Philosophy

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan "Press On" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”          Calvin Coolidge

Teaching

Don has been a member of the University of Toledo faculty since 1967. Don has taught over two dozen different courses, including courses in business law, anti-trust, administrative law, white collar crime and intellectual property. Don’s teaching load is typically among the highest in the College of Business. His teaching evaluations have been and are among the highest in the College of Business. He has been nominated over 10 times for the UT Outstanding Teacher Award and six times for the College of Business teaching award.

Interaction with Students

Don enjoys and invites interactions with students. He has taught over 25,000 students, many of whom have had highly successful careers as owners of small businesses or as executives in Fortune 500 companies. Students may telephone or email him outside of regular office hours.

Research

Don's legal and business research includes original academic research publications in pyramid

marketing. In addition, he has designed and demonstrated an original mathematical model for

measuring the cumulative effects of technology on economic growth. Other academic research in law and business includes deceptive business practices, white-collar crime, and drugs in the workplace. Don has also published numerous papers on flat panel displays including digital TV and high definition TV. He is internationally recognized as an authority in plasma display panel (PDP) technology and PDP intellectual property.

Business Experience

Don brings practical, real-life experience to his courses. He has degrees in law, business, and

engineering and has over 40 years of experience in the start-up and operation of small businesses. He is a member of the Ohio bar and the Pennsylvania bar, and is admitted before the U. S. Supreme Court. Don is also a registered U. S. Patent Attorney and an expert in intellectual property law.

From 1966 to present, he has been active in the research and development of chemical and electronic technologies including high definition television display technologies. From 1966 to 1978 he was Division Intellectual Property Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary for Owens-Illinois, specializing in lasers and flat panel display technologies including AC gas plasma and liquid crystal displays.

Family Business Experience

In 1978, Don and his family founded Photonics Technology for research, development and manufacture of large area high definition displays for the Department of Defense. Two other firms, Photonics Systems and Photonics Imaging, were subsequently formed in 1988 and 1990, both founded and owned by the Wedding family. The Photonics companies were sold in 1997.

A new Wedding family company, Imaging Systems Technology (IST), was formed in 1997 as a split-off of the Photonics Companies and is currently owned and operated by the Wedding family. IST is a member of the Family Business Center, College of Business, The University of Toledo.

The small businesses formed by Don or his family have received over 200 contracts with the United States Government Research Awards and/or foreign governments and have done over $200 million in business. These include contracts in partnership with The University of Toledo.

Don directed the design and development of the first 1.0-meter flat panel display (1981) and the first 1.5 meter flat panel display (1986), both of which were the world's largest, high resolution, flat panel displays. These displays have been internationally recognized with awards including the prestigious I-R 100 Award (now R&D 100 Award), in 1981. Don and his daughter, Carol Ann Wedding directed the development of the world's first full-color (RGB) AC plasma display with video motion which also received the I-R 100 Award in 1990. In 2005, Carol Ann Wedding and IST received the R&D 100 Award for the first flexible substrate PDP.