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SPRING/SUMMER 1999 ARCHIVE Clemson Recognized as Leader in Orthopaedic Bioengineering Clemson University Mathematics: The Next National Champion? Clemson University, Southeast Leader in Invention Income Where the Rubber Meets the Roador Off-Road Clemson Students Win NSF Awards Professor Receives National Math Award Thomas Green Clemson Academy Welcomes Three New Members Dow Chemical Pledges More Than Half-Million Dollars to Film-Related Research Catfish: Improving Environment and Economy ACES Reunion and BBQ is Coming!  |
Textiles and Then Some The South's oldest textile school, located at Clemson University, is in the midst of its 100th anniversary celebration. Clemson has one of the top four textile programs in the country. It was the first university in the South to offer a textile curriculum, and it remains the Palmetto State's only university to award recognized bachelor's, master's and doctoral textile degrees.
"For the past 100 years, Clemson University's textile program has served the needs of this industry for South Carolina and the nation. Now, it's set to help lead the industry into new and innovative areas for the next century," said Thomas M. Keinath, dean of the College of Engineering and Science at Clemson. Textiles can be a rewarding career for students. Last year the starting salaries ranged from $32,000-$39,000 for undergraduate degrees in textile management and up to $48,000 for undergraduate degrees in textile chemistry. The School of Textiles, Fibers and Polymer Science has close to a 100 percent placement rate in industry for its undergraduate majors. Many people do not realize the huge contributions that textiles make, which can extend far beyond the clothes they wear. "Textiles is not just about clothes and bed sheets," said Richard Gregory, director of Clemson's School of Textiles, Fiber and Polymer Science. "From NASA spacesuits to Q-tips®, today's textile-related research spans a diverse multi-discipline area ranging from artificial muscles and nerves to composite structures for aircraft wings. The future holds many more promising developments that will be created from textile-related technologies." Outcomes of textile-related research at Clemson include better chemical warfare suits using stitchless technology, heat-shielding tiles that protect American space shuttles on re-entry, fibers that contain microelectronics, better artificial hip implants and even membranes for kidney dialysis. Clemson's award-winning textiles school is also conducting federally funded research into conductive polymers, which will form the basis of tomorrow's "smart fibers and films" containing electronic and/or photonic circuitry. Possible end-uses include miniature "organic" laser systems that could provide alternatives to more invasive surgeries, or even military uniforms able to sense and take defensive measures against air-borne biochemical agents. Other possible uses include information transfer and holographic data-storage devices. The School of Textiles, Fiber and Polymer Science is a key component of Clemson University's new Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films, recently designated as a national Engineering Research Center by the National Science Foundation. Clemson is also home to the Apparel Research Center, a state-of-the-art manufacturing pilot site with more than $3.5 million in equipment. Research is conducted there for the apparel industry, as well as contracted work for the government, and textile and fiber manufacturers. |
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