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Research
Clemson positions itself as epicenter
of advanced material industry
 Over
the next five years, Clemson University plans to invest approximately
$70 million at the Clemson Research Park in Anderson County
to support and grow an advanced materials industry cluster.
The initiative could make the Upstate a regional knowledge-based
epicenter, attracting high-tech, high-paying jobs. The focus
of the project is to provide the research infrastructure needed
by existing industries and nurture growth in the emerging
photonics industry.
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| The 111,000-square-foot advanced materials
complex is being built on a 31-acre site in the Clemson
Research Park, one mile off Interstate 85 in Anderson
County. The brick, glass and steel facility will include
two wings with an electron microscopy facility, laser
and chemical labs, and office space. |
The
linchpin is already being put into place -- a $21 million
complex that will initially house two proposed Research Centers
of Economic Excellence in electron imaging and photonics.
The centers will be backed by what could become one of the
finest electron microscopy research laboratories in the United
States. The electron microscopy facility, which expands on
Clemson’s current lab, will be one of the top research
EM facilities in the nation. Clemson is forming an industrial
consortium of S.C. companies that require access to advanced
electron microscopy to remain competitive.
Advanced
materials industries in South Carolina employ 52,000 workers
and generate $15 billion in revenues. In South Carolina alone,
there are 50 advanced materials companies needing R&D
support. The automotive industry is closely tied to advanced
materials through products such as fuel sensors, advanced
braking sensors, LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and catalysts.
Nationwide, the automotive industry is expected to spend $275
billion on materials-related components by 2010.
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