The Liquid Crystal Institute will celebrate 40 years of research at its second annual Liquid Crystal Day.

The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. April 22 at the Samsung Auditorium, located on the first floor of the Liquid Crystal and Materials Sciences Building.

Online registration for the event is free before friday, and registration the day of the event will be $10.

The purpose of Liquid Crystal Day is to recognize the accomplishments of the Liquid Crystal Institute and its key contributors during the past 40 years. It will also allow individual scientists from different academic and professional areas to interact, said Jim Maxwell, public relations coordinator for the Liquid Crystal Institute.

Maxwell said the first Liquid Crystal Day was a great success, with 125 people attending.

The event will feature speeches from four liquid crystal specialists: Tom Lubensky from the University of Pennsylvania, Gregory Crawford from Brown University, David Chung from Quanta Display Inc. in Taiwan, and Jonathan Selinger from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, according to event chair L.C. Chien.

Students who work with liquid crystals also get to share their research. They will submit an abstract and will present posters that demonstrate their research, Maxwell said.

Students will present their research in front of a board of judges, and students who have the best presentations will be honored at the end of the event with an awards ceremony, Maxwell said.

Last year, students had the chance to interact with representatives from industries that use liquid crystal technology in their products, and they will have the same opportunity this year, Maxwell said.

“That was kind of our goal to get communication going between all of the different parties involved,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell said the event isn’t just for the liquid crystal scientists because there are plenty of attractions for the general public, including a tour of the facility.

“They can come here, and they can see the industrial exhibition, which is really neat and there is a lot of interaction with the different devices that are out there on the market,” Maxwell said.

Liquid Crystal Day is dedicated to the late Glenn Brown, who founded and served as the director of the Liquid Crystal Institute from 1965 through 1983. Brown’s widow, Jessie Brown, will receive a lifetime contribution award for her husband’s contributions to the Liquid Crystal Institute, according to a press release.

To register or find more information about the event go to http://www.lcd.kent.edu.

Contact science reporter Douglas M. Kafury at [email protected].