| Brief for Kent State magazine Copy deadline: Jan. 22 Reviewers: Howard Gudell, Bahman Taheri, Greg Wilson, John West Word count: 248 Writer: Carole Harwood |
| Most drivers have experienced sudden, temporarily blindness when they are driving at night and another vehicle pulls onto the highway and its headlights create a glare in the rear-view mirror. New applications of advanced liquid crystal technology may provide a solution to this problem. Scientists from AlphaMicron Inc, (Kent, Ohio) and Elbit Systems Ltd. (Haifa, Israel) received a $1 million award from the Bi-national Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation of Tel Aviv, Israel. The award will support the development of prototype auto-dimming mirrors that will reduce glare automatically despite rapid changes in weather and lighting conditions. Three scientists affiliated with Kent State's world-renowned Liquid Crystal Institute established AlphaMicron Inc. in 1997. This award from the BIRD Foundation will allow AlphaMicron to build upon the success of patented liquid-crystal-based technology that gives eyewear users instant control over tint and/or color of light. This technology was first applied to visors on helmets used by U.S. Air Force pilots. Since successfully developing this technology for the Air Force, AlphaMicron Inc. is pursuing commercializing this technology for the consumer eyewear market, and exploring ways to use apply it on ski goggles, sunglasses and motorcycle helmets. Elbit Systems Ltd. develops, manufactures and integrates advanced high-performance defense electronic and electro-optic systems, and has worked with automotive industry worldwide. The Ohio-Israel Chamber of Commerce, a statewide non-profit economic development organization, facilitated the partnership between AlphaMicron Inc. and Elbit Systems Ltd., in order to help them build upon their complementary strengths to commercialize new technology. |