The University of Toledo’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics will host Saturday Morning Science programs.

The free, public lecture series will cover a diverse range of scientific topics and feature tutorials, demos and hands-on activities.

“Our attendees range anywhere from middle school, high school, undergrads to retirees, some of whom have been coming for eight consecutive years,” said Dr. Joseph Schmidt, UT associate professor of chemistry and program co-organizer. “We get between 100 and 120 people showing up almost every time.”

All programs will start at 9:30 a.m. and take place in Wolfe Hall Room 1205 on UT’s Main Campus. Free parking is available in area 13 and the west parking ramp.

Upcoming topics and speakers include:

•  Feb. 21: “Computable Numbers: Algorithms and Complexity From Ancient Iraq to Modern Particle Physics” with Dr. Paul Hewitt, associate professor in the UT Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

•  Feb. 28: “Improving Water Quality for Maumee Bay — Restoring Ecosystems for Health and Fun!” with Dr. Daryl Dwyer, associate professor in the UT Department of Environmental Sciences and director of the Stranahan Arboretum.

For more information and a full schedule of programs, visit facebook.com/SaturdayMorningScience.

Media Coverage
The Independent Collegian (March 4, 2015)

The University of Toledo is slated to lead eight out of the 18 research projects to be funded with $2 million in state of Ohio research funds to address water quality and algal bloom toxicity.

UT is to receive more than $830,000 of the $2 million dedicated by the Ohio Board of Regents under the recommendation of a committee tasked with deciding how to best utilize and invest the funds. The Ohio Board of Regents announced the research project proposal earlier today.

The University is investing an additional $200,000 to support the research efforts of its faculty.

“The faculty at The University of Toledo were prompt to help when Toledo’s water supply was impacted by toxic algae in Lake Erie and continue to offer their expertise as we seek solutions to the algal blooms that negatively impact our community and others throughout Ohio,” UT Interim President Nagi Naganathan said. “Given our location on Lake Erie and breadth of expertise in environmental sciences, environmental engineering, medicine and spatial sciences, UT is well positioned to provide the important solutions we need to address this concern.”

The UT researchers to receive funding for their projects are:

•  Dr. Thomas Bridgeman, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences, who will work to extend early-warning capacity for harmful algal blooms by placing sensors up to eight miles away from intakes in areas were high toxin levels tend to develop during blooms and investigate environmental variables that provide insight on conditions that promote production and release of algal toxins.
•  Dr. Isabel Escobar, professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, and interim associate dean of research, development and outreach in the College of Engineering, who will study alternative water treatment processes to removal algal toxins, address transport of toxins through drinking water distribution systems and compare processes to detect cyanotoxins.
•  Dr. Kenneth Hensley, associate professor pathology, who will develop a method to detect toxins in biological samples, such as urine or blood, to assess exposure to toxins.
•  Dr. Jason Huntley, assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology, who will test conditions that promote microcystin-degrading bacteria to form biofilms on filters currently used in municipal water treatment facilities.
•  Dr. Patrick Lawrence, professor and chair of the Department of Geography and Planning, who will organize available information and engage Maumee watershed stakeholders to help make informed decisions and suggest best management practices.
•  Dr. Thomas Sodeman, professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at UTMC, who will study the impact of preexisting liver disease for susceptibility of microcystin hepatotoxicity.

A group of more than 60 university researchers, including four from UT who co-chaired focus group areas, were convened by Board of Regents Chancellor John Carey to recommend how the funds would be invested. The group made their recommendations looking at five key areas: Lake Erie harmful algal blooms and lake water quality; drinking water testing and detection; agricultural land use practices, sources of enrichment, water quality, and engineered systems; human health and toxicity; and economics and policy reform.

“This group put a great deal of time and effort into addressing this important issue,” Carey said. “I am very proud of the effort of the researchers from both the public and private higher education institutions. This collaborative effort is evidence of the value of higher education in Ohio to solving the toxic algae issue. We need to build upon this model with other important issues facing our state.”

The newly funded research projects will build upon UT’s already robust work in the area of water quality.

Shortly after the August water crisis in Toledo, a University of Toledo Water Task Force was created. Comprised of faculty and researchers spanning the University’s colleges, UT Medical Center and UT Lake Erie Center, the task force serves as a resource for officials at all levels of government and coordinates existing UT Lake Erie research and ongoing related investigative efforts on water resource management and water quality.

“We are committed to our role as a public research university and are pleased we have the faculty expertise to support our region,” said Dr. Frank Calzonetti, UT vice president for government relations and chief of staff to the president, who is chairing the task force. “UT is in a unique position to provide the resources and expertise sought by our local and regional stakeholders to address this issue.”

Media Coverage
13 ABC, FOX Toledo and WTOL 11 (Jan. 28, 2015)
The Blade (Jan. 28, 2015)
WTOL 11 (Jan. 29, 2015)

A nationally renowned leader will address The University of Toledo graduates at the fall commencement ceremony Saturday, Dec. 20 in Savage Arena at 10 a.m.

Mike Thaman, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Owens Corning, will address the graduates from the colleges of Health Sciences, Adult and Lifelong Learning, Social Justice and Human Services, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Business and Innovation, Communication and the Arts, Languages, Literature and Social Sciences and the Judith Herb College of Education.

“Mike Thaman’s vision and leadership are truly aligned with the University’s commitment to best equip our students with the knowledge and guidance that will help them succeed,” said Dr. Nagi Naganathan, interim president.

There are 2,252 candidates for degrees including 113 doctoral candidates, 594 master’s candidates and 1,461 bachelor’s candidates. The remaining 84 candidates are for education specialist, graduate certificates or associate’s degrees. The ceremony will be broadcast live on video.utoledo.edu.

In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be rescheduled for Sunday, Dec. 21 at 10 a.m. in Savage Arena.

Thaman has held positions in manufacturing, corporate development and international business since joining Owens Corning, a world leader in building materials and composite systems, in 1992.

He has held numerous positions including vice president and president of the Engineered Pipe Systems business, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium; vice president and president of Owen’s Corning’s Exterior Systems Business; and senior vice president and chief financial officer.

A longtime corporate strategist and leader, Thaman emphasizes a human-emphasized approach in helping American businesses thrive.

When he accepted a company leadership award from the National Safety Council earlier this year, he focused on the human-rights aspect of company safety. “For more than 75 years, Owens Corning has understood the importance of having engaged, productive employees who arrive home to their families and friends, without incident, the same way they left.”

Prior to joining Owens Corning, Thaman spent six years as a strategy consultant at Mercer Management Consulting, where he was a vice president in the New York office. He serves as director of Florida Power & Light Co., Owens Corning Fabricating Solutions and Advanced Glassfiber Yarns LLC. For NextEra Energy Inc., Thaman served as an independent director for more than 10 years and as its lead director until this year. He served as a director of AGY Holding Corp., and as director of Florida Power & Light Group, Inc.

Thaman earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University.

Other commencement ceremonies taking place include:

• College of Engineering: graduate commencement 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18; undergraduate commencement 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20. Both ceremonies held in Nitschke Auditorium.
• College of Nursing: 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19 in Nitschke Auditorium.

For more information, visit utoledo.edu/commencement.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Dec. 13, 2014)
The Blade (Dec. 21, 2014)

The University of Toledo Fulldome Studio (UTFS) will premiere its first production, “Santa’s Secret Star,” Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the Ritter Planetarium. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children.

“Santa’s Secret Star” will run Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 1 p.m. through Dec. 20.

The 23-minute program geared toward children in kindergarten through second grade tells the story of how Santa uses astronomy to plan his annual trip around the world. A teacher’s guide and other resources to help further the educational impact of the program will be available.

“Santa’s Secret Star” is based on a planetarium program that Alex Mak, associate planetarium director, created in 1988.

“We’ve updated the script and have created a stunning visual adaptation,” Mak said.

Fulldome programs are immersive, 3D experiences that require a special projection system and are featured in modern, digital planetariums. UT’s fulldome projector, the Spitz SciDome XD, was installed in 2011. Creation of fulldome programs involves a large production crew and can be costly.

“We don’t have all of the needed talent on our small planetarium staff, but it occurred to us that UT, as a whole, does,” Mak said. “By combining our talent with that of others at UT, we have put together a team that can produce high-quality programs for a reasonable cost.”

“Santa’s Secret Star” will be marketed to other planetariums throughout the United States. Revenue generated will be used to support the Ritter Planetarium and future UTFS productions.

“There are many elements to creating a good program. It has to be scientifically accurate and up-to-date. It has to be interesting, engaging and informative. Finally, it needs visual appeal,” Mak said. “The program has to take full advantage of the technological capabilities of modern projection systems.”

UTFS utilizes talent from departments across campus, including the Center for Creative Instruction, the College of Education and the Art Department, among others.

The UTFS crew is planning its next production and hopes to produce two programs each year.

For more information about the Ritter Planetarium, visit utoledo.edu/nsm/rpbo/.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Dec. 11, 2014)

More than 150 future engineers and scientists will visit The University of Toledo as part of the fourth annual Women in STEMM Day of Meetings, WISDOM, on Thursday, May 8.

Throughout the event, which will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., girls in their sophomore year in high school will visit both the UT Main Campus and Health Science Campus to learn about science and technology through hands-on activities. The girls will explore and perform experiments in a number of areas: physics and astronomy, chemistry, biology, engineering, pharmacy, and medicine.

The event is hosted by the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Association for Women in Science, which organizes the exploration day to encourage young women to consider careers in one of the areas offered at the Women in STEMM Day.

“Girls are increasingly interested in science, but there continues to be a lower number of girls pursuing that interest in college and subsequently their careers,” said Dr. Isabel Escobar, UT professor of chemical and environmental engineering, interim assistant dean for research development and outreach for the College of Engineering, and past-president of the Association for Women in Science. “It is our goal that events like Women in STEMM Day will inspire girls to embrace science and technology.”

Students from Toledo Public Schools and Washington Local Schools, as well as Toledo Islamic Academy, will participate in the Women in STEMM Day at UT.

The students will spend from 9:30 to 10:40 a.m. in the Student Union performing activities developed by in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics that include making solar cells and “meet your DNA” experiments. From 11 to 11:45 a.m., students will visit the College of Engineering, where they will learn about earthquakes and sound, build a motor, and have lunch in the North Engineering Building. Following lunch, they will visit the UT Health Science Campus from 1 to 2:15 p.m. to learn about plastination in the Block Health Sciences Building and to make sanitizer in the Health Education Building.

In addition to the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Association for Women in Science, the event is sponsored by the Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women, the Toledo Chapter of the American Chemical Society, SSOE Group, Marathon Petroleum Corp., and the UT colleges of Engineering, Medicine and Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Media Coverage
The Blade (May 9, 2014)

Dr. Gilbert Strang, a renowned mathematician who has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for more than 50 years, will give an online presentation Wednesday, April 9.

His free, public talk, “Teaching Online (Even Massive Open Online Courses) and the Math of Tridiagonal Matrices,” will take place at 7:30 p.m. and can be viewed in Memorial Field House Room 2100.

Strang

“This talk has two connected parts — both parts strongly connected with the audience,” Strang said. “It begins with unusual graphs — simple to create, hard to believe. This will be a small example of online teaching.”

Strang will share a bigger example of online teaching with a few minutes of MIT OpenCourseWare. He teaches Introduction to Linear Algebra and Computational Science and Engineering, both available as web lectures at ocw.mit.edu. More than four million have watched the classes online.

“A massive open online course is a big undertaking; it needs feedback on the past and present if it is to succeed in the future,” he said.

Since joining the MIT faculty in 1962, Strang has thrived. He has contributed to finite element theory, the calculus of variations, wavelet analysis and linear algebra, and has written 11 books and monographs.

His scholarly work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and the Haimo Prize and Chauvenet Prize from the Mathematical Association of America.

In addition, he has served as president of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Strang was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1957, and a National Science Foundation Fellow at the University of California in Los Angeles, where he received a doctorate in 1959.

His virtual return to the UT campus is sponsored by Delta X and Pi Mu Epsilon, the mathematics honor society at the University.

In 1986, Strang gave a talk when Pi Mu Epsilon celebrated its 50th anniversary at UT.

For more information on Strang’s online talk, contact Dr. Ivie Stein, UT associate professor of mathematics, at ivie.stein@utoledo.edu or 419.530.2994.

Learn about the origin of our universe and the big bang theory from a leading astrophysicist.

Dr. Lloyd Knox, professor of physics at the University of California at Davis, will give the 2014 McMaster Cosmology Lecture Thursday, Feb. 27, at 4 p.m. in the Driscoll Alumni Center Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

In his talk, “Confirmed Truths and Remaining Mysteries Regarding the Origin of the Universe,” Knox will discuss the history of the big bang picture of our origins, clarifying its observational successes and highlighting the remaining questions that drive us toward deeper exploration.

“[My lecture] is designed to celebrate the universe in which we live and our quest to understand it,” Knox said. “While doing so, I hope to give the broader audience a better understanding of the process of science and a sense of the excitement of discovery.”

Knox is leading the U.S. component of the effort to determine the basic parameters of the cosmos from the data acquired by the Planck satellite launched in 2009.

“We are extremely excited to have Professor Knox speak this year,” Dr. Tom Megeath, UT associate professor of astronomy, said. “He is a leader in his field and has an incredible reputation for being able to take a complex subject and explain it to a general audience.”

The McMaster lecture is an annual event at the University in honor of the late Harold McMaster, a solar energy pioneer and a benefactor of UT who had a deep interest in cosmology.

Mixing chemicals together causes reactions that form new substances and molecules; basic science 101.

Developing specific groups of very stable, very consistent, and very valuable molecules — called nanoparticles — well, it takes quite a bit more expertise.?

A group of researchers led by The University of Toledo and Dr. Terry Bigioni, UT associate professor of chemistry, have created ultra-stable nanoparticles using silver atoms, making them far less expensive to create — most stable nanoparticles use gold atoms — and far more abundant.

The discovery was published recently in the scientific journal Nature.

Nanoparticles, Bigioni explained, are used in the medical world for the targeted drug delivery that makes up an increasing component of individualized medicine tailored to the needs of each patient. Silver has long been used for its antibacterial properties in medical applications and recently applied to fighting cancer.

“We’ve created stable silver nanoparticles in massive quantities and in a very pure form, using a less expensive substance than some of the traditional methods using gold,” Bigioni said. “Their purity is a huge advantage for biomedical applications.”

Bigioni said the substance, M4Ag44(p-MBA)30, consists of a cage or shell of protective molecules around a central core of silver atoms, which prevents the silver from oxidizing.

“Anyone familiar with silver utensils or dishes knows they tarnish, they rust. By creating this interlocking framework, we are able to stabilize the silver atoms and create a nanoparticle that we think can be used for a wide variety of purposes,” he said.

Bigioni pointed to his collaborations with photovoltaics experts at UT. M4Ag44(p-MBA)30 can be used as a dye applied to a solar panel substrate and is 10 times more light absorbent than dyes currently available.

“You can take eighty dollars’ worth of silver and turn it into thousands and thousands of dollars’ worth of dyes for solar panels,” Bigioni said, noting that he already has commercialization efforts under way.

Dr. Karen Bjorkman, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, praised the work of Bigioni and his team.

“The publication of this work in one of the premier scientific journals in the world speaks volumes about the caliber of people and the quality of the research happening at UT and in the natural sciences,” Bjorkman said.

“Terry is an outstanding chemist and a wonderful teacher for our those students who are helping him advance science in a way that will have tangible and profoundly positive results for people around the world.”

The presidents of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Battelle Memorial Institute will speak at The University of Toledo’s commencement ceremonies Sunday, May 5.

Pianalto

In the morning ceremony Sandra Pianalto, who has been president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland since 2003, will speak to graduates from the colleges of Business and Innovation, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Visual and Performing Arts, and Languages, Literature and Social Sciences at 9:30 a.m. in Savage Arena on the University’s Main Campus.

At the afternoon ceremony Jeff Wadsworth, president and CEO of the Battelle Memorial Institute since 2009, will address graduates from the Judith Herb College of Education, Health Science and Human Service and the College of Adult and Lifelong Learning at 2 p.m.

There are 3,041 candidates for degrees, including 886 candidates for doctoral, education specialist and master’s degrees, and 2,155 for bachelor’s and associate’s degrees. Each ceremony will be webcast live on video.utoledo.edu.

“We are honored to have such accomplished professionals as Sandra Pianalto and Jeff Wadsworth at this celebration of academic achievement,” UT President Lloyd Jacobs said. “These individuals know well the value of higher education and have gone on to do incredible things within their professions and as productive members of their communities. They are both positive role models for our graduates as they move forward in the next chapter of their lives equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills taught by our wonderful faculty.”

Wadsworth

Pianalto will receive an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration and Wadsworth an Honorary Doctor of Engineering. Also receiving an Honorary Doctor of Commercial Science is Robert Savage, a distinguished UT alumnus and co-founder of the Savage & Associates insurance and financial management business in Toledo.

Pianalto began her career at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland in 1983 as an economist in the research department. In 20 years, she ascended to assistant vice president of public affairs, vice president and secretary to the board of directors, first vice president and chief operating officer and finally president and CEO — a position she’s held for 10 years.

Her professional success comes directly from her understanding of the importance of education. The daughter of Italian immigrants who came to America more than 50 years ago, Pianalto had helped them study for their United States citizenship examinations as a third-grader.

Pianalto went on to receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from Akron University and The George Washington University.

Wadsworth is president and CEO of Battelle Memorial Institute, which is the world’s largest nonprofit research and development organization. Formed in 1925 in Columbus, Battelle has developed the Xerox machine and a number of innovations in medical technology, telecommunications, environmental waste treatment, homeland security and transportation.

Savage

Before his current position, Wadsworth led Battelle’s Global Laboratory Operations business where he oversaw the management of six national laboratories of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center.

Wadsworth earned a bachelor’s degree and doctorate in metallurgy from Sheffield University in England. The University also awarded him a Doctor of Metallurgy degree in 1991 for his published work and received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree in 2004.

Savage, who will receive a UT Honorary Doctor of Commercial Science, received his bachelor’s in business in 1959 from the University and was awarded in 2003 the Gold T Award, the highest honor for UT alumni.

A generous alumnus, he gave in 2006 a $1 million donation that was the catalyst for a new, state-of-the-art center for students in the College of Business and Innovation: The Savage & Associates Complex for Business and Learning Engagement, which opened in 2010.

Savage was a member of the UT Board of Trustees for nine years and trustee for The University of Toledo Foundation for nine years.

The UT colleges that will hold individual commencement ceremonies are:

• College of Nursing, 1 p.m. Friday, May 3 in Savage Arena.
• College of Engineering, graduate commencement ceremony 5 p.m. Friday, May 3 and undergraduate commencement 3 p.m. Saturday, May 4, both in Nitschke Auditorium.
• College of Law, 10 a.m. Saturday, May 4 in Student Union Auditorium.
• College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4 in Savage Arena.
• College of Medicine and Life Sciences, 2 p.m. Friday, June 7 in Stranahan Theater.

Media Coverage
The Blade (April 30, 2013)
The Blade (April 30, 2013)
The Blade (May 6, 2013)
The Blade (May 6, 2013)
The Blade (May 10, 2013)

A large fraction of the universe is invisible to the naked eye — and to every other scientific instrument ever invented.

Dr. David Hogg, associate professor of physics at New York University, will talk with students, faculty and staff at The University of Toledo about astronomy’s search for this substance during the 2013 McMaster Cosmology Lecture titled “Where and What is Dark Matter?” Thursday, April 4, at 4 p.m. in the Driscoll Alumni Center Auditorium.

Hogg

“Observations of galaxies — and the universe as a whole — have taught us that most of the matter in the universe is not in the form of ordinary atoms but in some unknown form called dark matter, which interacts with ordinary matter essentially only through gravitational forces,” Hogg said.

“Dark matter gets its name because it does not emit, reflect or absorb light; it is truly invisible. I will discuss the reasons we believe that dark matter exists and why the alternative explanations of the relevant phenomena are now very unlikely to be correct,” he said.

Dr. Michael Cushing, UT assistant professor of astronomy and director of the Ritter Planetarium, said dark matter is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in astrophysics.

“The debate about whether dark matter really exists is effectively over, so the focus among astronomers is shifting to detecting dark matter directly,” Cushing said. “David is a leader in the field, and I’m excited to hear what he has to share.”

For more information on the free, public colloquium, contact Cushing at michael.cushing@utoledo.edu.

Click here to download a photo of Hogg.