Academy adds three new members

Clemson University has inducted three new members into its prestigious Thomas Green Clemson Academy of Engineers and Scientists. The ceremony was held in conjunction with Clemson's eighth annual engineering and science banquet. Members of the academy illustrate by example what can be achieved through talent, hard work and dedication.

James E. Bostic received his bachelors degree in chemistry in 1969, and followed that with his Ph.D in 1972. After graduation, he embarked on a career characterized by professional accomplishment and community service.

He began as special assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture, and for his many contributions there, received the Future Farmers of America Honorary Farmer Degree. He assumed his first industrial position at Riegel Textile Corporation and later joined the Georgia Pacific Corporation where he rose to his present position of executive vice-president of environmental and governmental affairs. In this post, he led scientific research which made Georgia Pacific a leader in environmental practice and policy that was not only critical to Georgia Pacific, but to the entire pulp and paper industry. He currently serves on the S.C. Association of Minorities for Public Administration, and is an active member on the President's Commission for White House Fellowships.

He made significant contributions to South Carolina and Clemson through his service as a member, vice chairman and chairman of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. In 1983 he was elected to the Clemson Board of Trustees and served in that capacity until 1988. He was recognized in 1990 with the Clemson University Distinguished Alumni Award. Bostic currently serves on the Clemson University Foundation Board and IPTAY Board of Directors.

In spite of having destroyed Dean Howard Hunter's diplomas, awards, and family pictures with an overnight condenser leak,
Earl Wagener managed to complete his B.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry here. He then began a journey that has focused on scientific research and commercial implementation of technology.
He began his professional career with Dow Chemical. His guidance of the prestigious Walnut Creek Discovery Group in California made possible the practical implementation of breakthrough membrane technologies for kidney dialysis, reverse osmosis for water purification and irrigation, and gas separation. After a quarter-century with Dow Chemical, this honoree moved to Stepan Chemical (a near-billion dollar/year company), as Vice President for Research and Development.

He took to heart the service philosophy that is so much a part of the Clemson experience. He served as the Chairman of The Research Quality Council, was a member of the Stepan Board of Directors, the Industrial Research Institute, and the Clemson University Department of Chemistry External Advisory Board. With his brothers, Wagener established the prestigious Hattie B. Wagener Staff Award commemorating the service of their mother to the College of Engineering and Science and Clemson University. He is currently the CEO of Tetramer Technologies, where he leads the effort to find commercial applications for research being conducted by Clemson's Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering.

Charles Kenneth Watt credits Clemson's electrical engineering program with providing a balanced foundation for a career that has ranged from engineer, to manager, to entrepreneur.
Watt received his B.S. in 1959, and went to work for Bell Systems as a Project Director for Communications and Sensors. From there he moved to government service, eventually being named Director of Defense Test and Evaluation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Through the years he pursued study on the graduate level, receiving his Masters and Ph.D. from George Washington University. In 1986 he became Laboratory Director and Principal Research Engineer for Georgia Tech. He next focused his considerable talents on entrepreneurial pursuits, establishing Scientific Research Corporation (SRC), an advanced electronic engineering company that provides innovative products and services to government and private industry, as well as independent institutions.

Watt has served Clemson University in several capacities over the years on various committees and boards. His leadership was crucial in establishing the National Textile Center, which has provided nearly $16 million in funding to Clemson since its inception. His efforts have led to funding for the computer science department and Clemson Apparel Research (CAR). As a current member of the Board of Directors of the Clemson University Research Foundation, Watt continues to devote significant amounts of time to the University.