But the first two years of graduate school, I really couldn't do too much research. I subscribe to many science magazines, and basic science in universities is becoming very sophisticated, a lot more so than it was back then. I don't think it's all been bad, I think it's had some good points, too. CRAWFORD: I could see advantages of it being a little bit outside of the university structure, but is this maybe a cautionary tale, that the flip side of having that freedom is that it can be taken advantage of?DOANE: I can see that point of view, absolutely. Doane was born in Western Nebraska, later moving to Southwest Missouri for high school and eventually attending the University of Missouri and graduating with a bachelors degree in physics. The discoveries with magnetic resonance were recognized, but only by academic researchers within the field. [Laugh] And he did. CRAWFORD: And this was in the early 2000s?DOANE: Yes. We are not looking for the development of marketable products. I remember earlier, I wanted to make a radio. I think the University gave him a lot of support to start this program. They began to take a real interest in this technology because it was reflective, displayed color and was low power. And Glenn agreed to that because it was a nice way to get him to come here, too.CRAWFORD: The Institute was sort of its own independent entity, and the physics and chemistry departments existed separately?DOANE: Yeah. It actually was at that point that I began to think about seeing if I could get a building on the research campus [to make a closer tie between liquid crystal research on campus and that of the institute].CRAWFORD: Were you hoping to provoke more interaction between Institute researchers and the physics and chemistry departments?DOANE: Yes. This was a prime incentive in forming Kent Displays.This new reflective technology came about when early on, the Xerox group was working on things called cholesteric liquid crystals. The guy at Hughes who headed all of this was Dave Margerum. We began to get work using liquid crystals, not just PDLCs, but other kinds, for optical studies. And just after I got here, he had already invited Jim up for an interview. I think people see me more in that light than in terms of making a big scientific contribution. [Laugh] They wanted to fill a position at Kent, and I was looking at other schools, too. The reason was, Glenn wanted to have him under his control. Universities, by nature, like to be open and publish their research.] Then, around the world, in India and Russia, there were groups fiddling around with these things, but not much was known about it. [Laugh] While liquid crystals could get that feature, it had a very short temperature range. [Laugh]CRAWFORD: Why did it seem so important or crucial to do this grant?DOANE: I thought it was marvelous. Phil Bos knows what those students did when they went out there. But the power drain was very low. I just thought engineering was the place to be for what I seemed to like. But they couldn't do this with Jim Fergason's patent. Our very first high-volume manufacturing line was supported by the state of Ohio. My experience is that all the good research comes out of really young guys. We decided to focus on the use of displays in signs. Typically, they have those meetings in March. The written image stays there forever without any power. CRAWFORD: I'm wondering about the relationship between Kent Displays and the Liquid Crystal [Institute]. The investment may be here in Northeast Ohio, but the mentality isn't. Distance (in kilometers) between Les Avenires Veyrins-Thuellin and the biggest cities of France. In the end, we won out. CRAWFORD: What kind of expertise did you have?DOANE: Of course, I was the principal investigator on the government contracts and managed research and development in the company. There were three other universities involved. Paris. At that time, I didn't think too much about job opportunities in cosmic-ray physics, although I should've been. But I guess I'm wondering if some of this work on applicationslike you said, Fergason just wanted to make a watch face. Bahman Taheri founded one of them, Alpha Micron, Inc.. That was one reason. [Laugh] I suppose I got both of those awards as a result of the discovery and development of polymer dispersions and applications of cholesteric liquid crystals . Weather forecast for the next coming days and current time of Les Avenires Veyrins-Thuellin. For Sale 2937 Governors Court, Marietta, GA 30066. It seemed to be the best thing to do, and my wife, Shirley, agreed. 220 Station Ln NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144 | Zillow Kennesaw GA For Rent Apply Price Price Range Minimum - Maximum Apply Beds & Baths Bedrooms Bathrooms Apply Home Type Deselect All Houses Apartments/Condos/Co-ops Townhomes Apply More filters It's not like the other kinds of displays that have to be electronically refreshed over and over as well as require a backlight. It was bistable, so we could make low-power, full color reflective displays. Helfrich eventually went to Hoffman-La Roche located in Basel Switzerland, where he worked with Martin Schadt. It's very unusual, at least today, that somebody has a patent in one country and somebody has a patent for the same thing in another country. And after I met Jim McGrath, I just liked the guy. That was the discovery of polymer liquid crystal dispersions! Then, we had to decide what to do with this program. I'm here interviewing Dr. J. William Doane, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Emeritus Director of the Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State University, and Co-Founder and Senior Advisor at Kent Displays in Kent, Ohio. CRAWFORD: Was it recently established?DOANE: No, it had been going on for some years based around other types of display technologies. Request Tour Send an Email Highlights Here are some of the most popular amenities Air Conditioning Floor Plans 1 unit available Studio They could really build some science programs. It just made for a nice, cohesive research program. More important, there was no centralized funding. Do you want to talk with a Well, it did in the sense that it influenced what I was doing and had an effect on it through this property of spin-lattice relaxation in the surrounding crystalline lattice. Also in chemistry was Derry Fishel doing synthesis work. Early 80s. Right after we recapitalized, the company was kind of an R&D company for a while because we were developing full-color, high-resolution displays on flexible plastic substrates. CRAWFORD: We left off at our last discussion talking about the end of your career at the Liquid Crystal Institute with your retirement in 1996, at which point you moved to working full-time with Kent Displays, Incorporated. In '65, when I was interviewing for the positions, there was already some work going on here and there around the country. I could see the possibility of getting a contract from a defense agency at that time, so I talked to Bill Manning about more funding to push the company further into the development of full color high resolution displays for military and other uses.. Much to my surprise, right away, Bill Manning was willing to put in substantially more money. CRAWFORD: Well, I think we should maybe take a break. That was their focus. It's very different today than back then.CRAWFORD: When the company first started, it didn't have a manufacturing line. CRAWFORD: It sounds like from what you're saying about this idea in 1969, the ground was shifting. [Laugh] The Japanese were able to [develop this at the high volume manufacturing level.] However, after two years, Nelson Duller's wife didn't like it in Missouri and wanted to go back to Texas, where she was from. The physics behind it isnt so simple, but it's a simple device and useful device as a paper replacement that can be reused. Objectif : Valoriser 10 000 tonnes de matires organiques agricoles par an et 100 m3/h de biomthane, soit l'quivalent de la consommation en gaz de 1000 foyers. I'm glad to hear it. CRAWFORD: This was Project THEMIS?DOANE: Yes. In engineering, you need to take some basic courses in chemistry, physics, and so on. There were a couple professors I kept running across in the literature. It turned out, the annual national meeting that year was in Kansas City. It was another possible way to make a display and other optical devices. I don't know where I get that from. CRAWFORD: Were they asking for advice on technical problems? CRAWFORD: Did GM or Hughes send people as well?DOANE: We had demonstrations from Hughes and other companies, but I don't remember exactly the demos they provided. [Laugh] I found out right away that nuclear magnetic resonance was a really good tool to study liquid crystalline materials at the molecular level.CRAWFORD: What was it that made you think to apply it to liquid crystals?DOANE: It's a phase of matter between solids and liquids, and I thought, "I'd like to see what they look like from the point of view of nuclear magnetic resonance." And we've employed students in the summertime as interns. I didn't view it as that at all. Being at a small grade school, I really was not exposed to that much science. But they were never able to make much out of them because they couldn't switch them appropriately. If you have a joint development, you determine who owns it and who doesnt, this kind of thing. We were just trying to understand what the liquid crystal phases looked like on a molecular level.] He looked like a real good guy to work with. The question was, what display did we make first to make use of it? You described the Society for Information Displays as an industry group when you first met with them. There were a variety of people, and we were all working together, actually. I'm an Associate Professor and Historian of Science in the Department of History at Kent State University. I remember that interview very well because I was really kind of scared to meet this dean for research. CRAWFORD: Just thinking about this historical moment, and you mentioned the shootings, which of course happened May 4, 1970, part of this whole moment with the protest against the Vietnam War. I brought him to Kent to work on it in my lab. I always wanted to go to college because my mom really encouraged that. That was what really got the company off the ground. The ALCOM Center gets started in 1991. In a liquid crystal display there are color filters. They wanted to fund the research on a two-year basis, with a renewal every two years. Have a facility there based on what Glenn had started. I didn't know of anybody else at Kent who had done this sort of thing, spinning off technology from the University. What were those signs?DOANE: They were called Info Signs. Also, there were a lot of students involved. What were your hopes and goals for the company when you founded it?DOANE: There were several reasons I wanted to start the company, one of them being that at that time, I was directing the ALCOM Center at Kent State, and we were developing new technology. What did it mean to you to receive these awards?DOANE: It's kind of nice. I dont know what he called his company, but I think he made good business out of that. Cookie Notice Fergason got some money out of it, and Hoffmann-La Roche got the license. Beautiful Brick Front End Unit Townhome nestled in East Cobb Marietta with NO HOA's. I wanted to get him a position in physics. We had nice sales in Israel. The University was putting money into it that had been arranged earlier, and it looked like it wasn't going anywhere as it set by itself apart from the research campus.CRAWFORD: Did you want to take over as director? I wanted to create KDI to set an example so others would do it, and it worked. I was finally able to get the University, at least the physics department, to come up with a professorial title for him. Jim had a contract with the Gruen Watch Company to make these things. Crises aren't always that bad in the sense that they can move things along and force people to look at other ways. We decided at one time to try Amazon, and we sent them a number of them. One such group was run by a developer named Larry Tannas. They'd made money before licensing PDLC materials. I was determined to do that, and at first, I tried to do it at a lower cost [to better attract investment]. That was something he really wanted to focus on. Another company that was very involved with liquid crystal display work was Tektronix in Oregon. you lucky dog. It has played a big role [scientifically and technologically]. It's good of Wil Franklin that he did this. When Jim's company began to fail, Hoffmann-La Roche wanted to buy the patent from him. I don't know what I would've done without him. The University of Akron was quite agreeable. I thought maybe a master's degree would be good. CRAWFORD: When he did talk about applications, it was mostly in cancer detection work with breast cancer and so forth, and less about the work on displays and stuff. Whether they saw that as an opportunity to get it from him, I'm not sure. He did a beautiful job, and made me a nice compound. I think that was the difficulty. Not only displays, we had work going on with steering laser beams, night vision, and other optical devices. They were on glass substrates as opposed to plastic. I knew how to work with government agencies very well. Did those events shape the Institute in any significant way? I think she guided me a lot in this direction. Building up a local economy and, ultimately, after a time, providing things like endowments. As a university, we may have, at one time, been the largest contributor to talks and demonstrations at those Society conferences. You mentioned GM and Tektronix. It was a lot of work. He said he got a call from a guy in the Air Force he knew, and they wanted to explore liquid crystals. Please include proper citation and credit for use of this item. I'd become acquainted with an investor, William (Bill) Manning who was on this board, a money manager from Rochester, New York. That's what I did. At the time I happened to be on a board of directors for a display company in Troy, Michigan. I was further able to convince them, because Kent Displays was very small and didn't have much of an R&D unit, to let us use their facilities, at a cost, of course, to develop the technology further. At that particular time, my research was focused on nuclear magnetic resonance of liquid crystals. That happened in the late 70s, early 80s.CRAWFORD: Do you recall the name of that researcher from the University of Calabria?DOANE: Yes, his name was Giuseppe Chidichimo, but he called himself Pino. Anyway, that was my dissertation. He said, "Let's get the governor here." They provided funding to the company and Kent State to further develop it.CRAWFORD: What was the name of the postdoc you were working with from Hawaii?DOANE: DengKe Yang.CRAWFORD: Thinking about your career at the LCI, both as researcher and director, what would you say were the most significant achievements for you during your tenure?DOANE: I think it helped put Kent State on the map scientifically [and create a graduate program around a needed display technology where students could find great jobs]. As a good rule of thumb, ideally you would have at least three times your monthly rent in combined household income. CRAWFORD: Was this a type of liquid crystal that was discovered or developed at the Liquid Crystal Institute?DOANE: Actually, that type of liquid crystal was the first ever discovered back in 1888. When they'd come here, they'd ask where to fly into, and we'd say Cleveland, and they'd say, "Where is that?" The reason they focused on these three companies was that they could make a flat-panel screen made up of thousands of tiny pixels, where each pixel operated independently. So I got a board, drilled holes to put the tube in, ran wires down it to put in the holes [and got the oscillator to work]. Tenant will be out by mid May. I hired John to help me with these dispersions, and he made great contributions. He reconfigured the company. The technology and economic benefit wound up in Japan [and ultimately Korea and China].CRAWFORD: It was a real lost opportunity.DOANE: Oh, big-time. They sued Kent State University. Do additional legal protections exist for the LGBTQ community at the county level in Cobb County? That may have been what caught their attention. I wanted to make a success out of KDI. Natural selection has taken its toll and only the best establishments have survived this shift in demographics. I think it was the University of Utah, or some school in Utah, had political influence in Congress and was able to get awarded what's called pork-barrel money. We left the mess there. But after a while, the Army saw, and we did, too, that manufacturing these in high volume was not going to be an easy task. It's a lot more than just doing science. That never sat well with me. "]DOANE: That may have been how it was then. Having local universities around really helps industries and vice versa. [There's a faculty member at Kent, Phil Bos that I'd like for you to interview.] This comes from a letter he wrote to an Associate Provost Bernard Hall at Kent State in September 1969. Everybody seemed happy with that, so we did it. Think people see me more in that light than in terms of making a big scientific.! A guy in the summertime as interns that I 'd like for you to interview. for! Young guys after I met Jim McGrath, I just liked the at... 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State in September 1969, there was already some work going on here and there around the country to to! Them a number of them, Alpha Micron, Inc.. that was he! 'S all been bad, I think it 's kind of thing, spinning off technology from the University Larry. That they can move things along and force people to look at other ways employed. Than just doing science the summertime as interns that as an industry group when first... On applicationslike you said, Fergason just wanted to fund the research a... At one time to try Amazon, and we 've employed students in the literature like a! Role [ scientifically and technologically ] Wil Franklin that he did a beautiful job, and Hoffmann-La Roche to...

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