In This Issue

Meet CSU's New Faculty

Todd Nelson, Political Science

Dr. Todd H. Nelson, an assistant professor in the Political Science Department, joined CSU in 2019 after earning his Ph.D. from Kent State University in transnational and comparative politics. His research interests are Russian politics, security studies, and memory politics.

In the late 1990s, he was the subject matter expert on Russian affairs in the Organized Crime Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. From 2000-2004 he was a Russian-German-Ukrainian linguist and interrogator in the Military Intelligence Corps of the U.S. Army, and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster after a deployment to Kosovo.

In October of 2019, his book Bringing Stalin Back In: Memory Politics and the Creation of a Useable Past in Putin’s Russia was published by Lexington Books. His work has also been published in the journal Post-Soviet Affairs, and he co-authored a book chapter in an edited volume about the Democratic Peace Theory. While at CSIS, he was the researcher and editor of the policy paper, “Russian Organized Crime and Corruption: Putin’s Challenge.” He is currently researching the presentation and memorialization of the Holocaust in Ukraine.

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Featured Researcher Center Series

The Energy Policy Center

The Energy Policy Center (EPC) is housed in the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. The mission of the EPC is to help overcome social and institutional barriers to the implementation of solutions to energy challenges through energy-related research in the areas of public policy, economics, business, and social science.

Led by Executive in Residence Andrew Thomas, the Center’s research and publications span topics from smart grids to shale gas economics to the hydrogen economy.

Federal Research News

NSF REU Funding

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the NSF. In addition to REU sites, REU supplements may be included as a component of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements or may be requested for ongoing NSF-funded research projects. CSU faculty with a current NSF grant are encouraged to consult with your program officer regarding an REU supplement, especially if student research has sustained losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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CSU Scholar News

Hongxing Ye, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Dr. Hongxing Ye is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2016.

Dr. Ye’s research focuses on improving the reliability and fairness of the electricity market as variable energy resources (VERs), and he is the principal investigator for projects supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), and the CSU Office of Research. His NSF-sponsored research has led to the creation of a novel optimization approach for uncertainty management, which can effectively and securely integrate high-level renewable energies. His research group’s data-driven optimization technologies have helped MISO save up to $50,000 per day in operational costs while enhancing security. Dr. Ye is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), serves as an associate editor and peer reviewer, and is a regular presenter and chair for international conferences.

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Inspired Creativity

Podcast: Apply Topically

Dr. Elliott Ingersoll, a professor and Chair of the Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership, and Adult Learning, and Dr. Stacey Litam, an assistant professor in the department, are co-hosts of the Apply Topically podcast. Launched in March 2019, the show examines contemporary topics from the viewpoint of counselors. Topics have ranged from the use of psychedelics in drug-assisted counseling to the role that lying plays in our lives. Apply Topically can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, among many other platforms.

If you are a faculty or staff member with an interest in creating a podcast, CSU’s Center for Instructional Technology and Distance Learning has created an on-campus podcasting studio.

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News from the Technology Transfer Office

Provisional Patent Application

The CSU Patent Review Committee approved the invention disclosure of Dr. Hongxing Ye, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), titled “Privacy Preserving Approach to Peak Load Management.” The invention provides a novel privacy-preserving framework to manage the peak load of an energy system or grid. In the absence of detailed user profiles, the technology can still efficiently manage the peak load using a novel algorithm. The speed of the new method significantly outperforms state-of-art commercial optimization solvers.

Contact Jack Kraszewski for assistance with a disclosure to begin the process of protecting your invention or intellectual property.

hBN Sunscreen

This year’s I-Corps@Ohio program was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, CSU team hBN Sunscreen, led by Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering Geyou Ao and supported by undergraduate students Brandon Heppe, Tanner Larson, Cameron Tolbert, and Jacob Vitale, was selected as an early participant to advance through the modified I-Corps@Ohio online program.

The team is applying the customer discovery process to determine the commercial viability of a novel sunscreen comprised of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanosheets in solvents at high concentrations. The nanosheets have enhanced biocompatibility and the high mass potency needed to produce emulsified products at lower material costs while remaining environmentally friendly relative to current products.

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Summer Research

Summer Research Updates

Due to the cost-reduction measures taken to address the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on University operations, staff in the Office of Research, the Technology Transfer Office, and Sponsored Programs and Research Services will have periods of limited availability during the summer. Faculty who are developing research proposals or patent disclosures or undertaking other research-related activities are encouraged to contact research staff early in the process to ensure that you receive timely support.

The CSU Board of Trustees has approved raising the small purchase level, which applies to purchases of goods or services that are exempt from the competitive bidding process, from $2,500 to $10,000. This policy is in effect as of June 1. Purchases above $10,000 but less than $25,000 still require solicitation of multiple quotes, while purchases above the $25,000 bid threshold require competitive bidding or competitive selection. Purchasing policies can be found here.

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