Research Opportunities
At Clemson University, we take our role as a research institution seriously. We have — and we will continue to have — a positive impact on our communities. The 2005-06 year saw the highest level of external funding of Clemson University research, totaling $136.3 million.
“The steady increase in competitive funding reflects a strong research program that is integral in recruiting top students and faculty to the University,” said Vice President for Research and Economic Development Chris Przirembel. “Once again, I have to commend our faculty and their research teams for their tremendous work and dedication.”
Snapshots of Research at Clemson:
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) ranks Clemson 86th in sponsored research expenditures. Current award areas include biomaterials, nanotechnology in health and food science, and wireless communications networks. Clemson's Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films is one of only 20 NSF engineering research centers in the country. In addition, NSF named Clemson University as a research site for the Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi), allowing Clemson at least $1 million over a three-year period through industry projects and matching contributions.
- Clemson is collaborating with researchers from the University of Georgia and Cornell on a 4-year $3.97 million National Science Foundation award to decipher the genetic blueprint of economically important crops in the grass family.
- $2.6 million has been awarded for the development of high-power lasers, led by John Ballato, professor of materials science and engineering and director of the Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET). The photonics research program is located in the Advanced Materials Research Laboratory in the Clemson Research Park.
- Gary Melton, professor of psychology and director of the Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, is leading a $1.6 million project to help the Golden Strip community in Greenville County create a comprehensive strategy for prevention of child abuse and neglect.
- The College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences has received a total of $12.2 million in grants and contracts in the 2005-06 year. This includes a $500,000 NSF award for Peter Marko, assistant professor of biological sciences, to study genetics of shellfish and a $400,000 United States Department of Agriculture grant for Hong Luo, associate professor of genetics and biochemistry, to research turf grass enhancement.
- $1 million has been awarded from the U.S. Army to Clemson Apparel Research (CAR), led by Chris Cole, professor of materials science and engineering and director of CAR, to update and consolidate U.S. Army class A uniforms to reflect the heritage of the army.
- Scientists at Clemson and the Medical University of South Carolina are using desktop printers to produce 3D living tissue. The work, funded in part by grants from NASA and the S.C. Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, is a step toward printing complex tissues or even entire organs.
- A $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense and $250,000 in matching state funds are supporting Clemson physics and astronomy professor Terry Tritt's work to improve thermoelectric materials, a technology essential to America's armed forces.
- Clemson alumnus Ed Sutt, a fastening engineer with Bostitch, was awarded Popular Science magazine’s 2006 Innovations of the Year award for the HurriQuake nail. Sutt created this nail to withstand winds up to 170 miles per hour, protecting homes from the devastation of hurricanes.