Michael J. Drews, PhD

Michael J. Drews, Ph.D., is director of the Clemson Conservaton Center at the Restoration Institute and emeritus faculty within the School of Materials Science and Engineering.  He leads a team of archaeologists and conservationists working on the H. L. Hunley Confederate submarine at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston. 

He has been a professor at Clemson since 1972 when he joined the faculty of the former School of Textiles.  He has also been a guest worker at the Center for Fire Research at the National Institute for Science and Technology.

Research projects include the sterilization of biomaterials using dense gas fluids; the development of gas fluids for the modification of textile, fiber and polymer surfaces; the development of composite structures; and novel techniques for the stabilization and conservation of artifacts recovered from the H.L. Hunley and other marine sites.

He has published articles on his extensive materials research in Engineering Chemistry Research, Textile Chemists and Colorists, and the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 

Dr. Drews received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of North Texas.  He was a Postdoctoral student at Clemson prior to joining the faculty. 

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