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Summer 2004 -- Vol. 57, No. 3
Stopping breast cancer Chen, a biological sciences professor and assistant director of the Oncology Research Institute of Greenville Hospital System, is the first S.C. scientist to receive funding from the esteemed foundation in Dallas. He will use the $250,000 grant to further his research on stopping breast cancer cells from developing. Over the past five years, Chen and associates have focused on developing a potential treatment for breast cancer. "With this grant," he says, "we can move ahead on testing whether the approach will significantly improve the existing treatment in an aggressive subtype of breast cancer." Chen's research involves working on a counter-agent to prolactin, a hormone normally produced in the brain and mainly responsible for mammary gland development and milk production, but possibly involved in breast cancer development. Preventing bone loss The skeletal system is dynamic, constantly restoring old, damaged bone with newer bone. Osteoporosis develops when the restoration process breaks down. Gravity and weight-bearing exercise affect bone usage, which alters bone removal and replacement rates. When astronauts are in microgravity, they lose bone mass at a rate of .5 to 2 percent per month, approximately five times the rate a post-menopausal woman will lose bone. Bateman's team is looking for a way to prevent bone loss with a natural protein called osteoprotegerin and to stimulate the formation of bone post-flight. The biotechnology company Amgen Inc., in Thousand Oaks, Calif., is providing the protein. "We're addressing astronaut health," says Bateman, "but this research will ultimately impact millions of people here on Earth - people who are bedridden, who have osteoporosis and paralysis."
The team captured the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title and won the ACC tournament. The team then reached the "final four" in NCAA tournament play, making it the first of any Clemson women's teams to reach the national semifinals. Clemson's Julie Coin, a mathematical sciences major, reached the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Tournament and earned All-America honors in singles for the season. She was one of four nominees for the 2004 Collegiate Women Sports Award. The team's final ranking was fifth in the nation according to the Inter-collegiate Tennis Association poll released in June. Pictured top row, from left, are assistant coach Sylvain Malroux, athletic trainer Julie Goodwin, student athletes Julie Coin, Ioana Paun, Silvia Gutierrez, Maria Brito and Daniela Alvarez with student coach Laurence Jayet and head coach Nancy Harris. Beside the trophy are student athletes Alix Lacelarie (left) and Richele LeSaldo.
These Calhoun Honors College students are, from left, physics major Will Sams from Anderson, electrical engineering major Vijay Ullal from Mount Pleasant, computer engineering major Jeffrey Young from North Augusta and mechanical engineering major Matthew Williams from Batesburg-Leesville. One goal of Clemson's honors college is to attract and keep the best students in South Carolina. All four of Clemson's latest Goldwater Scholars are from the state. In fact, of the 12 Clemson students who've won Goldwater Scholarships since 1992, 10 of those have been South Carolinians. These students are also Dixon Fellows, members of a unique community dedicated to intellectual, cultural and personal growth. The program enhances students' ability to compete for international fellowships and for admission to top-level graduate and professional schools. For more about the Calhoun Honors College, visit the Web at www.clemson.edu/cuhonors or email cuhonors-l@clemson.edu.
Earlier this year, Daw was named to the Bowen Endowed Chair of Physics at Clemson. He uses theoretical physics to understand what makes metals strong and to suggest ways to make them stronger. His work, funded by NASA, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, could lead to new metal alloys capable of enduring extreme stress and temperatures. Applications of his work include components of power-generating turbines and future generations of space vehicles. Driving the Future Clemson was awarded $8 million in state funds in April to support two new faculty positions whose research will drive economic development. The funding was approved by the Research Centers of Economic Excellence Review Board and must be matched with nonstate funds raised by Clemson. The program is funded through revenues from the S.C. Education Lottery. The $8 million will fund faculty positions in automotive engineering and advanced materials, two emphasis areas in which Clemson is working to build nationally prominent programs. Clemson will receive $3 million for an endowed chair in vehicle electronic systems integration - bringing to four the number of endowed faculty positions at Clemson's International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville. Matching funds for the chair already exist, thanks to a $3 million gift to Clemson announced earlier this year by Michelin. The chair holder will be a member of the faculty at the Campbell Graduate Engineering Center. Clemson also was awarded $5 million to endow a faculty position in photonics, the technology of designing and improving optical materials that have vast potential in electronics, medical and computing applications. The chair holder will be affiliated with Clemson's Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technology (COMSET), which has generated $13 million in external funding and spun off two startup companies since its founding in 2000. Those two companies already have earned $1 million in federal research grants. For more on Clemson-ICAR, visit the Web at www.clemson.edu/autoresearch; for more on COMSET, go to comset.clemson.edu. Biotech complex Clemson dedicated its new Biosystems Research Complex in April, a laboratory facility serving as a focal point for biotechnology research. Biotechnology is a growing field that uses life sciences to create new products and processes in medicine, agriculture and industry. The $27 million Biosystems Research Complex was built with the support of the S.C. General Assembly. The complex includes 108,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratories and 40,000 square feet of climate-controlled greenhouses. The complex's resources include an automated system to mass produce genetic reference libraries as well as a mass spectrometer, a supercritical extraction unit and micro-array capabilities. For more information about Clemson's biotechnology programs, visit the Web at www.clemson.edu/bio. Twice a hero The degree, honoring the late Lt. Col. Jimmie Dyess, was presented to his daughter, Connor Dyess Smith, and son-in-law, Maj. Gen. Perry M. Smith, a retired Air Force officer and analyst for CBS Radio News. Dyess is the only recipient of the nation's two highest awards for heroism, the Medal of Honor and the Carnegie Medal. He was killed in combat on Feb. 2, 1944, as he led his troops in an assault on a Japanese gun nest on Roi-Namur in the Marshall Islands. His bravery was rewarded with the Medal of Honor posthumously. Dyess received the Carnegie Medal before going to war for his heroism in rescuing two stranded women from a dangerous surf off the S.C. coast.
S.C. DNA learning center The mission of the South Carolina DNA Learning Center is to provide outreach education in modern genetics and biotechnology to K-12 teachers, college educators, nonformal educators and students. The center will offer a variety of sessions and workshops in genetics and biotechnology that will give students the opportunity to do hands-on experiments. The center will be located in Jordan Hall on the Clemson campus and directed by biological sciences professor Robert E. Ballard. It will be funded with public and private money including grants, fees and contributions. The S.C. DNA Learning Center will begin offering half-day workshops
in genetics and biotechnology for middle and high school students
in the spring 2005. For more information, call Ballard at (864)
656-3579 or email ballard@clemson.edu. 'Profoundly' champions Communication studies major Megan Massett and genetics major Brad Smalling scored a first for Clemson. They brought home the first individual national title in forensics in the University's history. They were named national champions in duo interpretation at the American Forensic Association - National Individual Events Tournament last spring. The pair presented "Profoundly Normal," a performance about a mentally handicapped couple who meet in an institution that closes, forcing them to adjust to the outside world. The American Forensic Association is a professional organization of educators and researchers in argumentation and public advocacy.
WestZone Opening in 2006, the WestZone Club is the cornerstone of Clemson's efforts to transform Memorial Stadium into one of the most innovative and inviting stadiums in the nation. These state-of-the-art facilities will not only allow Clemson to better recruit top-ranked student athletes and coaches, but will get us closer to our goals of competing financially with the top universities. For more information, visit the Web at clemsontigers.com or call (864) 656-2114.
Yandle began as an economics professor at Clemson in 1969 and retired in May 2000. He served as a member and as chairman of the S.C. State Board of Economic Advisors and as executive director of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. As a senior fellow at Clemson's Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Yandle produces a quarterly newsletter that analyzes national, regional and state economic trends and activity. Former dean Jerry Trapnell retired in July. A national search for a permanent dean will begin this fall. Think nationally Clemson freshman SAT scores are 12th in the nation for public universities, and its graduation rate is 19th. Clemson is one of the "Top 100 U.S. Colleges and Universities for Entrepreneurs," according to Entrepreneur magazine (May 2004). Clemson appears in the list of top-50 regionally recognized academic programs in the country. Clemson's Pershing Rifles Company C-4 has again been named national champion for the third time in five years. Clemson political science professor Xiaobo Hu has been named a Hoover Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University, one of only a few scholars selected annually. Nancy Porter, state program leader for Family and Consumer Sciences and an Extension family resource management specialist, is part of a team that received the 2004 American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Excellence in Extension Award. English professor and department chair Mark Charney received the Gold Medallion of Honor from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for his service to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Seven Clemson athletic programs had GPAs that eclipsed the 3.0 mark: women's soccer (3.57), women's swimming (3.29), rowing (3.28), men's swimming (3.26), volleyball (3.23), women's tennis (3.14), men's soccer (3.11).
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