Kent State University doctoral candidate David Wiant will be the sole recipient of the prestigious Otto Lehmann Award for 2007. One of only two major international dissertation awards in the field of liquid crystal technology, the annual honor recognizes young scientists for outstanding thesis or dissertation work.
This is the first time the award has gone to a doctoral candidate in the United States.
Wiant, a native of Brunswick, Ohio, will receive his diploma May 12 at a Kent State graduation ceremony and plans to travel to Germany this summer to accept the award. Wiant, who will graduate with a doctorate in physics, looks forward to a career in academia.
Wiant’s doctoral dissertation advisor, Professor of Physics Dr. James Gleeson, says "David is incredibly talented and diligent; this award is richly deserved."
The prize, awarded by the Universitat Karlsruhe and the Otto Lehmann Foundation, is named after Otto Lehmann, famous German physicist and "father" of liquid crystal technology.
Award submissions are evaluated by an independent scientific jury consisting of experts from universities and industry. The final decision for the award(s) is made by the Otto Lehmann Foundation.
Wiant is available for comment at dwiant@kent.edu.