Four UToledo faculty members have been selected to participate in the third year of the Mid-American Conference Academic Leadership Development Program.

The program was created to identify, develop, prepare and advance faculty as leaders in the colleges and universities that are members of the Mid-American Conference. Fellows participating in the program have the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and experience by working closely with select administrators from other colleges and universities in the MAC.

“We are happy The University of Toledo participates in this worthwhile program that helps faculty members reach their leadership potential,” Dr. Amy Thompson, vice provost for faculty affairs and professor of public health, said.

Fellows for the 2019-20 academic year are:

• Dr. Jonathan Bossenbroek, professor of environmental sciences and director of the Office of Competitive Fellowships and Undergraduate Research;

• Dr. Maria Coleman, professor and chair of chemical engineering and associate director of the Polymer Institute;

• Dr. Scott Molitor, professor of bioengineering and senior associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Engineering; and

• Dr. Rebecca Schneider, professor of science and teacher education, and associate dean of graduate studies in the Judith Herb College of Education.

All tenured faculty with experience in administrative leadership and service are eligible to apply for the MAC Academic Leadership Development Program. Candidates submitted a letter of support from their dean, as well as an application and curriculum vitae for consideration.

“Our Fellows will work alongside UToledo leaders to learn from their experience,” Thompson said. “They also will benefit from working with administrators and peers from other MAC institutions.”

All MAC Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows will attend one three-day workshop each semester. Topics to be addressed include budgeting, conflict resolution, accreditation and accountability.

“This program allows our Fellows a chance to prepare for leadership positions while experiencing the challenges and rewards of institutional service,” Thompson said. “This is a great opportunity to advance leadership for our UToledo faculty members.”

Read more about the MAC Academic Leadership Development Program on the Office of the Provost website.

Dr. Karen Bjorkman, a leading scholar in the field of astrophysics and The University of Toledo’s most senior dean, has been named provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

Bjorkman, whose appointment to the permanent post is effective Jan. 13, had served as the interim provost since Jan. 15, 2019. She previously served as the dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics from 2010 to 2019.

“Dr. Bjorkman has demonstrated throughout her academic career a passion for our educational mission and is, above all else, committed to student and faculty success,” UToledo President Sharon L. Gaber said. “We have made great progress on achieving the goals set forth in our strategic plan, including increased retention rates and record-high graduation rates. Under her leadership, I know we will continue to enhance the educational experience for our students and opportunities for faculty scholarly research and service activity.”

Bjorkman, also a Distinguished University Professor of Astronomy and the Helen Luedtke Brooks Endowed Professor of Astronomy, has been a member of the UToledo faculty since 1996 when she joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the University in this leadership role,” Bjorkman said. “I look forward to working with our outstanding deans and faculty across all of our colleges to realize our collective vision of being a nationally ranked, public research university.”

Bjorkman is a leader in the research field of stellar astrophysics, applying spectropolarimetry to better understand the variable gaseous disks around massive stars. Her research has focused on studying the physical characteristics of these disks and the mechanisms behind their formation and variability.

In 2017, Bjorkman was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific and engineering society, in recognition of her important contributions to scientific discovery.

“Our students, faculty and scholars are champions in our pursuit to improve the human condition. They are internationally recognized for their expertise in research, teaching and clinical practice. It is my honor to work with them in achieving our educational mission,” Bjorkman said.

Prior to joining UToledo, Bjorkman was a scientist in the University of Wisconsin’s Space Astronomy Laboratory and a systems engineer for Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace.

More than 2,000 students at The University of Toledo will graduate at commencement ceremonies Saturday, Dec. 14, in Savage Arena.

The University is holding two ceremonies to include both undergraduate and graduate students from each of the colleges.

A total of 2,070 degrees will be awarded: 1,474 bachelor’s degrees, 426 master’s degrees, 104 doctoral degrees, 41 associate’s degrees, 15 education specialist degrees and 10 graduate certificates.

The 9 a.m. ceremony will recognize all Ph.D. candidates and graduates from the colleges of Arts and Letters; Engineering; Judith Herb College of Education; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; and Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The 1 p.m. ceremony will recognize undergraduate and graduate students receiving degrees from the colleges of Business and Innovation; Health and Human Services; Nursing; University College; and Medicine and Life Sciences.

Commencement is always a time to celebrate with family. Their support is critical to achieving success. For several students walking across the stage this year, family was literally at their side for the journey.

At 48 years old, Lori Boyer is set to take the stage and grasp her diploma on the same day as her son, Jordan.

Lori, a preschool teacher, started taking classes at UToledo in 1990, but stopped to raise her three children.

After returning in January to cross the finish line, the UToledo employee at the Early Learning Center is graduating from University College with a bachelor’s degree in an individualized program of early childhood education and educational leadership. Her son is graduating from the College of Engineering with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering technology.

“I am proud to share this special moment with my oldest son,” Boyer said. “It’s important to me to prove to all of my children that you can accomplish anything no matter what point you are in life. I accomplished something I set out to do a long time ago, and it has the potential to take me in different directions in my career.”

Fall commencement also is a family affair for a brother-and-sister duo who worked side by side as undergraduates in the same exercise biology research lab.

Dylan and Nicole Sarieh, two-thirds of a set of fraternal triplets, both chose to study exercise science as pre-med students in the College of Health and Human Services, while their brother studies business at UToledo.

Together, Dylan and Nicole researched the molecular regulation of skeletal muscle growth under the guidance of Dr. Thomas McLoughlin, associate professor in the School of Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, in order to help clinicians develop ways to help patients grow stronger after suffering from muscle loss.

“The opportunity to do real, meaningful, hands-on work in the lab definitely built our confidence and opened our eyes to what is important,” Dylan said about his undergraduate research experience. “My sister and I both plan to next go to medical school. She wants to be a dermatologist, and I want to be a general physician.”

“Whether at home, in the classroom or in the lab, I always had someone I could lean on who was tackling the same challenges,” Nicole said. “Putting our two brains together — even during car rides — made a big difference in our success.”

For some graduates, they found love and are starting their own family.

McKenna Wirebaugh, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, met her soon-to-be husband at UToledo. Both she and Travis Mang, her fiancé, will receive degrees Saturday.

Turns out, planning their upcoming wedding is the only item left on the to-do list. Wirebaugh secured a full-time job as a process engineer at BP’s Cherry Point Refinery in Blaine, Wash., located about 40 minutes south of Vancouver. She is scheduled to start her new job in March, about a month after her honeymoon.

“I chose to go to UToledo because of the mandatory co-op program in engineering,” Wirebaugh said. “It guaranteed I would have a paycheck while in school and build my resumé. I’m grateful for my decision because it ended up launching my career.”

Wirebaugh completed four co-op rotations with BP while at UToledo. She also helped build a water purification unit that was sent to Ecuador through the nonprofit organization Clean Water for the World.

Her favorite experience as a student in the Jesup Scott Honors College was a class focusing on creativity. For a group project on the dangers of cell-phone use, they brought in a PlayStation 2 system and challenged students to text and drive on Mario Kart without crashing.

“My professors have truly cared about me inside and outside of my academic career,” Wirebaugh said. “I don’t see the friendships I’ve made here ending anytime soon.”

In the event of inclement weather, the approximately two-hour commencement ceremonies will be moved to Sunday, Dec. 15.

For those unable to attend, the ceremonies will stream live at video.utoledo.edu.

For more information, go to the UToledo commencement website.

A professor at The University of Toledo has been awarded one of the highest honors a scientist can earn.

Dr. Amanda Bryant-Friedrich, professor of medicinal and biological chemistry, is among the 443 scientists elected in 2019 as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society.

The lifetime appointment is an honor bestowed upon the society’s members by their peers and recognizes individuals for their efforts in advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.

Bryant-Friedrich has created tools for the study of oxidative damage processes in DNA and RNA, contributing to the development of new, more effective ways to treat or prevent cancer, neurological disorders and age-related disorders.

Her research also includes biomarkers, photochemistry, mass spectrometry and ionizing radiation.

“I am thankful to be elected as a Fellow to the AAAS for the contributions I have made to the science that I love,” said Bryant-Friedrich, who also serves as dean of the College of Graduate Studies, vice provost for graduate affairs and director of the Shimadzu Laboratory for Pharmaceutical Research Excellence. “Scholarly recognition by one’s peers is the highest honor, and recognition for my work validates my efforts. I credit this honor to the wonderful like-minded, adventurous students and colleagues who have accompanied me along this journey.”

The AAAS includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serves 10 million individuals, and publishes the journal Science. It was founded in 1848 and its tradition of naming AAAS Fellows began in 1874.

“This prestigious national honor for Dr. Bryant-Friedrich brings great pride to our campus,” UToledo President Sharon L. Gaber said. “Recognition by AAAS is an external validation of our talented experts determined to advance science and improve our world.”

Bryant-Friedrich, who joined the University in 2007, will be honored in February at the organization’s annual meeting in Seattle.

She shares this honor with four UToledo colleagues who were previously elected to AAAS: Dr. Heidi Appel, dean of the Jesup Scott Honors College; Dr. Karen Bjorkman, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs; and Dr. Steven Federman, professor of astronomy, who were named Fellows in 2017; and Dr. Jack Schultz, who recently retired from his position as senior executive director of research development and has been an AAAS Fellow since 2011.

Last year, Bryant-Friedrich was named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society.

She received a bachelor of science degree in chemistry at North Carolina Central University, a master’s degree in chemistry from Duke University, and a doctorate in pharmaceutical chemistry from Ruprecht-Karls Universität in Germany. In addition, she conducted postdoctoral studies at the University of Basel in Switzerland.

Nearly 150 submissions were received for the University’s Good Idea Initiative.

The new program awards and recognizes employees’ ideas that will make an impact in two categories: promoting student success through increasing graduation, retention or enrollment; and increased efficiency, process improvements or cost savings/avoidance.

The winning ideas were submitted by Dr. Timothy Fisher, professor and chair of environmental sciences, and Kathy Wilson, senior business manager in the Division of Student Affairs.

Fisher suggested having the Division of Enrollment Management and colleges coordinate to invite science, technology, engineering and math teachers from area high schools to visit campus during High School Professional Days.

“There would be a campus tour focused on the academic and experiential learning opportunities,” Fisher wrote. “The deans and college advising team would meet with the teachers, followed by department tours, which would include meeting with department advisors, seeing the labs, and talking with undergraduate students who are doing undergraduate research. Teachers also would receive some UToledo swag and brochures to take back to their classrooms to distribute to their students.”

Wilson proposed an intensive training session, or boot camp, for business managers and administrative professionals who work on budgets and finance and human resource issues.

“This boot camp training would replace the current paradigm where employees either learn on the job or through trial and error,” Wilson wrote. “The training would be intensive and detailed, and would be provided by on-campus experts, like those within the Controller’s Office, Finance and Strategy, Human Resources, and Purchasing. Training would lead to more efficiency going forward and additional opportunity to focus on the overall financial health of the division, college or department. It also would allow business managers to become better administrative partners in assisting deans and vice presidents to align existing resources with the University’s strategic plan.”

“We received so many thoughtful suggestions on ways to make UToledo more student-centered and more resourceful,” President Sharon L. Gaber said. “Thank you to all the employees who took the time to participate in the Good Idea Initiative. We are lucky to have such passionate, dedicated faculty and staff.”

The Good Idea Initiative will open again in March.

The winners of the inaugural round of the program had the option of taking a small stipend or a catered lunch for up to nine co-workers.

“Inferring the Past to Create a Better Future Using Paleolimnology” is the topic of a lecture that will take place Thursday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m. at the Lake Erie Center, 6200 Bayshore Road in Oregon, Ohio.

Dr. Trisha Spanbauer, UToledo assistant professor of environmental sciences, will talk about how paleolimnologists use sedimentary records from inland waters to understand past environmental changes, some of which are human-induced.

Paleolimnology is the study of the history of lakes and streams. Sediments from the bottom of lakes contain archives of the remains of many types of terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Studying fossils and chemical signatures of these remains allows scientists to reconstruct past environmental change.

Having recently joined The University of Toledo, Spanbauer is excited to use these techniques on the sediments of Lake Erie. Specifically, she is interested in past changes in algal communities and lower food web dynamics in the Western Basin of Lake Erie.

“I would like the audience to leave my lecture with a better understanding of the diversity of questions and research topics that can be addressed with paleolimnology,” Spanbauer said. “In addition, I will be discussing some fascinating microorganisms, so I hope that the audience will gain an appreciation of the unseen world that exists in lakes.”

For more information on the free, public lecture, email the Lake Erie Center at lakeeriecenter@utoledo.edu or call 419.530.8360.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded The University of Toledo $5.7 million for two solar energy technology research projects.

Both projects involve the University collaborating with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and First Solar, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of solar cells and a company that originated in UToledo laboratories.

It’s part of $128 million in grant funding the federal agency announced today it is awarding to 75 research projects across the country to advance solar technologies that will lower solar electricity costs while working to boost solar manufacturing, reduce red tape, and make solar systems more resilient to cyberattacks.

Media are invited to a news conference Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 2:30 p.m. in the UToledo Research and Technology Complex Room 1010. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and Dr. Frank Calzonetti, UToledo vice president of research, will speak at the event.

The total federal funding awarded to northern Ohio today is $11 million with the addition of $3 million to Eaton Corp. near Cleveland. Representatives from Eaton are scheduled to attend the news conference at UToledo.

“Advancing global leadership in solar energy technology continues to be a critical focus of the University, and we are proud of the incredible progress and determination of our researchers,” Calzonetti said. “In the last few months alone, nearly $14 million in competitive federal funding has now been awarded to faculty and students working on cutting-edge solar technology in the UToledo Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization. Providing a strong research underpinning of our region’s solar energy industry is central to our mission.”

“Investments from the Department of Energy are yielding real results for ensuring a competitive 21st-century solar industry right here in northern Ohio,” Kaptur said. “Today’s competitively awarded grants highlight and support northern Ohio’s important role in the research and development of solar technology. Solar technology will be a monumental part of our economic and clean energy future, not only as a region, but as a nation and as a planet. Innovative institutions, including The University of Toledo and Eaton Corporation, both of which are national leaders in photovoltaics research, are moving the ball forward. As the chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, I will continue to prioritize Department of Energy programs that fund these important programs and grant opportunities.”

Building on its more than 30-year history advancing solar technology to power the world using clean energy, UToledo is pushing the performance of solar cells to levels never before reached.

The Department of Energy awarded UToledo $4.5 million to develop the next-generation solar panel by bringing a new, ultra-high efficiency material to the consumer market.

As part of the project, UToledo will work with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and First Solar to develop industrially relevant methods for both the fabrication and performance prediction of low-cost, efficient and stable perovskite thin-film PV modules.

Perovskites are compound materials with a special crystal structure formed through chemistry.

Dr. Yanfa Yan, UToledo professor of physics, Ohio Research Scholar Chair and leader of the project, has had great success in the lab drawing record levels of power from the same amount of sunlight by using two perovskites on top of each other that use two different parts of the sun’s spectrum on very thin, flexible supporting material.

Yan’s efforts have increased the efficiency of the new solar cell to about 23%.

“We are producing higher-efficiency, lower-cost solar cells that show great promise to help solve the world energy crisis,” Yan said. “The meaningful work will help protect our planet for our children and future generations.”

The Department of Energy also announced an award of $3.5 million to Colorado State University to work with UToledo, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, First Solar and the University of Illinois at Chicago on a project to improve the voltage produced by cadmium-telluride-based solar cells. The amount of the award in this project going to The University of Toledo is approximately $1.2 million. UToledo’s leader on this project is Dr. Michael Heben, UToledo professor of physics and McMaster Endowed Chair.

The grants come after the Department of Energy selected UToledo to host National Lab Day, which last month connected students and researchers with preeminent scientists from world-class facilities across the country to explore opportunities for additional partnerships.

This summer the U.S. Air Force awarded UToledo physicists $7.4 million to develop solar technology that is lightweight, flexible, highly efficient and durable in space so it can provide power for space vehicles using sunlight.

The U.S. Department of Energy also recently awarded UToledo physicists $750,000 to improve the production of hydrogen as fuel, using clean energy — solar power — to split the water molecule and create clean energy — hydrogen fuel.

Eamon King remembers watching an artist working with a fiery-orange blob of molten glass.

“I was a kid on a field trip to Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio,” he said. “That’s when my passion for glass began.”

When he was 16, he took a glassblowing class at the Toledo Museum of Art.

“My first piece was a very ugly paperweight that only my mother would love, so it was a gift to her while I was in high school,” King said and laughed. “She still has it.”

These days his hot work is turning heads.

Check out “Recycled Reflections Through Human Chemistry,” which is on display this semester on the fifth floor of Carlson Library. King created the fantastical mirrors and glass skeleton for his master of liberal studies degree, which he received in May.

“When I created the figure and the mirrors, I thought about how similar we all are as human beings on the inside. We all have the same needs and are built from similar DNA with the most minute differences in traits,” King said.

From sketching to glassblowing to flameworking, the project took about one year. He needed to bone up on anatomy.

“A typical adult skeleton has 206 bones. In my project, I made some changes to the overall skeleton to incorporate scientific glass pieces into the bone structure,” he explained. “All of the glass bones are welded or sealed together and actually consist of only 12 individual pieces that are supported on the metal armature I built.

“For example, in my figure, the spine doesn’t have each individual vertebrae; I used double manifold systems, or Schlenk lines, that are common in chemistry labs and that I built for the spine instead of duplicating vertebrae. I then blew holes and sealed all the ribs and sternum into the manifolds instead of vertebrae. The only bones that are left out from the skeleton other than the spine are the patellas and the hyoid bone.”

King is familiar with scientific glass: He is a part-time glass shop assistant in the UToledo Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

“Eamon King is a very gifted artistic glassblower who has made huge strides in scientific glass,” said Steven D. Moder, master scientific glassblower in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who mentored King for his master’s degree project. “The glass skeleton had a variety of scientific pieces that Eamon was able to pull together for a beautiful, artistic, scientific sculpture.”

In addition to being artful, King is all about recycling.

“I built the frames to hold the large glass pieces for this project. I constructed the frames from wood floor joists that were reclaimed lumber from a renovation of a more than 100-year-old building project in downtown Toledo,” King said.

The cool mirrors feature 100-plus glass pieces that received a reflective coating. King then placed the individual pieces around the larger mirrors.

“The University of Toledo allowed me to create my own program through the Master of Liberal Studies Program, and I worked with Steve Moder in the Scientific Glassblowing Lab, where I learned a whole different skill set,” King said.

As an undergraduate at UToledo, King traveled overseas to learn about Murano glass and worked with traditional Venetian artists. After receiving a bachelor of arts degree from the University in 2008, he taught glassblowing and flameworking at the Toledo Museum of Art for 12 years.

“Compared to working as an artist in area studios the past 15 years, this adventure in precision glassware for chemistry apparatus has been a big change for me,” King said.

“Eamon will keep the argument thriving on whether scientific glass is artistic or highly technical,” Moder said.

Over the summer, King traveled to Corning, N.Y., for a weeklong symposium with the American Scientific Glassblowing Society.

“I had the opportunity to work with and meet many skilled scientific flameworkers from around the world,” King said.

The UToledo alumnus is pursuing a career as an artist while working with Moder in the glass shop.

And doors continue to open: King recently was one of seven artists selected to make a glass key for the city of Toledo.

“I enjoy working with glass due to its limited lifespan and fragile nature,” King said. “It is a constant reminder that if it is not treated with care and respect, it could be destroyed, and eventually, it will be, very similarly to ourselves.”

Looking to advance your career? Want to learn more about continuing your education? Stop by the Graduate and Professional Program Fair Wednesday, Oct. 30.

The event will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. in the Thompson Student Union Auditorium.

Attendees can meet with representatives from colleges and programs; learn ways to fund graduate education; and start the graduate program application process.

On hand will be representatives from all UToledo colleges: Arts and Letters; Business and Innovation; Engineering; Health and Human Services; Judith Herb College of Education; Law; Medicine and Life Sciences; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Nursing; Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Graduate Studies; Jesup Scott Honors College; and University College.

Go to the Graduate and Professional Program Fair website and register.

The first 100 to attend the event will receive an application fee waiver; J.D., M.D. and Pharm.D. applications not included.

For more information, email graduateinquiry@utoledo.edu.

The University of Toledo will welcome nearly 200 people from around the world this week for the 2019 Great Lakes Planetarium Association Conference.

The Great Lakes Planetarium Association is the largest professional planetarium organization in the United States.

The conference, which is from Wednesday, Oct. 23, through Saturday, Oct. 26, will feature Dr. Robert Dempsey, UToledo alumnus and NASA flight director at Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control, who will speak Thursday, Oct. 24, at 2:15 p.m. in the Thompson Student Union Auditorium.

Dempsey, who received a master’s degree and Ph.D. in physics from UToledo in 1987 and 1991, will give a presentation titled “The Making of a Mission.” He will discuss the process that the NASA Mission Operations team goes through in developing a mission, starting from a high-level request to perform a few tasks and how it evolves into the detailed mission that people then see.

“I often joke that NASA really stands for Never Absolutely Sure of Anything, but this talk will illustrate how flexible the operations team needs to be as they develop a detailed mission, including adapting to problems and changes in priority as we go along,” Dempsey said. “After years of detailed planning, we then conduct a significant amount of training in the hopes that the mission goes smoothly. I will use the 20th International Space Station assembly mission in 2010 to illustrate these facets.”

The Great Lakes Planetarium Association, which was established in 1965 and offers membership to all individuals connected with the operation of planetariums regardless of geographic location, is a professional organization dedicated to supporting astronomy and space science education through planetariums. Members come from more than 30 states and four countries, and many work in public and private schools, universities and museums.

The last time UToledo was selected to host the conference was in 1977.

“It’s a tremendous honor to host the 2019 Great Lakes Planetarium Association Conference,” said Alex Mak, associate director of UToledo Ritter Planetarium. “It is rewarding to be recognized by our peer group as an institution that is living up to the high standards of the association. For me personally, it is very rewarding to have an opportunity to give back to the planetarium community, which has had such a huge influence on my life and career.”

Participants include 20 vendors representing the United States, Germany and Japan who demonstrate their equipment.

Three additional UToledo alumni are returning to campus for the conference. They are:

• Waylena McCully, who graduated from UToledo with a bachelor’s degree in geography in 1994 and works at Staerkel Planetarium in Champaign, Ill. She also is the president-elect of the Great Lakes Planetarium Association;

• Bradley Rush, who graduated from UToledo with a master’s degree in physics in 2011 and works for Spitz, one of the largest manufacturers of planetarium projectors in the world; and

• Johnathan Winckowski, who graduated from UToledo with a bachelor’s degree in physics in 2018 and is the planetarium manager at the Besser Planetarium in Alpine, Mich.

The association is an affiliate of the International Planetarium Society, National Science Teachers Association, and Immersive Media Entertainment, Research, Sciences and Arts.