NSF director helps open 117th academic year at Clemson

Published: August 18, 2009

CLEMSON – A new type of crisis is looming worldwide and it will take imagination, not just knowledge, to change the path and keep the United States competitive, the National Science Foundation director told a Clemson University audience Tuesday.

Arden L. Bement Jr. spoke Tuesday about “Energy, Environment, Economy and Education: A Synthesis for a Sustainable Future?” at the Victor Hurst Academic Convocation at Clemson University.

The convocation, an annual gathering of faculty and staff, marked the beginning of Clemson's 117th academic year. It is named for Hurst, who was a Distinguished Alumni Professor of dairy science, dean of the faculty and vice president of academic affairs from 1966 to 1980.

Bement told the attendees, “The United States faces four critical challenges that are interdependent and urgently in need of new solutions."

He said researchers need to:

• more accurately predict the effects of climate change and devise ways to mitigate them without causing further ecological harm;
• reduce dependence on fossil fuels by devising sustainable alternatives, keeping in mind that energy will become much more expensive and less plentiful in the future;
• maintain the nation’s prosperity with new ways to cope with economic contractions due to higher energy costs; and
• educate a workforce that is equipped to understand the interrelationships between the first three issues and take an active part in meeting the challenges.

“Absent a catchier acronym right now, we call this rethinking of sustainability the ‘Four Es’ – energy, environmental, economic and educational systems,” Bement said. “It is abundantly clear that understanding the way in which these systems interact is essential if we want to live on a sustainable planet.

Clemson President James F. Barker noted the similarities between Bement and university founder Thomas Green Clemson, who had to travel to Europe to get a scientific education."

Barker said that Clemson once wrote, “We live in an age of progress, and those who neglect education do so at their peril.”

“These words are just as true in 2009 as when our founder wrote them in 1869. Clemson University and the National Science Foundation share a common goal: the creation and diffusion of new knowledge through science and engineering research and education,” Barker said.

Barker recognized the budget challenges Clemson has faced over the last year and called for the university faculty and staff to be more innovative, efficient and entrepreneurial.

“There will be added stress and strain this fall as we manage a record freshman enrollment with fewer staff,” Barker said. “But we are not complaining. This is a strong vote of confidence in Clemson.”

At the convocation, chemistry professor Bill Pennington received the 2009 Prince Award for Innovation in Teaching. The annual award is named for Clemson President Emeritus Philip Prince and recognizes outstanding teachers who demonstrate creative and novel teaching methods in the classroom.

Six faculty members received the Alumni Distinguished Professor Award.

• William Bridges, applied economics and statistics
• Lee Morrissey, English
• Terry Tritt, physics
• Steven Marks, history
• June Pilcher, psychology
• William Surver, biological sciences

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