Liquid Crystal Research Parnership

Biographies of Key Research Staff

Dr. Christin Frieswyk DeJong
Urban Botanist
Cleveland Botanical Garden

Dr. Frieswyk DeJong joined the staff at Cleveland Botanical Garden in the fall of 2006.  In her main role, she leads the development and implementation of applied research projects at the Garden.  Projects range from using new technology to create increasingly sustainable environments under glass to investigating low-maintenance landscaping that provides ecosystem services. While still early in her career, Frieswyk DeJong has published several peer-reviewed papers.

Christin received her B.S. degree (1999), with Honors, in Environmental Science from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan and her Ph.D. (2005) in Botany from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  She received a University Fellowship from UW-Madison in 2000/2001 and maintains status as an Honorary Fellow in UW’s Botany Department.

Mark J. Druckenbrod
Project Coordinator

Mr. Druckenbrod has worked in the field of horticulture and with Cleveland Botanical Garden since 1984. Throughout his 23 year association with the Garden, Druckenbrod served as Horticulturist, Director of Horticulture and Director of Research and Conservation.  During the Garden’s unprecedented 45 million dollar expansion campaign, Druckenbrod developed the landscape plans and oversaw the installation of plant collections in the Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse.  Druckenbrod specializes in tropical orchids and maintains a private greenhouse and with an extensive collection of over 600 cultivars and species of orchids. 

Mr. Druckenbrod is a highly respected research associate and field biologist for the University of Florida.  He has conducted field studies in over 40 countries (including Brazil, Cameroon, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea) studying ornamental horticulture and rainforest flora and fauna.  Druckenbrod has a B.S. in Agriculture from The Ohio State University and a Master of Nonprofit Organizations from Case Western Reserve University.   

Dr. John L. West
Vice president for Research and dean of Graduate Studies
Kent State University Liquid Crystal Institute

Dr. West joined Kent State’s Liquid Crystal Institute (LCI) staff in 1984; he served as director of the LCI (1995-2003) and the National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Advanced Liquid Crystalline Optical Materials (ALCOM). He initiated ALCOM’s Industrial Partnership Program, which has attracted over 30 North American companies and an Industrial Sponsors Program designed for scientific interchanges with Asian and European companies.

In parallel with his administrative duties, West maintains an active and productive research program. He has published more than 120 articles and holds 12 U.S. patents related to liquid crystal materials. West holds a B.S. (1976) in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary; an M.S. (1979) in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University; and a Ph.D. (1980) in Physical Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon.

Dr. Oleg D. Lavrentovich
Director of the Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics program
Kent State University Liquid Crystal Institute

Dr. Lavrentovich joined the Liquid Crystal Institute as a Senior Research Fellow in 1992, and became LCI director in 2003. He is widely published and internationally respected in the field of liquid crystal science and application. He received a 2007 Kent State Distinguished Scholar Award. Lavrentovich received his Ph.D. (1984) and Doctor of Science (1990) degrees in Physics and Mathematics from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. He held visiting appointments at the University P. et M. Curie, University Denis Diderot in France and other universities. He is the member of the Editorial Board of Physical Review E and advisor of the Kent State University SPIE Student Chapter.

Deng-Ke Yang
Professor LCI and Chemical Physics program
Kent State University Liquid Crystal Institute

Dr Yang’s research specialties include cholesteric liquid crystals, liquid crystal/polymer composites and electro-optical devices. He is co-inventor of bistable cholesteric display (BCD) technology, currently the world’s most promising technology for electronic paper. Yang received his Ph.D. (1989) in Physics from University of Hawaii.