Welcome to COMSET  Sunday, November 22 2009 @ 05:26 am EST   $10 Million Endowed Chair will attract top faculty, create jobs   CLEMSON -- What's the value of a good chair? Millions, if it's endowed. A $10 million endowed faculty position in optical materials will bring the brightest faculty in that field to Clemson University . . . and create jobs. The $10 million endowed chair, created by $5 million from the state matched by $5 million from other sources, will support a world-renowned scholar, two junior faculty positions and funds for research to complement existing researchers at the Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET) in Pendleton. "You bring someone in who is the best in the world, who attracts the best graduate students, and companies are going to locate here just to be near that person," said John Ballato, COMSET director. "Further, some of those top graduates are going to be entrepreneurial and start up their own companies in the region, creating additional high-paying jobs." COMSET and the endowed chair faculty member will be in Clemson's new Advanced Materials Research Laboratory, a $21 million complex under construction in Clemson Research Park. On the 31-acre site will be an 111,000 square-foot research facility, including laser and chemical labs, and the university's electron microscopy facility. COMSET supports optical materials research and development in every stage from concept to commerce, giving existing companies in the region an added competitive advantage and new companies a reason to come. As jobs are created, researchers will be able to find work in South Carolina, attracting and keeping knowledge-based talent in the state. Optical materials carry light faster and more reliably than phone lines and computer network cables carry electrons. Eventually, hair-thin threads of glass, called fiber optics, will replace existing cable TV and home networking lines, making video-on-demand and videophones a reality in every household. Already, two spin-off companies have formed. Both Tetramer Technologies LLC and Advanced Photonic Crystals employ Clemson graduates who may have had to relocate to find jobs in their field. As these and other companies in the region grow, the demand for technically trained optics workers will grow. Clemson has partnered with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Western Carolina University as well as Greenville, Spartanburg and Tri-County technical colleges to prepare skilled workers at every level -- from a high school degree to a Ph.D. -- to ensure that companies can build their workforce locally. With its existing team of internationally respected researchers, a new $21 million facility being built, a $10 million endowed chair and $13 million in research funding since its founding in 2000, COMSET is lighting the way for knowledge-based economic development in South Carolina. The Research Centers of Economic Excellence Review Board manages the state's endowed chairs program. The program was created by the General Assembly in 2001 to earmark lottery funds for research related to economic development. A research leader in advanced materials, automotive engineering and bioengineering and genomics, Clemson University is located in Clemson, S.C. Founded in 1889, the university is a legacy of Thomas Green Clemson, who willed his Fort Hill plantation home and surrounding lands to the state of South Carolina to establish "a high seminary of learning." Today, Clemson is a nationally recognized research university where approximately 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students pursue more than 70 degrees in five academic colleges. Connect to www.clemson.edu for more information.   Monday, February 27 2006 @ 04:27 pm EST Contributed by: Admin   What's Related www.clemson.edu More by Admin More from News Story Options Mail Story to a Friend Printable Story Format

Site Navigation Home Archive Mission Research Publications Facilities Faculty News COMSET News September 2008: Research Highlight in Chemical Technology Dr. Roger Stolen Elected to Russian Academy of Sciences Carolinas MicroOptics Triangle Gains National Recognition $10 Million Endowed Chair will attract top faculty, create jobs No Title Partnerships Events There are no upcoming events User Functions login: password: Register as a New User Lost your password? Clemson University

Copyright © 2009 COMSET  All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners.