Dr. Ma is an assistant professor in mechanical engineering, and the Department is very proud of this recognition of his work. This is the second article in 2008 to come out of the mechanical engineering department and receive national/international acclaim. Dr. Jim Qiao's paper was recently recognized as one of the best of 2007 in the Journal of Physics.

The Graduate School would like to congratulate Drs. Ma and Qiao and thank them for being such great representatives of Clemson.

For more information about Clemson's graduate programs in mechanical engineering, please visit: www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/MechEng/index.php.

The announcement was made at the Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center on the CU-ICAR campus with Mazda representatives.

The Mazda Foundation will provide an initial pledge of $30,000 to CU-ICAR for the Mazda Annual Graduate Fellowships program. The fellowships are performance-based and renewable for up to three years for a potential total of $90,000. In addition, the company will donate a CX-7 crossover SUV, drive trains, sub-assemblies and other components to be used as learning tools by Clemson students and faculty.

"We are delighted to welcome Mazda to CU-ICAR," said Esin Gulari, dean of the College of Engineering and Science at Clemson. "The strength and visibility of the Mazda brand worldwide makes this a key partnership, and we look forward to having our students interact and learn from this automotive leader. This connection with Mazda will open many doors for them as they continue into their careers. The fellowships are critical to the success of our program and the availability of Mazda automotive products for real-world study is invaluable. We look forward to a long and productive relationship."

As part of the agreement, three $10,000 fellowships will be provided to graduate students majoring in automotive engineering through the department of mechanical engineering within the College of Engineering and Science.

"We are thrilled to affiliate with this dynamic new research facility with support from both the Mazda Foundation and Mazda North American Operations. The work that the CU-ICAR graduate students undertake now will lay the foundation for groundbreaking advancements in the automotive industry in the future," said Robert Davis, senior vice president, Product Development and Quality, for Mazda North American Operations and a 1985 Clemson graduate.

Known for creating cars that are stylish, insightful and spirited, as well as affordable and fun to drive, Mazda infuses the "soul of a sports car" into every vehicle it builds, Davis said.

Mazda North American Operations oversees the sales, marketing, parts, accessories and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada and Mexico through nearly 900 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada Inc., located in Ontario, and in Mexico by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.

As the corporate foundation of Mazda North American Operations, the Mazda Foundation has awarded nearly $6 million to worthwhile causes across the United States since its inception and initial awards in 1992. Reflecting Mazda's commitment to youth and education, the new fellowship program at CU-ICAR joins several other college scholarship programs sponsored by the Mazda Foundation. These include scholarship programs at Dillard University and University of North Carolina at Pembroke as well as a scholarship program funded through the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

CU-ICAR is a new model for economic development in South Carolina, matching Clemson's strengths in automotive engineering with the state's strong automotive economic cluster. Located in the heart of the Interstate 85 corridor, midway between Charlotte, NC, and Atlanta, GA, CU-ICAR is ideally situated in the Southeastern automotive and motorsports economy.

CU-ICAR is a 250-acre "technopolis" where BMW, Michelin, Timken, Sun Microsystems and other corporate partners are joining with Clemson to focus on automotive research and other transportation and advanced-manufacturing issues.

The state of South Carolina also is a key partner, having created legislation to support economic development and innovation. For example, the Research Centers of Economic Excellence Endowed Chairs Program matches private funding to recruit top faculty. CU-ICAR has four endowed chairs created through the program. Three of these chairs, along with five junior faculty positions, have been filled. These faculty members, along with other faculty from the main campus, form the academic team for one of the nation's most exceptional master's and doctoral degree programs in automotive engineering. The doctoral program is one of the first in the country.

For more information about Clemson's graduate programs in automotive engineering, visit www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/AutoEng/index.php.

Haque has conducted research on the dynamics of vehicle systems since 1975, contributing to a fundamental understanding of the behavior of rail and automotive systems. He is a long-time member of ASME and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

With industry leaders and faculty at Clemson, Haque has led the effort to develop an exceptional graduate program in automotive engineering along with the development of the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) campus. This has resulted in a unique curriculum that is currently ranked as a top international automotive engineering program in the country.

"This is a very deserved honor for Dr. Haque from ASME," said Esin Gulari, dean of the College of Engineering and Science. "This is the most highly recognized organization in mechanical engineering and Dr. Haque has made tremendous contributions to the field. It is a pleasure to see him achieve the rank of fellow."

Haque has served as a major research advisor to 80 PhD, master's and undergraduate students and to six post-doctorate and research scholars. He is the author or co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed papers.

For more about Clemson's graduate programs in mechanical engineering, visit www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/MechEng/index.php.

Laser-assisted living cell-printing research at Clemson University has gotten a boost with a $400,000 National Science Foundation CAREER Award to mechanical engineering professor Yong Huang, director of the Clemson Advanced Manufacturing and System Integration Laboratory.

The safe and efficient implementation of cell printing from this study may enable its wide application in both organ printing and rapid prototyping of cell-based products, which may someday assist in production of on-demand human organ manufacturing for organ transplant patients.

"I am honored to be selected for this award," said Huang. "With my many collaborators, we are extremely excited about exploring and improving cell viability in laser-assisted cell printing using manufacturing sciences and tools. Our long-term goal is to ensure a damage-free living cell and protein-printing process for numerous applications, including organ printing."

Huang says the study will help bridge research collaboration between manufacturing science and biomedical research. He also says the integration of engineering education with biomedical manufacturing research will attract underrepresented and minority students and promote engineering to a broader population.

The cell printing study of Huang's group has attracted national attention. A scholar paper on the modeling-cell droplet and hydrogel-coating impact process in cell printing was among those selected for the prestigious 2007 North American Research Institution of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Outstanding Paper Award.

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of the early career-development activities of teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organizations. The award description states the activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education.

For more information about a degree in mechanical engineering, visit www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/MechEng.

During the academic year, fellows study at their universities and conduct a research project under supervision of an academic mentor and in consultation with an ETS research scientist. During the summer, fellows participate in the ETS Summer Internship Program for Graduate Students. The program is open to national and international applicants who are enrolled in a doctoral program and who have completed all required coursework toward the PhD.  Applicants should be at the dissertation stage of their program.

The deadline for applying for the summer internship and postdoctoral fellowship programs is February 1, 2008. The deadlines for applying for the Harold Gulliksen program are December 3, 2007 for the preliminary nomination materials and February 1, 2008 for the final application materials.

For more information on these great fellowship and internship opportunities - including information about stipends awarded with each, the application process, etc - Please visit www.ets.org/research/fellowships.html.

This inaugural fellowship program recognizes the students' past achievements and contributions to Clemson and confirms each student's future commitment to COMSET and its vision to be the internationally recognized academic leader in optical materials.

The Graduate School would like to congratulate each student on this prestigious honor and thank them for being such a wonderful representative of Clemson University.

To find out more about the COMSET Graduate Fellowship program, visit http://comset.clemson.edu/article.php?story=funding_opps or contact Dr. Dennis Smith at dwsmith@clemson.edu.

For more information about Clemson's graduate programs in chemistry and physics, please visit the following websites, respectively: www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/Chemistry/index.php and www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/Physics/index.php.

Caron St. John, associate dean of the College of Business and Behavioral Science at Clemson University, has received the Dr. Charles Townes Individual Achievement Award for outstanding leadership, innovation and technological excellence in the Upstate community.

St. John is the founder and director of the Spiro Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Clemson and director of the MBA program.

The Dr. Charles Townes Individual Achievement Award honors an individual who exhibits a commitment to the advancement of technology and the Upstate community through technology-oriented contributions. Such contributions may be business, civic and/or educational in nature and must benefit the Upstate.

InnoVision is the premier awards program focused exclusively on celebrating achievements in innovation and technological excellence in the South Carolina Upstate region. The following 10 counties are in the South Carolina Upstate region: Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg and Union.

For more information about Clemson's graduate programs in the College of Business and Behavioral Science, visit http://business.clemson.edu/.

Saeid has excelled since beginning his studies at Clemson in the mechanical engineering MS program in 2004. He completed his MS in less than two years and was given the Outstanding Masters Student award in 2005 from his department. He continued to stand out in 2006 when he received the Best Student Paper Finalist award at the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Conference and Exposition.

He has written nine conference papers (all were accepted) and three published journal articles. His doctoral research focuses on the development of a new hysteresis modeling and controller framework for piezoelectric-based nanostagers with application to scanning tunneling microscopy.

Upon receiving the fellowship, Saeid commented, "this award is an honor. It helps me to feel optimistic about my research direction and encourages me to continue more confidently than before toward my career goal. I am very happy-and surprised-that the committee, which had many excellent and qualified nominees to choose from, thinks so highly of my work."

His advisor, Dr. Nader Jalili stated, "Since joining my research group in August 2004, Saeid has eagerly worked on his research on the NSF CAREER project. Overall, his performance has been excellent, and I really do believe that he deserves [this] special reward." Saied will finish his PhD by May of 2009.

Assistant professor of mechanical engineering Josh Summers says industry heavy hitters such as Boeing, Ford, Honeywell and Raytheon use the UGS software package. It allows engineers to model, manage, analyze and simulate projects in greater dimension and detail than before.

"It's important for engineers working on the same project to be on the same modeling page. Being synchronized can make a huge difference in efficiency, design and cost," said Summers.

Mechanical engineering student Joel Ellison says Solid Edge allows for "real-world" application.

"I have used it in a large, multi-disciplinary effort to put a vintage electronic organ on campus. I got the design I needed, made sure it would work and made it look professional," he said.

Mechanical engineering student Caroline Mason says she saw first hand how a computer program can increase cross-cultural communication.

"On a study abroad program in Belgium, I was able to use Solid Edge techniques learned at Clemson to explain one of my designs for a class project," she explained. "Without the program, there may have been no way to communicate the intent of the design to my French professor."

Clemson mechanical engineering students previously used AutoCAD software that is predominantly two-dimensional CAD software. The UGS package contains Solid Edge, I-DEAS and NX 4 students now use to gain more depth with a third dimension when developing projects.

Dave Shirk, UGS executive vice president of global marketing, said the company is committed to helping leading academic institutions such as Clemson expand career development opportunities for students and cultivate a talented base of candidates to increase the competitiveness of Clemson and South Carolina-focused, national and global manufacturers.

"Through this and other similar grants, UGS is empowering knowledge for 21st century engineers to tie into global innovation networks that the world's leading manufacturers are leveraging to build the most innovative products," he said.

Editor's Note: A rendered image of a Solid Edge file is available online. To download the image, go to http://clemsonews.clemson.edu/WWW_releases/2006/December/Image_pages/UGS.html.
UGS, I-DEAS, NX and Solid Edge are trademarks or registered trademarks of UGS Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries. All other trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders.