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Liquid Crystal Oral History Project records

Special Collections and Archives

Liquid Crystal Oral History Project records

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Special Collections and Archives

Liquid Crystal Oral History Project records

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Finding Aid for the Liquid Crystal Oral History Project records

Author: Cara Gilgenbach, March 29, 2023
Descriptive Rules: DACS 2nd Edition
Revisions: Updated, February 2024


Origination: Crawford, Matthew James and Packer, Todd
Inclusive Dates: 2021-2023
Extent: 1 cubic foot (2 half-sized record storage boxes)
Physical Location: 11th floor
Language of the Materials: English


Abstract: This collection includes interviews and associated materials created and compiled by the Liquid Crystal Oral History Project, directed by Dr. Matthew J. Crawford, a history professor at Kent State University.


History of the Liquid Crystal Oral History Project: The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project (LCOHP) began as a collaboration between Dr. Matthew J. Crawford, Associate Professor in the Department of History at Kent State University, and Todd Packer, a former intellectual property manager at Kent Displays Inc. in Kent, Ohio, in the summer of 2020. The initial goal was to conduct an oral history interview with Dr. J. William Doane in order to capture his life in science and his role in the development of liquid crystal science, technology, and entrepreneurship in Northeast Ohio. With grants from the Center for the History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics in Washington, DC and the Ohio History Fund, Crawford was able to expand the scope of the project to include additional oral history interviews in order to document the development, impact, and history of the Liquid Crystal Institute  (LCI) more broadly. The history of the LCI as well as its faculty, staff, and alumni provide important insight into the contributions of Kent State University and Northeast Ohio to the history of science, technology, and innovation in the late twentieth century. Additional information on this project was recorded in a June 2022 press release(Historical note written by Matthew J. Crawford.)

Scope and Content: This collection includes the content of the Liquid Crystal Oral History Project at Kent State University history. While the oral history interviews themselves form the bulk of the collection, it also includes information about the project such as clippings, grant proposals, and other materials.


Arrangement: The collection is currently divided into two major series: 1) Project Records and 2) Oral History Interviews.

Preferred Citation: Liquid Crystal Oral History Project records. Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections & Archives.

Related Materials: Special Collections & Archives holds historical records of the Liquid Crystal Institute (now known as Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute--AMLCI) and the papers of Glenn H. Brown. Contact specialcollections [at] kent.edu (Special Collections & Archives) for further information on these holdings.

Acquisition Information: This collection was placed in Special Collections & Archives by Matthew J. Crawford, starting in fall 2022. 

Alternate Form Available: The oral history interviews that were conducted as part of this project are available in digital format (audio recording and textual transcript). They are accessible via the Special Collections & Archives digital archive. Links to the interviews are included below as they are published in the digital archive.

Accruals: This project is ongoing. Interviews and associated materials will be added to this collection as they are completed and made available.


Detailed Description of the Collection

Series 1: Project Records

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

  1. Clippings, Press Releases, 2022
  2. Grant Proposals: Center for the History Physics, 2021
  3. Grant Proposals: Ohio History Fund, 2022
    Scope and Content: This proposal includes resumes/vita for members of the LCOHP advisory group.

Series 2: Oral History Interviews
Arrangement: The oral history interviews are organized alphabetically by the name of the narrator (interviewee).
Scope and Content: The paper files associated with each interview include the interview protocols (annotated outline of questions and subjects to be covered in the interview), a printed copy of the interview transcript, biographical information on the narrator, and other materials that are germane to each interview.

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

  1. Crawford, Renate J., 2023
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Alumni (Graduate)
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  2. Cunningham, Beth A., 2022
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Alumni (Graduate)
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  3. Doane, J. William, 2021
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Director; LCI Faculty
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): This oral history interview was funded in part by a Grant-In-Aid from the Center for the History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics and Kent Displays, Inc.
    Restrictions on Access: The unedited transcript and audio recording of this interview are currently restricted. At this time, only an edited transcript is publicly available.
     
  4. Groom, Merrill, 2022
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Staff
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  5. Heffelman, Barbara, 2023
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Director - Family Member
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Scope and Content: This is a recorded conversation between Barb Heffelman and Matthew Crawford regarding Heffelman’s memories of her father (Glenn Brown, founding director of the LCI) and some of the historical documents that illuminate her father’s life. 
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  6. Jákli, Antal, 2023
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Faculty
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  7. Kanters, Carol, 2023
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Undergraduate Laboratory Assistant
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Related Material: Kanters refers to a plaque in her interview, an image of which has been scanned. A short video also supplements this interview.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  8. Khan, Asad, 2021
    Narrator's Role(s): CEO of Kent Displays, Inc. (Kent, Ohio); LCI Alumni (Graduate)
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): This oral history interview was funded in part by a Grant-In-Aid from the Center for the History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics. The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  9. Landry, Elaine, 2021
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Staff
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): This oral history interview was funded in part by a Grant-In-Aid from the Center for the History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics. The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  10. Lavrentovich, Oleg, 2022
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Director
    Related Material: Lavrentovich created some images on a whiteboard during this interview and referred to a poster of which some photographs were taken. Images of both can be accessed in the digital archive, or from a link within the associated transcript for this oral history.
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  11. Palffy-Muhoray, Peter, 2023
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Associate Director
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.

Box 2
Folder -- Contents

  1. Schenz, Anne, 2023
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Alumni (Graduate)
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  2. Schenz, Timothy, 2023
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Alumni (Graduate)
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Historical Note: Although Dr. Tim Schenz did not work directly in the field of liquid crystals, he had several interactions with the Liquid Crystal Institute as a graduate student at Kent State University. In addition to describing his own career as a chemist, his oral history provides context for the educational and professional experiences of his spouse, Dr. Anne Schenz, the second woman from Kent State University to earn a PhD with a focus on liquid crystals. 
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  3. Selinger, Jonathan, 2023
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Faculty
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  4. Selinger, Robin Lillian Blumberg, 2023
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Faculty
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  5. Taheri, Bahman, 2023
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Post Doctoral Fellow; LCI Associate
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.
     
  6. West, John, 2021
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Director; LCI Associate Director; LCI Faculty; LCI Senior Research Fellow
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): This oral history interview was funded in part by a Grant-In-Aid from the Center for the History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics.
     
  7. Westerman, Philip, 2023
    Narrator's Role(s): LCI Associate
    Alternate Form Available: The oral history interview and textual transcript are available on the Special Collections & Archives digital archive site. Click on the name linked above to access this content.
    Sponsor(s): The Liquid Crystal Oral History Project was funded in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection.