A teaspoon of fertile soil can have as many as 1 billion bacteria. Some bacteria are harmful to humans, causing gut-wrenching sickness and even death among the very young, very old or very weak. By raising temperatures and using other approaches, Jiang has been lowering bacterial counts in compost.

The Center for Produce Safety at the University of California in Davis is funding the research by Jiang, an associate professor in Clemson's food science and human nutrition department. The microbiologist works on microbial safety, the control and source of food pathogens. Pathogens are microorganisms that cause disease. Some pathogens, including salmonella and E. coli (Escherichia coli 0157:H7), have been linked to using manure.

The research goals for Jiang and her colleagues Jinkyung Kim in food science and Feng Luo in the computer sciences department are to:

* understand how human pathogens react to heat in compost,

* use biological controls to reduce pathogen re-growth in compost,

* develop a sensitive pathogen detection method and

* apply mathematical modeling to simulate the effect of heat on pathogen growth.

The relationship between livestock production, manure management and human health has been in the news. Organic and commercial vegetable growers are using fresh and composted animal feces — manure — as fertilizer and soil enrichment for farms, gardens, nurseries and greenhouses. Livestock and poultry manure naturally contain a wide range of bacteria as well as viruses and protozoa. Some cause illnesses: E. coli is most common in cattle manure; salmonella is most common in poultry manure. Food-related sicknesses have been linked to E. coli and salmonella on apples, lettuce, spinach, cantaloupe and sprouts. Root crops and leafy vegetables have a greater risk of infection from manure application to soil.

Composting often is used to reduce the spread of pathogens before mixing into the soil, but it must be done correctly. Bacteria are survivors, some lasting more than year under the right conditions. For example, E. coli survives cold temperatures and tolerates acidic, salty and dry conditions. Fortunately, it is easily destroyed by heat, provided temperature and duration are sufficient.

Jiang’s research team also is studying biological controls, such as other bacteria in the compost that can grow more rapidly and out-compete harmful pathogens for nutrients. Additionally, the researchers are devising an improved ways to find harmful bacteria, enabling farmers and growers to more confidently identify and count pathogen populations in manure-based compost.

There are many sources of contamination beyond improperly composted manure, including poor water quality, transmission from inadequately sanitized equipment and improper hygiene by people handling produce during processing and serving.

The consequences of food-borne illnesses can be severe, though healthy people tend to endure diarrhea, cramps and perhaps a fever. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention speculates that 76 million cases of food-borne disease occur each year in the United States. Most cases are mild and cause symptoms for a day or two and go unreported. Some cases are more serious, and the CDC estimates that there are 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths related to food-borne diseases yearly.

The Center for Produce Safety at the University of California Davis has announced the launch of a $1 million research effort to enhance the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables. The new research program focuses on the 'field to fork' research needs of the entire produce supply chain, from the soil and water in the fields to storage practices in retail and food service outlets.

Researchers agree it is extremely difficult to identify a pandemic event before it is under way and spreading from person to person, yet the timeliness of this early detection is critical for an effective response and disaster-mitigation strategy. History and computer-generated simulations show that the speed in which a response strategy is initiated, even more than the specific strategy itself, will have the largest influence in reducing the overall impact of a pandemic. Given the importance of rapid response, identifying the specific event phases and the triggers that indicate a need for action is essential.

'We know that delays in identification are critical,' Garrett said. 'Once any significant number of cases are identified, especially in high-transit areas, the pandemic spread is virtually impossible to control. We have proposed a system that monitors what humans are doing leading up to a pandemic to increase the likelihood of early detection.'

Garrett said the system would monitor such activities as an increase in flu-related medicine purchases or a spike in Internet use for certain types of flu-related information. These early indicators are important to notice since the spread of influenza can occur before someone begins to show symptoms of being sick and before they seek medical attention. Since a pandemic does not occur at a single point in time, but rather evolves, it is often difficult to detect an outbreak from physician or local health-department reports of an increase in flu cases.

'Understanding these phases might be a way to overcome a fundamental hurdle in controlling a pandemic,' said Caldwell. 'Conventional approaches require public-health officials to know when certain events leading to pandemic begin. The problem is it’s often too late to do much about it.'

The researchers say planning for an illness can start at an earlier phase so that policymakers, government officials and the public can react sooner to control it. They envision a system that uses icons on television screens similar to those used for weather advisories warning about the phases of the illness and appropriate public responses.

Garrett said there is much that the general population can do to prepare for a pandemic outbreak such as the flu, but many people do not fully understand influenza, what they can do to prepare and how to appropriately respond during a severe outbreak.

'The more we can do to educate our community, the better,' said Garrett. 'The social impact of a panicking populace can be just as hazardous as the virus, for example, the worried healthy folks flooding emergency rooms, using up valuable medical resources and possibly becoming exposed to the virus while there.'

Garrett said that the basic underlying research is not limited to pandemic influenza scenarios, but could also be used in many other types of disasters, such as hurricanes or winter storms.

'It’s about communication,' Garrett said. 'The more we know and the sooner that we know, the better for everyone.'

It also is critical to keep the information fresh with clearly identified frequent updates about the event. She said that when people are not given updated information, they begin to make assumptions that often are incorrect, which leads to discounting some of the information that is available.

The research by Garrett and Caldwell on the 'Human Factors Aspects of Planning and Response to Pandemic Events' will be presented in a research paper June 2 at the Industrial Engineering Research Conference in Miami.

They also have collaborated with health officials and hospitals in the test state of Indiana to determine the feasibility of an alternative-care system that may require activation once a pandemic illness reaches a local area. The study looks at how authorities react, what facilities are available that may be needed to care for pandemic patients and how to communicate timely information between authorities and their planning partners and to the general public. The Indiana State Department of Health funded the research.

The Gussie Greene Technology Center will be used for workforce development skills to create opportunities for neighborhood residents.

Comcast Cable in Charleston provided a year's free high-speed Internet access and cable installation. The computer science department at the College of Charleston provided additional equipment and students helped install the machines.

The Charleston Linux Users Group donated the man hours to install software and develop computer management and Web site monitoring systems.

Community leaders expressed a need to improve the technical capabilities of the local population, said Harry Crissy, Clemson regional community and economic development agent for Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties.

Clemson University and the College of Charleston will use the center as a classroom to help local residents develop computer skills.

'Modern technology moves so fast,' Crissy said. 'This project is designed to help residents of the Chicora Cherokee neighborhood become more marketable to potential employers.'

Gussie Greene Community Center is at 2012 Success St. in North Charleston. If successful, the pilot program could spread to other communities in the three-county region, Crissy said.

North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey said the computer lab provides many with the opportunity to establish and expand important skills that will enable them to gain meaningful employment.

'In an age where information prevails, becoming computer literate and technologically savvy is invaluable,' Summey said. 'I am very grateful for the many contributors to this project, and I am confident that the entire community will benefit from their generous deeds.'

Collaborators in the project are:

• Clemson University Restoration Institute
• Clemson University Institute for Economic and Community Development at the Sandhill Research and Education Center, Columbia
• Comcast Cable
• City of North Charleston
• North Charleston Mitigation Agreement Commission
• Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities
• College of Charleston computer science department
• Charleston Linux Users Group
• Free Linux Personal Computer Group

Founded in 1898, the American Ceramic Society serves the informational, educational and professional needs of the international ceramics community. Ceramics usually are described in simple terms as any inorganic, nonmetallic materials, and can include glass. Ceramics today encompasses many fields, including aerospace, optical materials, medicine and electronics.

John BallatoBallato is director of the Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET) at Clemson. His research interests include the optical properties of materials and fiber fabrication.

COMSET is an interdisciplinary research unit of the College of Engineering and Science. Faculty members with common interests are able to collaborate to develop advanced materials that exhibit a value-added interaction with light. COMSET has received $42 million for sponsored research.

To be elected as Fellow to ACerS, nominees must be 35 years or older, members of ACerS for at least five years continuously and been proven qualified for elevation to the grade of Fellow by their contributions to the ceramics arts and sciences and shown broad scholarship in the industry or outstanding service to ACerS.

Ballato earned a bachelor's degree in ceramic science and engineering in 1993 and a Ph.D. in ceramic and materials engineering in 1997 from Rutgers University. He joined Clemson University’s department of ceramic and materials engineering in 1997. He has published more than 160 archival scientific papers, holds 25 U.S. and foreign patents, given more than 125 lectures and colloquia and co-organized 25 national and international conferences.

Awards Ballato has received include the 1997 ACerS Kreidl Award; the 2001 Clemson University Byar’s Prize for Excellence in Teaching; the 2003 Minerals, Metals and Materials Society’s Robert Lansing Hardy Award in recognition of exceptional promise for a successful career in materials science; the 2004 ACerS Robert L. Coble Award in recognition of the nation’s outstanding young ceramic scientists; and the 2004 National Institute of Ceramic Engineers Schwartswalder-PACE Award in recognition of the nation’s outstanding young ceramic engineer whose achievements have been significant to the ceramics field and general welfare of the American people.

The conference was co-sponsored by several Clemson University divisions and a number of key corporate partners including Dell, Apple, SUN and Cisco. The effort also was supported by a national collaboration of computing and networking agencies including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and EDUCAUSE.

Other possibilities for iTiger’s use within the stadium include instantly accessing public safety officials, interacting with other fans, submitting questions to the coach’s show, and ordering and paying for concessions for pickup or delivery.

'We’re looking at how the stadium of the future may eventually operate and how other even larger forums in our environment have the potential to operate. We’re taking a social networking application and applying it to a sport venue. We hope to eventually use this application on a campuswide scope and, perhaps someday, citywide and beyond,' says Jim Bottum, vice provost for computing and information technology.

Clemson materials science and engineering professor Eric Skaar offered to host the virtual class using Clemson’s Adobe Connect Web conferencing technology, which provides an array of tools such as screen and document sharing, chat, whiteboards and surveys — a virtual environment very similar to the offerings of a traditional classroom. Each university provided a lecturer. Instructors found that collaborating across institutions for projects was not only feasible but in some cases preferred by students because of the collaborative environment.

The faculty has taught the course twice with about 40 students in each section and is in the process of publishing its experiences through the American Society for Engineering Education. Skaar has also collaborated with researchers from the Savannah River Site to teach sections of Materials Processing (CME 319) virtually using Adobe Connect.

In addition to the unique and validated engineering simulation methods of its industry-focused approach, CU-CCMS offers clients a high-performance computing system that is among the top 10 most powerful computers at any American university and among the top 20 computers at any university center worldwide. CU-CCMS and Clemson Computing and Information Technology partnered with Sun Microsystems and Voltaire to build the system that performs more than 27 trillion mathematical computations per second.

Design and deployment of social networking tools will foster the creation of a network community for consortium members. The grid will gather and disseminate the best available science about parks and protected areas, including data on climate change, ecosystem composition, endangered species and park visitation patterns. The project is being beta tested at four national parks in the southeastern United States: Congaree National Park, Cowpens National Battlefield, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Augusta Canal National Heritage Area.

The interdisciplinary team’s efforts support environmental conservation through shared resources and target cyberinfrastructure challenges of data fusion and data mining that go well beyond park management

The robot can be used for a wide variety of manufacturing projects, such as welding cars on an assembly line, painting or moving parts from one position to another. Students have specified, purchased and installed supporting hardware, learned the KUKA programming language and are able to manipulate the robot in a variety of tasks.

Automotion Engineering (AEC) also provides engineering support and consultation to the students, enhancing the value of the robot as a teaching tool, said mechanical engineering professor Laine Mears.

'The hardware and support provides hands-on learning in conjunction with the academic automation concepts taught in class, showing students that automating a task requires more than just programming, but a deeper understanding of design, control and safety issues,' Mears said.

The corporation has provided support for CU-ICAR in the past, including a $100,000 gift to fund graduate fellowships.

'AEC has been interested in CU-ICAR since it was first announced,' said Gary Foster, president of Automation Engineering. 'We knew that this would be an engine to drive engineering and technology in the Upstate, and we knew that we wanted to be part of it. Collaboration between industry and academics is a very powerful tool. We expect CU-ICAR to produce excellent engineers and technical leaders and we’re excited to be part of that future.'

Gray, who is working toward a Masters of Education in student affairs, is a graduate assistant in the Office of New Student and Sophomore Programs in Clemson’s Division of Student Affairs. She implemented a new recruitment process for student orientation leaders for summer 2009, receiving 130 applications for 25 spots, an increase over the 60 or 70 applications per year in the past. Gray implemented a new leadership models for orientation leaders, creating new job responsibilities and more leadership opportunities for returning leaders.

'Amy’s passion and interest to help people makes her a great leader, not only within our office but among our orientation ambassadors as well. Her integrity, loyalty, spirit and work ethic represent the elite and finest of Clemson’s graduate students. Amy’s willingness to do or try anything at anytime will enable her to be successful in the future,' said Rebecca Atkinson, associate director for new student and sophomore programs.

Gray has helped coordinate and implement a new program for new students called Clemson Connect, a series of activities and programs that all new students are required to participate in four days before classes begin each fall semester. Gray also serves as one of the first members of Clemson’s Retention Intervention Team, a program that identifies academically at-risk students to help them stay on track in school. Gray advises the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and supervises undergraduate student interns.

'It came as a surprise, as I was unaware my supervisor had nominated me for the award. It really meant so much to be honored with this award considering I am only a first year graduate student and there are so many incredible orientation programs in the southern region. It was really nice to be recognized for all of the hard work our entire office had been doing over the 2008-2009 school year,' said Gray.

NODA exists to provide education, leadership and professional development in the fields of college student orientation, transition and retention. Nominees for the Outstanding Graduate Student Award are considered based on the complexity of the organization and the tasks performed, the level of the impact the nominee’s performance has had on various areas of the institution, the amount of time invested in orientation and the amount of time that was planned or spontaneous and the effectiveness of the nominee in the field of orientation, transition and retention services.

Clemson initiated the development of the South Carolina Computing Consortium (SC3), a coalition of five major research institutions in the state including the University of South Carolina, the Medical University of South Carolina, Hollings Marine Laboratory and Savannah River National Laboratory. The consortium was developed to enable and advance cyberinfrastructure-related research, education and economic development in South Carolina.

Clemson’s lead in SC3 helped South Carolina participate for the first time in the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking and Storage in 2007 and again in 2008, during which the group highlighted the computational research efforts of South Carolina's major research institutions. The 20-year-old conference is the premier venue in supercomputing with more than 10,000 attendees from academia, industry and government agencies.

Clemson’s IT enhancement efforts were featured in the cover story for STORAGE magazine (January 2008). Contributing writer Alan Radding interviewed Jim Bottum, vice provost for computing and information technology; CTO Jim Pepin, who came from the University of Southern California, and Mike Cannon, data storage architect and manager, who came from NASA, about key investments in cyberinfrastructure that are establishing Clemson as a national leader in education, research, high performance computing and innovation.

'The charge given to me when I came to Clemson was to build a world-class cyberinfrastructure to help move Clemson to the top 20,' says Bottum. 'The campuswide support for our bold and comprehensive initiative has been exciting and gratifying.'

Varun Grover, the William S. Lee Professor of Information Systems at Clemson, was ranked fourth among 3,404 published information systems researchers in the world based on the number of publications in the top six information systems journals. 'The management information systems program is one of the strongest in the College of Business and Behavioral Science,' said college Dean Claude Lilly. 'The level of productivity among the students, faculty members and Dr. Grover is quite impressive given the fact it is a relatively new program that started in 2003.'

In rankings of the top three, six and nine information systems journals, Grover was ranked among the top five researchers. This is the sixth study in the past 10 years that has ranked Grover among the top five researchers based on publications in major journals.

A ranking of information systems faculty as a group at each institution also places Clemson's among the top faculties in the world. The Clemson faculty is ranked in the top 20 when listing productivity in the top nine journals, among the top 10 in a rank of the top six journals and among the top 20 on the list of top three journals. They are ranked first, with the University of British Columbia and Case Western Reserve University, in publications per faculty.

'The success of Clemson’s information systems program is a result of Grover’s determination to guide it in the right direction and the commitment of the high level students recruited each year,' said Lilly.

'This is a testament to the role a senior scholar and endowed chair can play in building Ph.D. programs and research,' said Sri V. Sridharan, chairman of the management department.

Grover is honored by the attention his work garners, but credits his fellow professors in the program, as well as the students, with making it a success.

'It is nice for our program to be recognized. We have a great group of faculty who challenge, probe and push our doctoral students, but ultimately create a positive, nurturing atmosphere for research. It is hard work, but it seems to be paying off,' Grover said.

The information published in the journal was provided by University of Texas at San Antonio professors Jan Guynes Clark, John Warren and Yoris A. Au. Their study examines the leading information systems researchers and their universities. The authors reviewed publications from nine leading information systems journals from 2003 to 2007, during which time 3,404 researchers contributed 2,155 published articles from 610 universities in 48 countries.

Clemson associate professor of civil engineering Prasad Rangaraju says the research could have a widespread effect on how various agencies build or rebuild concrete infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, with a potential to save millions or even billions of dollars down the line.

'Here at Clemson we will study alkali-silica reaction (ASR) in concrete,' said Rangaraju. 'This is a durability problem that arises due to incompatibility between ingredients that make up concrete. How the ingredients in concrete interact with each other, as well as with the environment they serve in, determines a lot about how long materials will last in the elements. Improper selection of raw materials that are used in concrete can result in ASR distress.'

Rangaraju says that once the alkali-silica reaction affects a concrete structure, it is difficult to repair the concrete and it can cost several million dollars in the process. As part of the research study, Rangaraju and his graduate students aim to develop a better test method than existing procedures to evaluate ingredients in concrete material to minimize or even prevent the occurrence of alkali-silica reaction distress in concrete construction.

The Alumni Association annually recognizes alumni who demonstrate a dedication to enhancing the value of the university for future generations; service to church, community, profession and public service; and personal accomplishments that serve as a model for present and future Clemson students.

This year’s award recipients are:

* Harry Frampton III of Vail, Colo., Class of 1967, a resort developer who has been a leader in the cultural development of his community.

* Dr. Eddie Robinson of Columbia, Class of 1979, a veterinarian who mentors children and serves on state commissions.

* Neil C. Robinson Jr. of Charleston, Class of 1966, an attorney and advocate for children’s education in the Lowcountry.

* Ken Smith of Greer, Class of 1981, senior vice president for Fluor Corp. who has helped build partnerships between his company and Clemson engineering programs.

* Jane Sosebee of Clemson, Class of 1978, an AT&T executive who has helped Clemson connect with the telecommunications giant.

Cotton Marker Database (CMD) Web site, hosted by the Clemson University Genomics Institute — CUGI for short — will receive copies of the genetic information given to Texas AgriLife Research. The Clemson-maintained database, supported by the trade organization Cotton Inc., offers centralized access to all publicly available major types of cotton molecular markers. CUGI provides Web hosting, access and data storage for the Cotton Marker Database project.

'The Cotton Marker Database project has been funded by Cotton Inc. through Clemson University since 2004,' said Anna Blenda, leader of the Cotton Marker Database project and research assistant professor in the genetics and biochemistry department. 'Through those years Clemson received $320,000 of grant money from Cotton Inc. for the development and maintenance of the CMD. According to a 2008 survey, CMD was the most-used cotton database among cotton researchers surveyed. Release of the Monsanto cotton marker data to the public sources, including the Clemson-based Cotton Marker Database, will have tremendous benefit for the research community.'

Another genetic research resource is the federal Cotton Genome Database (CottonDB). Started in 1995, CottonDB is located at College Station, Texas, and directed by Richard Percy of the USDA Agricultural Research Service. CottonDB contains genomic, genetic and taxonomic information for cotton. The database helps cotton researchers access large amounts of cotton biological and descriptive data. The Monsanto gift opens new doors to scientific discoveries that ultimately will move from laboratory bench to crop rows.

'Farmers are looking for ways to increase productivity on their farms to meet growing demand for food, feed and fiber,' said John Purcell, global cotton technology lead for Monsanto. 'Last year, we announced a challenge to double production by 2030, using 2000 as the base. We think that’s possible through our research and by working with others in the industry through efforts like this. This donation of molecular markers is an active component of realizing vision and will help us achieve that goal.'

A molecular marker is 'a way to tag genetic traits for fast access the next time, much like you could mark a useful tip in a cookbook and highlight it,' Purcell said. 'Molecular markers work the same way. Monsanto researchers have found areas of the cotton genome that, for example, have disease-resistance or high yield potential. Adding markers helps researchers easily find these and other specific traits where and when they need them. Markers let us screen a lot of cotton varieties in the lab before even going to the field. This saves a lot of time and money.'

Transgenic cotton is developed in the lab and tightly controlled field studies using genetic material from another variety. The best-known example is cotton biotechnologically engineered to resist certain insects or herbicides. In 2008, 94 percent of the U.S. upland crop was planted in transgenic varieties resistant to worms, herbicides or both.

Globally, China is the largest grower, averaging approximately 36 million bales of cotton. India is second, with a 23 million bales average. The U.S. ranks third, averaging 17 million bales.

Cotton is grown in 17 states, ranging from Virginia to California, covering more than 12 million acres. Texas is the top U.S. upland cotton producer, averaging more than six million bales of cotton per year, according to National Cotton Council data. South Carolina ranks 13th nationally, generating approximately $80 million in cotton revenue in 2008. The U.S. cotton industry accounts for more than $25 billion in products and services annually and more than 400,000 jobs.

Aside from fabric uses, cotton is processed as food and fuel from cottonseed accompanying the fiber. More than nine billion pounds of whole cottonseed and cottonseed meal are used in feed for livestock, dairy cattle and poultry. More than 154 million gallons of cottonseed oil are used for food products, ranging from margarine to salad dressing.

Research is leading to new uses of cottonseed. Clemson biosystems engineer Terry Walker recently received $12,000 from Cotton Inc. to research using cottonseed oil as a diesel substitute. At Texas A&M, plant biotechnologist Keerti Rathore and his colleagues have created a new cotton variety that has no gossypol in the seed. Cotton plants produce gossypol to retard reproduction in insects that eat cotton bolls and seeds, but the compound also reduces reproduction and potassium levels in mammals. Removing gossypol holds promise to increase cotton’s potential as a global food resource.

It is the only university program in the country that will bring together packaging science, graphic communication, the materials, environmental science, manufacturing, marketing and psychology disciplines to study packaging methods, said Chip Tonkin, the institute’s director.

The institute initially will focus on four areas:

* Designing environmentally sustainable packages;

* Developing electronic films that can be printed on packages to create displays, track shipments or apply environmental or biological sensors;

* Testing the impact of package design on consumer attention, buying patterns, use and disposal in its consumer experience lab; and

* Integrating the multiple steps in package design and construction into a single workflow.

'We think in these four areas we can make a name for ourselves,' Tonkin said. 'Nobody has really looked at packaging as a core competency.'

The 28,000-square-foot building is named for Harris A. Smith of Atlanta, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Smith Container Corp., founded by the Smith family in 1907. He sold the company a few years ago and saw an opportunity to create a global center for packaging innovation by investing in Clemson.

Accompanied by members of his family, Smith said, 'We thank Clemson University for giving us the opportunity 102 years later to remain actively engaged in an industry that has seen three generations of family involvement.'

Smith made gifts and pledges of $3.7 million and Sonoco Products Co. of Hartsville $2.5 million for the construction of the building and to launch the packaging institute. Most of the money to pay for the $7 million structure was donated. Other donors gave equipment that will be used to train students and help industry partners research packaging methods, technology and design.

Tonkin said the goal is to make the institute self-supporting with revenue streams from faculty research, assistantships, intellectual property and industry fees and contributions.

Clemson President James F. Barker said the packaging design and graphics communications programs deliver about 100 highly sought-after graduates to good jobs in the industry every year.

'The facility we dedicate today is for and about these students,' he said. 'It is about innovation. And it is about the true collaboration that exists among our industry partners, our outstanding faculty and our students.'

More than 20 writers will participate in the festival, including George Singleton, author of 'We Are These People' and 'The Half-Mammals of Dixie,' as well as Greenville-based authors Mindy Friddle, Ashley Warlick and Claire Bateman. This year’s Richard J. Calhoun Reader is Doris Betts, author of nine books, including 'Souls Raised from the Dead,' 'Heading West' and 'The Sharp Teeth of Love.'

'There is a real hunger for this kind of event, not just among Clemson students, but among residents of Clemson and the surrounding area,' said Adam Million, festival organizer and lecturer of English. 'People are eager to participate in creative endeavors — and with the art of the spoken word.'

Readings are scheduled at various Clemson locations, including Abernathy Waterfront Park, 356 Bar and Sushi Restaurant, Overtime and TD’s.

'The downtown readings were a huge hit for us last year, lots of fun,' Million said. 'Bringing people together to hear fine authors reading aloud from their own work goes to the very meaning of what a great university should be.'

For a complete schedule of readings and other events, click here.

Serious gaming fans (as well as those who want to know what serious gaming is all about) can catch the panel discussion 'From Second Life to World of Warcraft: The Convergence of Writing and Literature with Gaming and Virtual Worlds,' at 3 p.m., Thursday, April 2, in the McKissick Theatre of Clemson’s Hendrix Student Center.

Family day is Saturday, April 4, at The Arts Center of Clemson. Cartoonist and children’s author Kate Salley Palmer and children’s book illustrator Tatjana Mai Wyss will spend the morning with kids and parents. Events include art workshops for those 3 years old and older and creative writing workshops for those 6 and up. Parents and adults are welcome; no pre-registration is necessary. Palmer speaks at 10; workshops begin at 10:30; Wyss speaks at 11:30.

Also for kids, from 4-6 p.m. on Friday, 'Read-a-Rama — Science Fun' is scheduled at The Arts Center. Kids are invited to enter artwork made entirely of recycled materials for a chance to win a prize. Pre-registration is required by April 2. To learn more, click here.

All events are free and open to the public.

A book fair in the Hendrix Student Center from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday will feature works by the visiting writers as well as Clemson authors Keith Morris, Ron Moran, John Warner and others. Current and recent issues of The South Carolina Review also will be for sale. Since 1968, the Review has published fiction, poetry, interviews, unpublished letters, manuscripts, essays and reviews from well-known and aspiring scholars and writers, including Iris Murdoch, Walker Percy, Joyce Carol Oates, Josephine Humphreys and James Dickey.

Principal sponsor for the 2009 Clemson Literary Festival is the Rutland Institute for Ethics in connection with this year’s Presidential Colloquium 'Principles and Perspectives in Progress.' The aim of the Presidential Colloquium, now in its ninth year, is to provide opportunities for Clemson University students and faculty, as well as members of the community, to come together to explore important issues.

For questions about family day call Michelle H. Martin at 656-3879. For general festival questions, contact Adam Million, festival organizer, by phone at 656-5411 or e-mail at million@clemson.edu.

Martine LaBergeThe award was established in 1985 by the Drug Science Foundation to honor individuals or teams in South Carolina whose achievements and contributions to science merit special recognition and promote wider awareness of the quality and extent of scientific activity around the state.

LaBerge’s research interests include the evaluation and characterization of natural and artificial surfaces used in the design of implants for orthopedic and vascular applications. She has established a highly productive research program at Clemson University that focuses on the friction, lubrication and wear of artificial knee joints. She has more than 200 technical publications.

LaBerge has started the development of many programs in South Carolina that have served as platforms to increase awareness among the scientific community as well as the public. She served is a board member and former president for the Society for Biomaterials. She is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, a title bestowed by the world’s leading societies in the field of biomaterials. She has received the Outstanding Woman Faculty Award from Clemson’s President’s Commission on the Status of Women, the Murray Stokely Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Faculty Mentoring Award in the College of Engineering and Science.

Since 2005, the Governor’s Awards for Scientific Awareness has been under the joint sponsorship of companies including the Dewees Development Corp., Harbor Watch of Charleston, Roche Carolina Inc., MeadWestvaco and Michelin North America.

An honorarium of $1,000 will be presented to the recipients at a special awards ceremony held in the spring in conjunction with the South Carolina Academy of Science’s annual meeting.

Dennis SmithThe award was established in 1985 by the Drug Science Foundation to honor individuals or teams whose achievements and contributions to science merit special recognition and promote wider awareness of the quality and extent of scientific activity in South Carolina.

Smith’s research interests include structure-property relationships and application of polymeric materials and composites. Much of his research is in the field of photonics, the backbone of the Internet-driven technology revolution, and the study of light to process information.

Smith is the co-founder and associate director of Clemson’s Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET) and the chairman of the American Chemical Society’s Division of Polymer Chemistry. He also co-founded Tetramer Technologies LLC in 2001 to commercialize research conducted at Clemson.

Smith received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 3M Pre-Tenured Faculty Award, Clemson University Award for Faculty Achievement in the Sciences, Cottrell Scholar of Research Corp., Clemson University board of trustees Award for Faculty Excellence and Missouri State University 2007 Outstanding Young Alumni Award. Most recently, Smith received the 2008 Charles H. Stone Award as outstanding chemist in the southeastern United States.

Since 2005, the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Science has been under the joint sponsorship of companies including the Dewees Development Corp., Harbor Watch of Charleston, Roche Carolina Inc., MeadWestvaco and Michelin North America.

An honorarium of $1,000 will be presented to the recipients at a special awards ceremony held in the spring in conjunction with the South Carolina Academy of Science’s annual meeting.

Brown rot (Monilinia fructicola) is a hardy survivalist, adapting to control efforts. The pathogen at specific locations has developed resistance to some fungicides, according to reports from South Carolina. The situation poses a big problem for South Carolina and Georgia, which behind California rank second and third in U.S. peach production. The two states account for 25 percent of the nation’s fresh peaches, selling about $60 million worth of peaches a year.

'The chemicals that are being used these days to control brown rot are site-specific chemicals,' said Clemson plant pathologist Guido Schnabel, the South Carolina state specialist for fruit diseases. 'That means they attack the fungus at one particular place. So the fungus has a fairly easy way to produce resistance against those chemicals.'

Schnabel and colleagues A. Amiri, Phil Brannen and Harald Scherm (the latter two are from the University of Georgia) have come up with new a weapon to battle brown rot. It was tested in 2008 and is ready for use this growing season.

'We’ve developed a kit that will enable growers to determine the resistance profile in their respective areas,' said Schnabel. 'What we do is we go to the grower’s’ site. We collect samples, and within three days, using that kit, we can determine what kind of resistance profile the grower has in their respective area. So right off the bat a grower starts out with the correct sprays and uses the correct chemicals knowing what resistance profile they have.'

Besides saving the growers money and helping the environment by using fewer chemicals, the work by Schnabel and colleagues has more far-reaching benefit.

'The research and techniques can be used for other stone-fruit crops because this is a disease that not only affects peaches, it also affects nectarines and cherries and plum,' said Schnabel.

The American South has long been linked to peaches, but they originated in China, where they have been cultivated for more than 4,000 years. The Spanish brought the peach to the New World in the 1500s, where Franciscan Monks propagated it along the South Carolina coast. It wasn’t until the 1850s that South Carolina began growing peaches commercially. In 1984, South Carolina growers harvested the record peach crop of 480,000 tons. Today, crop yield is about a fourth of the record harvest, owing to drought, disease, increased costs and decreased demands.

The digital artists who graduated from Clemson and worked on the movie are: Rachel Drews, ’06; Marc Bryant, ’99; Wil Whaley, ’99; Josh Tomlinson, ’02; and student Mikki Rose.

Clemson digital artists worked on the movie with Rhythm and Hues’ visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer, who received the 2008 Academy Award for Achievement in Visual Effects for 'The Golden Compass.'

'It is a great honor to be a part of the team that won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects for ‘The Golden Compass,’ Drews said. 'I am only one of many, many visual effects artists who worked on the film from Rhythm and Hues, and I am pleased to already be working with the best in the industry. My degree in digital production arts at Clemson gave me the technical and production knowledge base, as well as the connection to the people in the VFX industry.'

Several other Clemson alumni also work for Rhythm and Hues in Los Angeles.

Clemson’s digital production arts program is housed in McAdams Hall. With its $3 million in computer equipment and infrastructure, it is much like many Hollywood facilities.

The Master of Fine Arts in Digital Production Arts (DPA) at Clemson University is a professional degree program aimed at producing technically savvy, artistically talented graduates who are sought after by the growing electronic arts industry, particularly by those companies engaged in special effects within the entertainment and commercial video, film and gaming industries.

Digital Production Arts comprises approximately 30 graduate students and faculty from multiple disciplines in the university. Graduate students in the program are often offered major motion picture animation jobs in places across the country, including New York, Atlanta, San Francisco and Hollywood and in such studios as Rhythm and Hues, among others.

Clemson University Restoration InstituteThe Clemson University Restoration Institute and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory are founding members of the S.C. BioEnergy Research Collaborative, which was formed last year.

Savannah River National LaboratoryThis new agreement will enhance the exchange of ideas and the development and use of new technologies. As part of the agreement, the Restoration Institute and the laboratory will:

* Research crop development and harvesting, including switchgrass, sweet sorghum and pine;

* Study emerging energy alternatives, such as algae; and

* Research crop-processing techniques to yield viable energy and chemical products, including ethanol, biodiesel and energy briquettes.

A member of the laboratory’s research team will be housed at the Restoration Institute in North Charleston to help promote the free exchange of ideas and advance technical developments.

Savannah River National Laboratory is bringing its environmental and biological research and development capabilities to the effort, said Tom French, its Bioenergy Programs manager. This includes its expertise in microbial and enzyme technologies to break down chemical compounds.

The laboratory is playing a lead role in research into the pretreatment of plant matter prior to fermentation and in the discovery of effective new cellulose enzymes.

'We’re combining the national lab’s unique expertise with the Restoration Institute’s significant research capabilities in a program that will benefit the entire state,' French said.

The collaborative’s other partners are:

* South Carolina State University’s James E. Clyburn University Transportation Center

* Dyadic International (USA) Inc., a global biotechnology development company

* Fagen Engineering LLC, a full-service biofuels and alternative energy-systems design company

* The Spinx Co. Inc., one of the East Coast’s largest ethanol distributors

The Clyburn Transportation Center is developing transportation models for how to efficiently bring raw material to the plant and distribute the ethanol to the marketplace.

The private partners — Dyadic, Fagen and Spinx — represent key sectors of the alternative fuels industry. Together, their expertise will advance research and development of the pilot plant and the cellulose-to-ethanol process and clear avenues for rapid commercialization of the final product.

In October, the parties announced plans to build a biofuels pilot plant at the Restoration Institute. The $14 million plant will be used to investigate commercial bioethanol production using feedstocks available in South Carolina.

The project has the potential not only to enhance South Carolina’s reputation as a leading alternative-energy researcher, but also boost Palmetto State agriculture, said Karl Kelly, director of corporate operations at the Restoration Institute.

The pilot plant will allow researchers to 'scale up' new biofuel technologies, a crucial step between small laboratory experiments and full-scale production, he said.

'It’s a project that addresses the entire process, from the field to the production of ethanol,' Kelly said. 'We’ll look for gaps in the technology and fill them.'

Initial funding was provided by a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The collaborative is actively seeking funding for construction of the plant, which will take about 12 months to build.

'All of this work is to develop a process, and to do that we need a pilot plant,' Kelly said.

In addition to the public-private partners, the intent is that students will visit the Restoration Institute to work at the pilot plant as part of their studies.

The entire senior class of Clemson chemical engineering professor Charles Gooding is working on a project to design a switchgrass-to-ethanol plant. Thirty-four students are looking at alternatives to the process, which could prove useful to the plant design, Gooding said.

Future students, too, could benefit from the facility, Gooding said.

'There could be interaction with the entire class,' he said. 'We like to do things that are real-world projects.'

The Master of Engineering with a concentration in Capital Projects Supply Chain and Logistics offered in the department of industrial engineering is a first-of-its-kind online graduate program that has working professionals from around the world and across the spectrum of disciplines sitting in a virtual classroom any time of the day or night that fits their schedule.

'The degree is unique in that it focuses on the logistics of capital projects engineering and construction, combining theory with practice to broaden student understanding of the entire project supply chain and life cycle,' said Bill Ferrell, professor of industrial engineering and associate dean of the graduate school.

Capital projects generally are defined as new construction, expansion, renovation or replacement of an existing facility or facilities and infrastructure. Land, engineering, architectural planning and services needed to complete the project all are part of the cycle. The program represents and explores the various roles and interests in the execution of capital projects, including owners, contractors, suppliers and subcontractors.

The Clemson graduate program is meant for students who are full-time professionals, such as Randy Rogers, a project materials manager with Foster Wheeler USA Corp. Rogers lives in Tulsa, Okla., but travels to Chicago, Houston and overseas regularly.

'The fact that we can learn these skill sets and pursue an invaluable master's degree while continuing to chase careers that take us all over the globe is simply amazing,' said Rogers.

The program, offered by industrial engineering, was developed in collaboration with the departments of civil engineering, management, and the Graduate School at Clemson, as well as with owners, contractors and suppliers such as Fluor Corp., Chevron and Mobil.

'Fluor Corporation recognizes the immense value supply chain management brings to capital projects,' said Jim Scotti, senior vice president and chief procurement officer of Fluor. 'We are pleased to be able to partner with the state of South Carolina to establish what is a truly unique master’s degree program for working engineers and supply chain professionals.'

'This program brings real value to industry professionals and companies because it gives students a broad perspective of the complex supply chain problems associated with capital projects and provides practical solutions for those problems,' said Clemson civil engineer Steve Sanders, who is an instructor in the program as well as director of the Clemson Industry Cooperative Alliance.

'The interdisciplinary nature of the supply chain is highlighted by the enormous expertise that has gone into developing the course content for working professionals,' said Anand Gramopadhye, the industrial engineering department chairman. He said this type of program eventually may be extended to other fields.

'I'm very pleased with the very positive response this program is getting.  Bill Ferrell has done a trememdous job in organizing a very ambitious program' said Bruce Rafert, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School.  'We are looking at several other possibilities for deployment in the near future'.

All classes are offered online through web-based delivery with no residency requirement. Lectures can be downloaded to a desktop, iPod or mobile device for viewing. The courses are self-paced and accessible on the web, so students can continue their education regardless of their location worldwide. For more information, go to http://www.clemson.edu/ces/departments/ie/.

Twelve Master of Business Administration students will travel to Duke University March 27-29 to compete in the 21st annual Duke MBA Games, which raise money for Special Olympics North Carolina.

Along with Clemson and Duke, schools competing include the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University.

Building on the leadership and teamwork skills developed in the classroom, MBA candidates will team up with several special olympians to compete. The weekend’s events also will include networking and socializing opportunities in the Durham, N.C., area.

The Clemson MBA Student Association is trying to beat last year’s fundraising total of nearly $3,000. That was the most raised by any of the participating schools. To sponsor the MBA students, go to http://www.firstgiving.com/clemson09.

For information about the Clemson MBA, go to www.clemson.edu/mba or e-mail MBA@clemson.edu.

Scientists most recently launched a salvo of four rockets over Alaska to study turbulence in the upper atmosphere. The launches took place at Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks as part of a NASA sounding rocket campaign.

Associate professor of physics and astronomy Gerald Lehmacher is the principal investigator for the experiment and was assisted by graduate students Shelton Simmons and Liyu Guo.

'After six days of cloudy and snowy weather, we had perfect conditions with a clear, moonless night sky over interior Alaska,' said Lehmacher. 'We needed excellent viewing conditions from three camera sites to photograph the luminescent trails the payloads produced in the upper atmosphere.'

The rockets were 35-foot, two-stage Terrier Orions. They released trimethyl aluminum that creates a glowing vapor trail nearly 87 miles up. Sensitive cameras on the ground track the trails. From that Lehmacher and his team can analyze upper-atmospheric winds by tracking how the vapor trails form, billow, disperse and diffuse. Two of the rockets had an additional deployable payload with instrumentation to measure electron density and neutral temperature and turbulence.

The instrumented sections are a collaboration of Clemson with Penn State University and the Leibniz-Institute for Atmospheric Physics in Germany. The University of Alaska assisted in the study with ground-based laser radar and other optical instruments. The project is sponsored by a NASA grant for three years.

In January, Clemson physicists traveled to Norway to carry out a joint experiment with Japanese scientists to study atmospheric winds and circulation from heating created by electrical currents associated with Northern Lights displays. The measurements were made with instruments flown on a Japanese S-310 rocket launched from the Andoya Rocket Range in northern Norway, as well as a suite of sensitive radar and camera instruments on the ground.

The experiment was a collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the department of physics and astronomy at Clemson. Professor Miguel Larsen was the investigator responsible for the wind measurement aboard the instrumented rocket and was assisted by three undergraduate students, Lucas Hurd, Matt Jenkins and Matt Henderson.

Science as Art at Clemson uses visual representations of science and technology to provide a connection between scientists, artists and the general public. This event has challenged Clemson University students, faculty and staff to produce and share images from laboratories, workspaces and learning environments.

Entries should convey a significant or captivating scientific concept or event, but do not have to be research-based. Individuals or teams can submit entries. Multidisciplinary collaboration is encouraged in this event to see how different areas of study relate to one another. Categories for entries include photographs, illustrations and electronic media, including video and explanatory graphics. There will also be a category for high school entries. Winners in each category will receive gift certificates from local businesses.

'Several things make this a great event for Clemson. First, it truly embodies the idea of ‘One Clemson’, crossing every discipline and college and providing a real opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration and discussion,' said Lisa Benson, assistant professor for the department of engineering and science education and organizer of the Science as Art competition. 'Second, it promotes scientific literacy, and communicating what we do is so important to our missions of education, service and research. Third, not many universities have programs like this; it is unique for a university like Clemson,'

All entries will be displayed in the lobby of R.M. Cooper Library from April 1 through mid-May. Entries will be judged by a panel of artists and scientists from the community, based on visual impact, effective communication, freshness and originality. A People’s Choice Award will be given based on a campuswide poll of all entries. A 'Meet the Artist' reception and exhibit will be from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, at the Advanced Materials Research Laboratory in Anderson County. Entry forms are on the College of Engineering and Science Web site. Entries must be submitted electronically.

'Students are encouraged to submit entries. Entries do not need to be sophisticated or only research-based. We are looking for all kinds of interesting images and entries, as long as they are communicating something from a scientific standpoint as well as being visually appealing,' said Benson.

Sponsors for Science as Art 2009 include the Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films, the Clemson University Research Foundation, the department of engineering and science education and Clemson’s chapter of the Scientific Research Society, Sigma Xi.

Their work may help the nation achieve energy self-sufficiency and environmental sustainability.

Geologist Jim Castle and environmental toxicologist John Rodgers are developing constructed wetland systems to treat the contaminated water for reuse. The research funding includes $689,500 from the U.S. Department of Energy and $120,000 from Chevron of Houston, Texas.

The treatment of produced water is a major cost of obtaining oil and gas. The water contains salts, oil and grease and chemical additives used in drilling and well operations. Wells may start out producing little water, but eventually many produce more water than oil. In 1993, for instance, 1.09 trillion gallons of produced water were generated — enough water to flow over Niagara Falls for nine days, according to a U.S. Geological Survey fact sheet.

Department of Energy experts say that 'co-produced water comprises 98 percent of all waste generated by U.S. oil and natural gas operations. Handling and disposal of this water is the single greatest environmental impediment to natural gas and oil exploration and production.'

Environmentalists have referred to wetlands as nature's kidneys. Much interest has developed in using constructed wetlands to remove contaminants from water. Current approaches for treating produced water are costly, especially considering the amount of water produced and energy requirements, and some cannot meet new water-quality standards. The cost of treatment using constructed wetland systems has proven to be consistently lower than alternative technologies for treatment, Castle said.

Castle, a professor in the environmental engineering and earth sciences department, and Rodgers, a professor in forestry and natural resources, have developed similar constructed wetlands for the energy industry, such as treating water used in coal-burning power facilities.

'Development of low-cost methods to handle the large volumes of produced water has the potential to increase oil and gas production in existing areas and to open new areas,' said Rodgers. 'Constructed wetlands can be an effective and low-cost method of treating the produced waters that also allow the water to be reused.'

In addition to reducing environmental risks, constructed wetland treatment systems generate treated water reusable for many purposes, including irrigation, livestock watering, cooling-tower water, municipal water use, domestic use, treated sewage discharge dilution and support of critical aquatic life and wildlife.

Constructed wetlands typically have four parts: the liner, distribution media, plants and an underdrain system. The liner keeps the contaminated water in and groundwater out of the system. The distribution system spreads the wastewater across the wetland. Plants used often are cattails, but other species include bulrushes, reeds and sedges. Plants need to grow and flourish in the system for it to operate at maximum efficiency. The underdrain system moves treated water out of the wetland and controls the level.

The details of the study managed by the Innovative Pavement Research Foundation with funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) can be viewed at www.iprf.org/reports

Based on technology invented by Clemson civil engineer Prasad Rangaraju, South Dakota transportation research scientist Daniel Johnston and a team of FMC Lithium researchers, the company has developed a lithium-modified potassium acetate deicer called LithMelt. The Clemson University Research Foundation licensed the technology to the FMC Corp., Lithium Division. Laboratory studies and field trials have shown that LithMelt deicer is as effective as other deicers without any damaging impact on concrete pavement and the environment.

'We have looked at problems of crumbling airfield pavements for years now and the FAA is determined to slow or halt the deterioration, which can cost millions,' said Rangaraju. 'In addition, accidents due to icing on roads, bridges, airport runways and other surfaces can cause serious injury, even fatalities. We believe this technology will go a long way toward alleviating needless suffering. There are also cost-savings for agencies through reduced maintenance and increased service life of the infrastructure. Ultimately, the impact of this deicer in improving the safety of operations on airfield pavements is most exciting to our team.'

From its headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., FMC Lithium serves markets including pool-water treatment, air treatment, construction, energy, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, glass and ceramics, greases and lubricants and polymers. Information is available at www.fmclithium.com. FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) is a diversified chemical company serving agricultural, industrial and consumer markets globally for more than a century with innovative solutions, applications and quality products.

'Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture is the largest academic organization and composed of landscape architecture programs in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand,' Nassar said. 'It is an honor to receive the award this year. It speaks to the great academic environment we have at Clemson.'

The award applauded Nassar’s teaching efforts in establishing an international cross-cultural partnership between landscape architecture students at Clemson University and architecture students at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. Since 2006, students and faculty from both schools have worked on service-learning projects to provide design solutions for urban sprawl at some of the world’s greatest sites of antiquities, including the urban edge of the Giza plateau near the Great Pyramids and along the Avenue of the Sphinxes in Luxor, Egypt.

The projects have resulted in several visits between the students, both in Clemson and in Egypt, as well as presentations of their work to the prime minister of Egypt, Ahmed Nazif, and the governor of the Supreme Council of Luxor, Samir Farag. The Egyptian government, meanwhile, is putting some of those proposals to work.

The award also highlighted Nassar’s research on international education, multiculturalism, cultural and historical landscapes in 19th century and contemporary Cairo, and the effects of globalization on landscape change.

Nassar is an assistant professor in the Clemson University planning and landscape architecture department. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture and a doctorate in history of landscape architecture from Ain Shams University and Master of Landscape Design from Pennsylvania State University. Originally from Egypt, Nassar brings her broad international understanding of design and culture into her research and teaching.

Clemson is one of 68 public and 51 private institutions selected to receive a 2008 community engagement classification from the foundation in the areas of Curricular Engagement and Outreach and Partnerships. It joins 76 other institutions that were selected in 2006 — the only other year of selections — out of 4,391 accredited colleges and universities in the nation.

Clemson’s classification for Curricular Engagement and Outreach and Partnerships demonstrates a substantial commitment to both areas as part of the university’s mission. Curricular Engagement focuses on service-learning and community-based research to engage faculty and students in addressing community needs as part of the student learning experience. The focus of Outreach and Partnerships is to share knowledge and resources and engage in mutually beneficial collaborations locally, nationally and globally to improve quality of life and advance economic development.

'The Carnegie classification speaks to the importance of Clemson’s academic and public service programs in advancing economic and intellectual development in South Carolina,' said Clemson President James F. Barker.

'It has never been more important to our state for Clemson to invest in community engagement of students and faculty, in outreach to citizens in economically distressed areas and in partnerships to leverage our scarce resources for economic and intellectual development,' he said. 'These activities represent hope for South Carolina’s people and for their future and are perhaps the wisest investments we can make as a higher education institution and as a state.'

To learn more about Clemson’s Service Alliance, visit www.clemson.edu/servicealliance. Information on the 2008 Carnegie Foundation Classification for Community Engagement can be found at www.carnegiefoundation.org.

The Milky WayGamma rays, the light of energy a thousand times more powerful than X-rays created by antimatter and normal matter coming together, are seen coming from the disk of our galaxy, roughly from where we see the glow of the Milky Way under a dark sky, but mostly from the direction of the center of the galaxy in the Southern hemisphere.

'We're not surprised to see this emission from the Milky Way's disk,' said Mark Leising, Clemson University astronomy professor and principal investigator in the study. 'We know that massive stars explode as supernovae there, fusing new elements from lighter ones. Such explosions long ago made the oxygen and iron in our blood and the calcium in our bones, along with most other heavy elements. Some of these elements are radioactive and produce antimatter positrons when they decay.

'What is surprising is how bright this emission is from the center of the galaxy,' he said. 'It is not coming just from the very center, where a black hole lurks that is two million times the Sun's mass, but from a region a few thousand light-years across surrounding the center.'

Leising adds the supernova explosions do not occur there, so something else must be making the antimatter. One explanation, he said, involves black holes, collapsed stars of five to 10 solar masses, pulling matter from close companion stars. Another involves the decay of exotic 'dark matter' particles. Dark matter is the name given to something out there that is so far detected only by its gravitational pull on normal matter.

In collaboration with colleagues from Germany, France and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Leising and Clemson students hope to unravel this mystery by combining information from a number of NASA and European Space Agency satellites.

Leising said students have to study many topics in physics and become experts in computational and statistical techniques to do this type work. Leising also notes that such technical advances inevitably lead to spinoff benefits.

'Development of these detectors and analysis techniques aided in the development of PET (positron emission tomography) scanners, in which patients ingest radioactive elements that decay and emit antimatter. We are doing much the same thing, except that we have to sit back 25,000 light years to measure the gamma rays,' he said.

Wind turbinesIn the Charleston area alone, an additional 1.5 gigawatts of electricity will be needed to power a population boom that is expected to see 1 million people move to the region by 2025, living in 440,000 new homes.

Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, director of business development for the Clemson University Restoration Institute in North Charleston, told the ninth annual ThinkTEC Innovation Summit in North Charleston that South Carolina stands to benefit from wind power as a natural energy resource.

A growing coastal population will strain existing electricity resources, pushing demand for new sources, she said. Further, relatively shallow offshore waters are ideal for wind-farm construction and Charleston's state-of-the-art cargo port will help the flow of construction supplies.

By 2030, one-fifth of electricity generated nationwide is forecast to come from coastal or offshore wind farms, according to U.S. Department of Energy estimates. South Carolina utility Santee Cooper has committed to generating 40 percent of its power from non-greenhouse gas and biomass sources by 2020.

'If you do the math, wind power could generate more than 20,000 new jobs in South Carolina by 2030,' Colbert-Busch said. 'The opportunities for this state are enormous.'

In hard numbers, the economic impact of wind power represents 22 jobs per megawatt, she said. One gigawatt equals 1,000 megawatts.

Gene Eidson, restoration ecology director at the Restoration Institute, told the summit that these population shifts and corresponding energy demands will require careful management of our natural resources.

The Clemson scientist heads an innovative project called the Intelligent River, which deploys a network of sensors and probes along the Savannah River that transmit information wirelessly to a central database.

Data, such as temperature, humidity and dissolved oxygen, can be viewed via the Internet, allowing scientists to manage the river in real time. It means the thousands of homes, businesses and marine life that rely on the river will receive the quantity and quality of water they need.

Put simply, our watersheds are at risk, Eidson said. If ignored, our natural resources will not be able to cope with the demand.

'We're at the point where we need to revolutionize how we manage our water resources,' Eidson said. 'Not a slow evolution.'

The day-long ThinkTEC summit at Trident Technical College concluded Wednesday.

For more information about the Intelligent River visit www.intelligentriver.org.

'The goal is to help rising seventh-grade students acquire the computer and cognitive skills they will need in order to imagine careers in science or math,' said Sean Williams, associate dean of the graduate school, associate professor of English and co-principal investigator. 'Generally speaking, American students are not interested in careers in science, technology, engineering or math, otherwise known as STEM. Yet the need is great — and growing — for students to choose these careers.

'Seventh-graders, on the other hand, are pretty open-minded, not yet jaded,' said Williams. 'We’re using 3-D virtual worlds to entice them, open their eyes to the possibilities, while they are still young.'

Williams is collaborating with two other Clemson professors: Debi Switzer, professor of education, and Ken Weaver, a lecturer in Clemson’s School of Computing. The three-year grant award is worth just more than $450,000 for the Clemson researchers.

The project, begun in October 2008, will be fully implemented in June of 2009 with workshops that immerse the seventh-graders in 3-D virtual-world software, teaching them how to create virtual worlds and how to interact with others in a virtual society.

'The obstacles we encounter in the real world — problems of distance, scale and time — all disappear in a virtual-world setting,' said Williams. 'You can walk through molecules and examine them from the inside. You can visualize data, look at the spatial relationships. Being able to do anything you can imagine in a fake world helps you do things more imaginatively in the real world. Imagination is, after all, a cognitive skill.'

'These students are already good at gaming,' Williams said. 'They’re already good at socializing electronically. This program builds on those skills, developing social aptitude and critical-thinking skills. You have to learn to be social to succeed in a virtual world, and you have to think critically in order to conceive of objects and relationships that don’t exist yet.'

In the second part of the summer workshops, students will be joined by their upcoming teachers in science and math. 'They’ll get a chance to practice what they’ve learned,' said Williams, 'by teaching their teachers.'

Williams, Switzer and Weaver will participate in implementing the project in middle schools in Oconee and Pickens counties, as the students and teachers who participate in their pilot study will go on to mentor and inspire others to explore STEM careers through the use of 3-D virtual-reality software.

The relationship between Clemson and Appalachian State was established in 2007 as the Carolina Virtual Worlds Consortium for the purpose of securing funding that will drive research in virtual-world technologies, practices and implementation, particularly those focused on education and training. The consortium currently consists of Clemson, Appalachian State University and public schools in Davie County, N.C.

Murphy sees CUGI as a significant resource in the rapidly evolving field of genomics-oriented research. CUGI is involved in the development and distribution of genomic tools and services for the life science community. It also performs research that focuses on the discovery and analysis of genes: lengths of DNA that provide the building instructions for proteins in microbes, plants, animals and humans.

Murphy joined the Clemson faculty in July 2008 after serving as a professor at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. His expertise is in the area of veterinary medical genetics with a particular interest in dogs.

Man’s best friend also is a genetic relative. Research reveals that for 75 percent of known human genes there are corresponding dog genes. There are 24,567 human genes of which 18,473 have canine counterparts.

Dogs have been domesticated for more than 10,000 years. Scientists’ and dog breeders’ knowledge of canine medical problems is comprehensive, second only to knowledge about human ailments. Research has found 360 genetic diseases affecting both dogs and humans.

For example, Great Danes suffer from the same type of heart disease affecting humans. In addition, many breeds are prone to genetic disorders, including cancer, blindness, cataracts, epilepsy, hip dysplasia and deafness.

The current aims of Murphy’s laboratory include understanding the genetics underlying hereditary diseases of the heart, kidney, pancreas, skin and musculoskeletal system; the role of cholesterol in canine development and diseases; and the genetics of aging because there are widely differing life spans across breeds.

'Our research also serves as models for study of certain human hereditary diseases as well as aging in humans,' said Murphy, whose lab has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Canine Health Foundation, private foundations, dog-breed clubs and industrial sources.

'One disease that occurs in the human and the dog is a fatal renal disease known as hereditary nephropathy,' he said. 'People, if they don’t have a renal transplant, die by the time they’re 15 years of age or so. Dogs die by the time they’re 2. We’ve identified the gene that causes this in the English cocker spaniel, and through funding from the NIH we’re developing gene therapy. We hope to correct the disease in the dog, and if that works then we’ll go onto human trials. And if we can do it in humans then they won’t need renal transplants.'

The keynote speaker is Rutgers University evolutionary geneticist Jody Hey. His lecture, 'Darwin, Sex and Evolution: Using DNA to Discover the Origin of Species,' will be delivered at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 11, at Tillman Auditorium.

Hey studies evolutionary genetics with a focus on how genetic divergence leads to differences between populations and the origin of new species. He has worked on human origins and the spread of human populations around the world.

This year’s Darwin Week Festival (pdf) celebrates the 200th birth of Darwin as well as the 150th anniversary of his influential book, 'The Origin of Species,' which outlined the role of natural selection as an agent of evolutionary change.

'These events are designed to highlight the achievements of Charles Darwin and teach the university community and public about the relevance and importance of evolution to our society,' said Michael Childress, assistant professor of biological sciences and one of the event organizers. 'Darwin was a simple man who changed forever the way we view life on Earth.'

The Darwin Week Festival begins at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, with Ben Stein’s movie 'Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.' The film will be screened at the McKissick Theatre in the Hendrix Student Center with a discussion moderated by Jerry Waldvogel, professor of biological sciences, and Kelly Smith, associate professor of philosophy and Lemon Fellow in the Robert C. Rutland Institute for Ethics.

'From Darwin to Dayton & Dover,' a history of the evolution-teaching dispute is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 13 in room 100, Hardin Hall. The public lecture is by Edward Larson of Pepperdine University. Clemson’s Waldvogel will lecture at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 14 in room 100, Hardin Hall, on the role of higher education in the evolution-religion controversy.

Other events include a Darwin Day Exhibition and 'Ask a Scientist' panel, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Feb. 12, in the atrium of the Hendrix Student Center and a research seminar led by Jody Hey at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 12 in room 100, Brackett Hall.

The Darwin Week Festival is organized by the Clemson University Department of Biological Sciences, the BioSci Club and the Biological Sciences Graduate Student Association.

The field of women's studies focuses on the role of women in all facets of human endeavor. This multi-disciplinary field examines women's lives and accomplishments in the context of history, sociology, psychology, medicine, economics, law, and politics and highlights women's creativity in art, music, and literature.

Any graduate student working on projects (research and/or creative) related to women is invited to submit a brief proposal about their research for consideration.

The forum is planned for the afternoon of Friday, March 27, and will showcase presentations of graduate student work. The forum welcomes all presentation formats. These can include papers to be read, PowerPoint presentations, web sites, postershows and original artwork. Please review the following parameters and, if interested, submit a one-page (maximum) abstract describing your project.

Submissions

Submit all abstracts in electronic format to Linda Tindal at ltindal@clemson.edu . Submission deadline is March 6, 2009.

Parameters*

1. There will be a ten-minute time limit for oral presentations.

2. An easel will be provided for poster presentations.

3. Visual presentations may also be in digital format.

* For oral presentations that utilize digital format, ten-minute limit will apply.

* For visual presentations, such as artwork, web sites, etc., a ten-minute limit is recommended, but not required. Oral presentations of at least five minutes, and no longer than ten-minutes are required to explain the project.

* Parameters may be revised as submissions are received. All applicants will receive a copy of any revisions to parameters.

Judging of Presentations

A panel of Clemson University faculty will review all abstracts and select the projects to be presented at the forum.

In addition, a separate panel of Clemson University faculty will judge the presentations at the forum, and will choose both a 1st Place winner and a 2nd Place winner for the following awards:

1st Place - $200.00

2nd Place - $100.00

Imtiaz HaqueImtiaz Haque will be responsible for building industrial partnerships and guiding a team of faculty members to advance the academic program of the 250-acre state-of-the-art automotive and motorsports research campus. The 90,000-square-foot Campbell center houses the teaching and research facilities for the university’s unique master’s and doctoral degree programs in automotive engineering.

Esin Gulari, dean of the College of Engineering and Science, said Haque’s experience, leadership and international reputation in mechanical and automotive engineering are invaluable to the future of CU-ICAR.

'We are very pleased that professor Haque has agreed to serve in this capacity,' said Gulari. 'He totally embraces the mission and goals of CU-ICAR. His commitment to the program, his energy and his passion for educating the next generation of leaders in automotive engineering will serve Clemson and the profession well.'

Haque has been a member of the Clemson University mechanical engineering faculty since 1982 and served as department chairman for the past six-and-a-half years. During that tenure, he led the department in significant growth, including the addition of the master’s and doctoral degree programs in automotive engineering offered at the Campbell center.

'I am very excited to have this opportunity,' Haque said. 'As executive director of the Campbell center, I look forward to continuing to nurture the program to its fullest potential. We have an incredible team of faculty, staff and students at CU-ICAR led by four extremely talented endowed chairs; the best research facilities and equipment in the nation under one roof; committed industry partners; and burgeoning interest on the part of potential students and partners. We must take advantage of this unique set of opportunities to fulfill CU-ICAR’s goal of being the premier automotive and motorsports education and research program in the world.'

A longtime member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers, Haque recently received the designation of ASME Fellow in recognition of significant engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession.

In the coming years, our world will continue to face economical, environmental and energy related problems. How is Engineering and Engineering Technology Education responding to the needs of our society and the world? This will be the theme for an exhilarating and thought provoking weekend of professional workshops, presentations, and discussions at the University of Bridgeport.

The ASEE Northeast Section is soliciting faculty papers, student papers and student posters which address the various challenges and paradigms in this technological world through research and instructional programs in Engineering and Engineering Technology education. There are three conference tracks:

1. Regular/ faculty papers

2. Student papers

3. Student posters

The deadline for abstract submission is February 27th, 2009.

Prospective authors are invited to submit their abstracts online in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format through the conference website at http://www.asee2009conference.org

Suggested conference topics are listed below. Other innovations in course and laboratory experiences and assessments are also most welcome for submission:

• Chemical and Biological Engineering
• Civil & Environmental Engineering
• Electrical & Computer Engineering
• Engineering Technology/ Community Colleges
• Industrial, Automation and Manufacturing Engineering
• Engineering Technology and Community Colleges
• Innovations In Engineering Education
• First Year Experiences
• K-12 Education (Engineering Curriculum Integration)
• Mechanical Engineering
• Computer Science and Information Technology
• Women in Engineering and Computer Science
• Robotics
• Service Learning
• Sustainability
• Design Projects
• Engineering and Technology in the Liberal Arts
• Systems Engineering
• Globalization
• Ethics
• Diversity In Engineering
• Multidisciplinary Research

Paper and Other Proposal Submissions

Prospective authors are invited to submit their abstracts online in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format through the website of the conference at http://www.asee2009conference.org. Proposals for special sessions, tutorials, worskshops and exhibitions are also weclcome. Please check the conference website regarding instructions for these proposal submissions.

Important Dates:

Abstracts due 27th February, 2009

Acceptance notification 6th March, 2009

Final manuscript & Registration due 20th March, 2009

Clemson students, faculty and staff are once again invited to submit original works to Science as Art 2009. Entries can be produced by individuals or teams; multi-disciplinary collaboration is encouraged. While images need not be research-based, they should convey a significant or captivating scientific concept or event. Categories for entries include photographs, illustrations, electronic media (interactive and non-interactive, including video), and explanatory graphics. Winners in each category will be awarded gift certificates to local merchants.

The deadline for submitting an entry to Science as Art 2009 is March 6, 2009. Entries will be judged by a panel of artists and scientists from the community, based on visual impact, effective communication, and freshness and originality. A 'People’s Choice' award will be given based on a campus-wide poll of the entries.

A 'Meet the Artist' reception and exhibit will be held on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. at the Advanced Materials Research Laboratory in Pendleton. Directions and map can be found on the Science as Art web site: http://www.clemson.edu/ese/cp/saa/meet.php. Artists and judges will be present. Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be served. This event is free and open to the public.

All entries will be displayed in the library from the beginning of April through graduation, and winners in five categories will be honored at the Sigma Xi spring banquet on Thursday, April 16. Once again, this year’s event will include a category for high school entries.

For entry forms and more information, go to the Department of Engineering and Science Education website, http://www.clemson.edu/ese/cp/saa/, or contact Lisa Benson (lbenson@clemson.edu).

Sponsors for this event include the Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films, the Clemson University Research Foundation, the Department of Engineering and Science Education, and the Clemson chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society.

The primary aim of the research is to discover how places can be designed and preserved to maximize both sense of place and quality of life. The Charleston neighborhood south of Broad Street is historic; the I’On development is new but designed using traditional urban patterns and architectural styles.

'Until recently, the investigation of subjective values associated with urban design and historic preservation has been a taboo subject, too closely associated with creating a false sense of history,' said Clemson’s Jeremy Wells. 'Critics of new urbanism complain that nostalgic design is backwards, regressive and fake, while practitioners of historic preservation largely overlook the impact of social and cultural values in determining historical significance.'

Can places that follow time-tested urban design patterns mean a higher quality of life for residents? What is the role of physical age in fostering emotional attachment to urban neighborhoods?

'Unfortunately, the answers to these questions, which are fundamental to why we design and preserve places, are still largely lacking,' Wells said. This research study is designed to give planners, urban designers and historic preservationists better tools to understand how residents value new and old urban neighborhoods.

In the next few weeks, Wells will be gathering data for his study using an online survey questionnaire at www.neighborhoodstudy.com. Residents of the two neighborhoods are invited to participate in the confidential survey, which will not ask for any personal identifiers. The results of the study will be released to local homeowners associations and the cities of Mount Pleasant and Charleston.

Wells entered Clemson’s Ph.D. program in planning, design and the built environment in the fall of 2006 with a background in historic preservation and downtown revitalization. His initial goal was to develop a better understanding of the relationship between sociocultural values and historical significance, but later broadened his interests to include how neo-traditional design can be used to maximize sense of place. An earlier pilot study conducted by Wells indicated that landscape-design elements play as significant a role, if not more, as buildings do in how people become attached to place.

In the article 'Graduate Real Estate Programs: An Analysis of the Past and Present and Trends for the Future,' Margot Weinstein, president and chief financial officer of MW Leadership Consultants LLC and vice president of the Kingston Group Inc., and Elaine Worzala, director of Clemson’s Center for Real Estate Development, examined four up-and-coming real estate graduate programs at Clemson, DePaul University, John Hopkins University and Roosevelt University.

Clemson’s Master of Real Estate Development program, established in 2004, is unique in several aspects. The program is a joint project between the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities and the College of Business and Behavioral Science, making it Clemson’s only graduate program connecting development design and business. Students take courses in law, finance, management, architecture, construction science and city and regional planning. The two-year program also requires a summer internship providing practical experience for the students to bring to their second year of education.

'The program’s network to professionals, hands-on experience and multidisciplinary approach make it one of the strongest programs in the country,' Worzala said. 'It is still relatively new, and at this point there are no official rankings of real estate-development programs. However, we certainly lead the list for the programs in the Southeast region and we are working hard on building our national reputation.'

Allison is director of Clemson’s graduate program in architecture and health. He also is director of a new project establishing the Center of Economic Excellence (CoEE) in Health Facilities Design and Testing.

'There is no debate that David has had a tremendous impact on the health-care design profession over the last 25 years,' the HEALTHCARE DESIGN story says. 'As an architect, David is passionate in his role as an educator, not only to his students in the graduate architecture program in healthcare studies at Clemson University, but to his professional colleagues nationally.'

The magazine says Allison is a 'visionary leader using an interdisciplinary approach to research the impact the built environment has on patients, families and staff.'

Allison was nominated for the honor by Kathy L. Bell of The S/L/A/M Collaborative, an architecture, engineering and planning firm with offices in Atlanta, Boston and Glastonbury, Conn. Bell is a Clemson alumna, though not a former student of Allison’s.

As director of Graduate Studies in Health + Architecture at Clemson, Allison leads one of only three professional degree programs in the nation with a concentration in the design of health-care architecture.

The CoEE in Health Facilities Design and Testing will conduct design-research projects using experts from a variety of disciplines ranging from architecture, psychology, materials science and computer science.

Healthcare Design published the 'Twenty Who Are Making a Difference' in the December issue, which can be viewed online now at www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com.