DATE:      11/20/02
CONTACT:   Donna Arterburn, (864) 656-0605
WRITER:    Susan Bedingfield, (864) 656-3876

Calhoun Lecture Series brings 
Afghanistan Ambassador to Clemson

     CLEMSON -- Clemson University will present Isaq Shahryar, 
ambassador fromAfghanistan, at Tillman Auditorium on Monday, Dec. 2, at 
7:30 p.m. as part of The Calhoun Lecture Series.
	He will speak on "The Future of Afghanistan."
	Shahryar is the first recognized Afghan ambassador to the 
United States since 1978. He presented his credentials to President 
Bush at a White House ceremony on June 19.
	For five years, Shahryar was an adviser to former Afghan King 
Zahir Shah, and he was the key participant in the Bonn Accord 
negotiations last year that formed the interim administration for 
Afghanistan.
	In 1972, Shahryar was one of three scientists to invent 
low-cost solar cells and developed the process for modern day mass 
production of cells used in solar energy. He was instrumental in the 
development of ultravioletsensitive solar cells for the Jupiter Project
for NASA.
	Born in Kabul in 1936, he emigrated to the U.S.A. in 1956. 
Until he was named to this diplomatic post, Shahryar resided in 
Southern California with his wife and two children.
	The lecture is free and open to the public. The Calhoun Lecture 
Series is presented by the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and 
Public Affairs in conjunction with Calhoun Honors College.
 	For more information, see the Strom Thurmond Institute's web 
page at http://www.strom.clemson.edu/events/calhoun/
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