Summer 2003 -- Vol. 56, No. 3

Research

Green flag to automotive research

Clemson's graduate automotive engineering initiative will receive $15 million in lottery funds through the state’s new Research Centers of Economic Excellence provision. The announcement came in late June.

The state funding and required $15 million match will help pay for endowed professorships in auto design and development, automotive systems integration and manufacturing, as well as additional faculty, support staff and technicians. The faculty will be based at Clemson’s proposed new graduate engineering education center in Greenville.

“This world-class research will grow South Carolina’s automotive industry and provide exceptionally well-qualified master’s and doctoral graduates for BMW Manufacturing Corp. and the state’s burgeoning auto industry,” says Chris Przirembel, Clemson’s vice president for research. “If we want to keep companies like BMW in South Carolina, it’s vital that we help them remain competitive.”

The endowed chairs enhance an initiative by Clemson, BMW and the state Department of Commerce to construct a premier graduate engineering education center. Officials said the center could make the Upstate a hub of automotive research.

Knowledge-based industry clusters fuel their regions’ prosperity and drive national economic growth through innovation and a highly qualified workforce. Already existing examples include the N.C. Research Triangle and the semiconductor cluster in Austin, Texas.

The state’s $15 million allocation to Clemson will now be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis with money from BMW and other automotive suppliers.

Click here to learn more about the Clemson International Center for Automotive Research.

Sugar trigger

Science magazine spotlights the groundbreaking sugar research of Clemson plant biochemist Brandon Moore and others. The April 11, 2003, issue of the international research journal reports that a team of scientists, including Moore, has found that sugars not only serve as fuel for plants but also as signal compounds to genes critical to cell development and plant growth.

The research provides insights into the fundamental importance that sugars play in both plants and animals. Scientists predict the findings will lead to new research on the role sugars have in human development and disorders, such as diabetes and obesity. For now, the research findings are expected to have more impact on agriculture, identifying new ways to improve crop yields.

Raspberries vs. cancer

Aging, too. Clemson scientist Lyn Larcom’s research on raspberries has found that these berries and other fruits contain powerful chemical compounds that can improve the body’s resistance to cancer growth and skin aging brought on by pollution and sun exposure.

A goal of the research is to develop skin creams that inhibit cancer and the skin changes resulting from aging and sun exposure. Larcom’s work has attracted the attention of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health and private interests. Dermacon Inc., a South Carolina-based corporation specializing in plant-derived health products, is working with Larcom.

Incredible SimMan

A trio of new patients in Clemson’s School of Nursing are presenting an array of challenges for nursing students. These human patient-simulators can speak and breathe. Their pulse can race, and they can have heart attacks. These computerized patients can also make a full recovery if given proper treatment.

SimMan is a critical teaching tool addition for Clemson’s Clinical Learning and Research Center Renovation Project, the top priority for the School of Nursing. Nursing is collaborating with the School of Architecture to design a Clinical Learning and Research Center. The center will simulate state-of-the-art clinical environments and highly technical teaching/learning models, essential for education in today’s complex medical field.

For more information about supporting the clinical center, contact Pat Padgett at (864) 656-5890 or pdgett@clemson.edu.

BB&T banks on Clemson

Clemson’s John E. Walker Department of Economics is getting a $1 million boost from BB&T to enhance a research center that supports economic education.

The BB&T Center for Economic Education and Policy Studies will help people better understand markets in practical and ethical terms. The gift will support five initiatives over the next five years.

• An Ethical Foundations of Markets and Capitalism course will be offered at least once a year and taught in conjunction with Clemson’s philosophy department.

• A BB&T Economics Summer Camp will be held to interest and educate rising high school juniors and seniors in the basic principles of economics. Activities will include classes, seminars and lessons led by Clemson faculty, visits with business people and tours. It will also involve Clemson faculty in political science, philosophy and religion.

•BB&T Research Scholars will receive grants and awards to assist in their basic and applied economics research.

• BB&T Economic Education Awards will recognize outstanding high school economics teachers and economics students in high school and college. The awards will carry a financial honorarium for the teacher and the high school. The students will be recognized as Economic Student of the Year.

• A BB&T Scholar-in-Residence will receive financial support for economics research.

BellSouth invests in Clemson photonics

BellSouth has committed $50,000 to the University’s Spiro Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership for its work with the Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET).

The funding will support a proposed Center of Economic Excellence in Photonic Materials. The gift will support a feasibility study, development of marketing materials and a Web site, visits to companies and research centers to lay a foundation for research relationships and industrial recruitment, an Entrepreneurship in Photonics symposium and entrepreneurial experiences for graduate students involved in photonic-related research.

This initiative led by Caron St. John, director of the Spiro Center, and John Ballato, director of COMSET, advances the University’s efforts to transform the region into a hot spot of photonics technology firms. The Center of Economic Excellence in Photonic Materials will initiate and sustain partnerships and programs among researchers, educators, industrial partners and entrepreneurs to develop new photonics technologies and transfer those technologies to new and existing companies. The goal is to spur technology-based economic development that will create jobs, build new companies and bring new companies to this region.