# Robin Selinger

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**Robin Lillian Blumberg Selinger** (*née* Blumberg)[1] is an American [materials scientist](/source/Materials_science). She is professor of physics at [Kent State University](/source/Kent_State_University) and the [Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute](/source/Liquid_Crystal_Institute). In 2016, Selinger became the first female Kent State University faculty member to be elected a Fellow of the [American Physical Society](/source/American_Physical_Society).

## Early life and education

Robin Lillian Blumberg was born to parents Elliott and Louise Blumberg[2] in [Arlington, Texas](/source/Arlington,_Texas), United States.[3] Growing up, her family attended [Congregation Beth-El (Fort Worth)](https://www.bethelfw.org/) where she was one of the first girls to celebrate a [bat mitzvah](/source/Bar_and_bat_mitzvah).[4] As a high school student at [Fort Worth Country Day School](/source/Fort_Worth_Country_Day_School), Selinger received a four-year corporate-sponsored National Merit scholarship after scoring high on standardized tests.[5] Following high school, Selinger enrolled at [Harvard-Radcliffe College](/source/Harvard-Radcliffe_College) for her undergraduate degree in Physics. She remained at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) for her graduate degrees in the same field.[6] While completing her studies, Selinger received the Zonta International Club's Amelia Earhart Award and the [National Science Foundation](/source/National_Science_Foundation) Fellowship Award.[3] Her PhD thesis, which was completed under the guidance of [Bertrand Halperin](/source/Bertrand_Halperin) and [H. Eugene Stanley](/source/H._Eugene_Stanley), was entitled *Physics of disordered media: Aggregation and diffusion.*[7] Following her PhD, Selinger completed her postdoctoral work at the [University of California, Los Angeles](/source/University_of_California,_Los_Angeles), the [University of Maryland](/source/University_of_Maryland), and [National Institute of Standards and Technology](/source/National_Institute_of_Standards_and_Technology).[8]

## Career

Following her postdoctoral work, Selinger joined the physics faculty at the [Catholic University of America](/source/Catholic_University_of_America) in 1995 and then spent a sabbatical at the [United States Naval Research Laboratory](/source/United_States_Naval_Research_Laboratory) from 2002 to 2003.[8] While at CUA, she earned a [National Science Foundation CAREER Award](/source/National_Science_Foundation_CAREER_Award) for her project *Evolution of Dislocation Microstructures* which ran from 1997 to 2000.[9] She then moved to [Kent State University](/source/Kent_State_University) as a full professor in 2005.[8] As a professor at Kent State, Selinger co-hosted the Ohio STEM Project Fair which engaged high school students in [Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics](/source/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics).[10] She was also the Founding President of The Northeast Ohio STEM Alliance and served as a consultant to the [Educational Testing Service](/source/Educational_Testing_Service) for the Physics [Graduate Record Examinations](/source/Graduate_Record_Examinations) and Praxis General Science Examination programs.[11] Later in her career, Selinger helped develop the [Liquid Crystal Institute](/source/Liquid_Crystal_Institute)'s [Master of Science](/source/Master_of_Science) in Liquid Crystal Engineering to explore the "application of liquid crystal engineering in addition to the fundamentals of liquid crystal technology."[12]

In 2016, Selinger became the first female faculty member at Kent State University to be elected a Fellow of the [American Physical Society](/source/American_Physical_Society) (APS). She was recognized for her "fundamental contributions in theory/simulation of materials, focusing on liquid crystals, polymers and lipid membranes" and her outreach activities.[13] Following this, she was among eight researchers who published findings that demonstrated the potential application of photoactive films in light-driven locomotion and self-cleaning surfaces.[14] Selinger was elected to the APS Council of Representatives beginning in 2019 and served as Speaker of the Council in 2022.[15] In January 2020, Selinger was elected to a three-year term on the APS Board of Directors.[16]

## Personal life

Selinger and her husband Jonathan are active members of Temple Beth Shalom in [Hudson, Ohio](/source/Hudson,_Ohio); she is the [cantorial soloist](/source/Hazzan) while he is past-president of the congregation.[17][18] They have two adult children.[19]

## References

1. ["Marriage of Blumberg / Selinger"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110619874/marriage-of-blumberg-se-linger/). Fort Worth Star-Telegram. May 29, 1985. Retrieved October 2, 2022. – via newspapers.com.

1. ["Arlington in action...with C-J Publisher Tom Cronk"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110619426/arlington-in-actionwith-c-j/). Fort Worth Star-Telegram. July 20, 1986. Retrieved October 2, 2022. – via newspapers.com.

1. ["Arlington in action....with Margaret Galloway"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110619336/arlington-in-actionwith-margaret/). Fort Worth Star-Telegram. July 23, 1986. Retrieved October 2, 2022. – via newspapers.com.

1. Kaufman, Jane (May 7, 2020). ["Robin Selinger"](https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/magazines/bar_bat/looks_back/robin-selinger/article_cd020714-8fad-11ea-8349-fba7267581c8.html). Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved October 10, 2022.

1. ["Area pupils scholarship recipients"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110619488/area-pupils-scholarship-recipents/). Fort Worth Star-Telegram. April 24, 1980. Retrieved October 2, 2022. – via newspapers.com.

1. ["Robin Selinger"](https://www.kent.edu/physics/profile/robin-selinger). Kent State University. Retrieved October 2, 2022.

1. ["Robin Lillian Blumberg Selinger"](https://www.mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=170462). [Mathematics Genealogy Project](/source/Mathematics_Genealogy_Project). Retrieved October 21, 2022.

1. ["ROBIN SELINGER ELECTED TO APS BOARD OF DIRECTORS"](https://www.kent.edu/amlci/news/robin-selinger-elected-aps-board-directors). Kent State University. January 2, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

1. ["CAREER: Evolution of Dislocation Microstructures"](https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9702234&HistoricalAwards=false). National Science Foundation. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

1. ["Kent State to Host STEM Project Fair on Feb. 1"](https://www.kent.edu/kent/news/kent-state-host-stem-project-fair-feb-1). Kent State University. 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

1. ["Robin Selinger: General Councilor"](https://www.aps.org/about/governance/election/selinger.cfm). American Physical Society. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200805223334/https://www.aps.org/about/governance/election/selinger.cfm) August 5, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

1. Runnels, Jacob (April 29, 2015). ["New Liquid Crystals program to inspire innovation"](https://web.archive.org/web/20240229020432/https://kentwired.com/32763/latest-updates/new-liquid-crystals-program-to-inspire-innovation/). *kentwired.com*. Archived from [the original](https://kentwired.com/32763/latest-updates/new-liquid-crystals-program-to-inspire-innovation/) on February 29, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

1. Maxwell, Jim (November 10, 2016). ["Kent State's Robin Selinger Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society"](https://www.kent.edu/einside/news/kent-state%E2%80%99s-robin-selinger-elected-fellow-american-physical-society). Kent State University. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

1. Gelebart, Anne Helene; Jan Mulder, Dirk; Varga, Michael; Konya, Andrew; Vantomme, Ghislaine; Meijer, E. W.; Selinger, Robin L. B.; Broer, Dirk J. (June 29, 2017). "Making waves in a photoactive polymer film". *[Nature](/source/Nature_(journal))*. **546** (7660): 632–636. [Bibcode:2017Natur.546..632G](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017Natur.546..632G). [doi:10.1038/nature22987](https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22987). [PMC 5495175](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5495175). [PMID 28658225](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28658225)

1. ["Speaker of the APS Council Robin Selinger"](http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/202202/selinger.cfm). *www.aps.org*. Retrieved 2022-11-05.

1. Maxwell, Jim (January 2, 2020). ["Robin Selinger Elected To APS Board Of Directors"](https://www.kent.edu/amlci/news/robin-selinger-elected-aps-board-directors). Kent State University. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

1. Kaufman, Jane (May 4, 2020). ["Kent State shooting recalled during Temple Beth Shalom service"](https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/local_news/kent-state-shooting-recalled-during-temple-beth-shalom-service/article_4bd80b58-8e03-11ea-8d21-9790ec2c2c2a.html). [Cleveland Jewish News](/source/Cleveland_Jewish_News). Retrieved October 10, 2022.

1. ["Our Leadership"](https://tbshudson.org/our-leadership/). *Temple Beth Shalom, Hudson, Ohio*. October 28, 2011. Retrieved 2022-11-05.

1. ["Our Staff"](https://tbshudson.org/our-staff/). October 28, 2011.

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