liquid crystals were not discovered at ����Թ� State, the university is regarded as the place where modern research in the field began due to the efforts of the late Glenn H. Brown, Ph.D., a ����Թ� State chemistry professor.

“Liquid crystal research has advanced significantly over these past 60 years,” Hegmann said. “What started with Glenn Brown’s interest in biological applications of liquid crystals eventually led to the discovery and further incredible development of advanced liquid crystal displays. But it didn’t stop there. Now, liquid crystal science and technology developed at the AMLCI is utilizing the recently discovered ferroelectric nematic phase that may enable a whole range of new applications from displays to microlens arrays to various optical elements.”

“Liquid crystals are also explored and utilized in chemical sensors, in highly efficient as well as tunable beam steering devices, and for a whole range of augmented, virtual and mixed reality (AR/VR/MR) applications,” he said.

In addition, liquid crystal elastomers – combining the anisotropic properties of liquid crystals with the elasticity of rubbers – are being studied as bioscaffolds for tissue engineering, Hegmann explained. Bioscaffolds are three-dimensional structures used in regenerative medicine to guide tissue and organ formation. He noted that liquid crystal elastomers also are being studied as electrolyte components in lithium-ion batteries.

Institute Is Formed

Liquid crystals were first discovered in the late 1880s by two European scientists; however, this state of matter was not fully explored until after World War II. Brown first began studying liquid crystal at the University of Cincinnati in 1952 and later brought his research to ����Թ� State when he joined the chemistry faculty in 1960.

In 1965, ����Թ� State’s board of trustees authorized the formation of the Liquid Crystal Institute, with Brown as its first director. That same year, Brown organized the first international conference on liquid crystals at ����Թ� State, which is regarded as the beginning of the worldwide effort to conduct modern research in the field. Glenn’s efforts led to the practical applications of liquid crystals in devices such as watches and television screens.

Brown retired in 1985, as he was battling Parkinson’s Disease, and died in 1995. In 1986, the trustees renamed the institute the Glenn H. Brown Liquid Crystal Institute in his honor. The institute’s most recent renaming to the Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute came in 2018 to recognize the wide range of advanced materials research going on at the university.

“����Թ� has a long and impressive history of liquid crystal research,” said Douglas L. Delahanty, Ph.D., vice president for Research and Economic Development. “Our liquid crystal scientists have played an integral role in shaping the university’s overall landscape of discovery and innovation. The work supported through our Liquid Crystal Institute accelerated liquid crystal displays technology, which is ubiquitous in modern electronic devices, and cemented our reputation as a leader in materials science.”

Anniversary celebration

The anniversary celebration is being held on the weekend when the institute typically hosts its annual Materials Day and will also serve as a reunion for the many scientists who trained or worked at the institute and have gone on to great acclaim in their careers, Hegmann said.

All the former directors of the institute will attend the anniversary, along with members of Brown’s family. A highlight of the weekend will be the presentation of four lifetime achievement awards and 11 distinguished alumni honors for ����Թ� State graduates and researchers who spent time at the institute.

“We are very excited to welcome our impressive alumni. The institute is a special place that accelerates discovery while serving as a training ground for future scientists, industry leaders, and dynamic innovators,” Delahanty said.

Read about the Lifetime Achievement and Outstanding Alumni Award winners.

“It makes me proud of our ����Թ� State researchers to reflect on our liquid crystal and advanced materials scientists who stand as exemplars of commitment not only to scholarship, but also to students and trainees,” he said. “The fact that so many incredible alumni are returning for the anniversary celebration is a reflection not only on how amazing our students are, but on our faculty, who continually graduate gifted, driven students. The 60th anniversary of the AMLCI is also a showcase of the love and commitment so many have to the institute and the university where their scientific pursuits began.” 

Research and facilities on display

Hegmann said the weekend will include demonstration tables to offer an immersive experience in the type of technology currently being developed at ����Թ� State, as well as talks from leaders in the fields about what they believe the next frontiers will be in liquid crystal.

An exciting outcome of the celebration that Hegmann is looking forward to is direction from the visiting industry leaders for academic researchers about where they want to see research focused to best address their needs.

“Those people will be telling us what they want us to do, where the market is going,” Hegmann said, noting how research and innovation are most exciting when they work hand in hand to address the needs of the marketplace.

The celebration weekend will also put a focus on ����Թ� State’s recent efforts to upgrade its research facilities with the most cutting-edge technology. Aided by state and federal grants, the university has invested millions of dollars to upgrade its laboratories with state-of-the-art instrumentation, including a new multimodal nonlinear optical microscope, capable of various imaging techniques using lasers and an advanced X-ray scattering instrument, both of which were installed in the Integrated Sciences Building since 2021.

The modern technology has made ����Թ� State’s laboratories a draw for scientists from across the country and Canada, who seek to use the equipment for their research.

AMLCI poised for the future

“The prominence and success of our liquid crystal and advanced materials research were critical in our obtaining the R1 (very high research) designation,” Delahanty said. “The consistent external funding as well as high-impact publications, patents and industry partnerships generated by the researchers in this space not only contribute to metrics that define R1, but also open opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and spur on the university’s dynamic research environment.”

Hegmann concurred.

“We are the leader in the world. This is something we should be proud of,” he said.

As the institute faces its centennial in 2065, Delahanty said he expects the advancements to continue.

“Over the next 40 years, I am confident that the Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute will do what it has always done: It will innovate,” he said. “It will push the boundaries of science. It will contribute to technological advancements, and it will help improve our quality of life and our future.”

He said the faculty continues to pursue new lines of research and discovery.

“With our growing partnerships with industry and academic collaborators, it is exciting to think about the next great advancements that may be just around the corner,” Delahanty said. 

Learn more about AMLCI’s 60th Anniversary.