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YSU’s first federal patent comes from professor’s research
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
A Youngstown State University physics and astronomy professor secured the university’s first federal patent.
Tom Oder received the patent for a silicon carbide barrier diode.
“What you have in your cellphone and most of your electronics is made of silicon,” Oder said in the YSU College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics newsletter. “The problem of silicon is that it cannot withstand high temperature. So, if your device is working at a high temperature, it has got to be cooled. Otherwise, it is going to fail.”
Silicon carbide offers an alternative. Oder has obtained patents before, but it’s a first for YSU, according to the newsletter.
The announcement of Oder’s securing the patent was made to YSU trustees during a presentation Thursday about faculty research before the quarterly round of trustee committee meetings.
The University Affairs Committee approved a resolution to begin the process to fill the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences vacancy. Shearle Furnish, who was the college’s founding dean, left in June for another position.
Teresa Riley, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the position would be advertised in the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed.
Plans call for candidates to visit campus in the spring with the new dean starting July 1, she said.
Jane Kestner, associate dean, is serving as the college’s interim dean. CLASS houses nine departments with about 2,300 students enrolled.
Another resolution to ratify personnel actions taken by the university since June 18 generated more discussion.
Included among the list are new and replacement employees as well as faculty promotions.
Trustee Ted Roberts said he’d like the board to be more involved in the decision of filling positions because of the university’s budget situation.
“We’re trying to be prudent and responsible as our fiduciary responsibility requires us to be to the university and to the taxpayers,” he said. “We need to be involved earlier with respect to new hires and with respect to replacements.”
Trustee Harry Meshel questioned the 30 promotions included on the list. The promotions are of associate professors who were elevated to professor and assistant professors who rose to the associate professor rank. The promotions include pay increases.
Kevin Reynolds, chief human-resources officer, said the promotions occurred in accordance with the faculty contract. Committees within the departments and colleges review the applications of those eligible for promotion to determine if a promotion is awarded. The provost then recommends names for promotion to the university president.
Neal McNally, interim vice president for finance and administration, said the new salary amounts are figured into the budget approved by trustees in June.
Meshel then asked Holly Jacobs, university general counsel, to find out how long the section pertaining to the promotion committees had been part of the faculty contract.
“I want to know who was on the board at that time,” he said.