Dr. Tom Oder, Professor of Physics, is currently serving as Program Director for the National Science Foundation. He is originally from Uganda, but now he resides in Youngstown (Liberty township). He received his Bachelor of Science in Physics + Mathematics from Makerere University, Uganda and his Master of Science in Radiation Biophysics from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, UK. He received his PhD in Physics from Auburn University in Alabama. For seven years, Dr. Oder taught undergraduate physics as a Lecturer of Physics at Makerere University. He also worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Kansas State University for four years where he focused on research involving “group III nitride” semiconductors.

Dr. Oder responded to a job advertisement and was selected for the job to serve as a Program Director of Condensed Matter Physics in the Division of Materials Research. The central responsibility of his job is to oversee the review process of proposals submitted to the Condensed Matter Physics program at NSF. When proposals are submitted, they are checked for compliance. He then identifies reviewers without conflict of interest and who have expertise in the field to provide unbiased, substantive, and clear advice to NSF about the proposals. Two main criteria are used in the review: the potential of the proposal to transform or advance the frontiers of science knowledge (intellectual merit) and the potential to “benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes (broader impacts).” The proposals are reviewed either through mail-in or panels. He analyzes these reviews and makes recommendations to either fund or decline them.

Dr. Oder enjoys being able to see and promote the amazing ideas presented to advance knowledge that will soon feed technology for societal benefit. Dr. Oder believes strongly in the importance of university research and agrees with Bill Gates who says "...the way you get innovation is you fund research and you learn the basic facts.”

Dr. Oder would like to thank the YSU administration for supporting his release for the assignment. He wants to also thank NSF for giving him this opportunity to learn and serve the community, and for funding his research over the years. One such award supported the research that led to the first patent issued to YSU in 2014.

Here's a link to Dr. Oder's article about his patent: http://newsroom.ysu.edu/physics-oder-ysu-first-patent/