B-Note May 5, 2016
May 5, 2016
Greetings fellow Tigers!
Clemson spring graduation week 2016 has finally arrived! It is always a bittersweet time as students proudly cross the finish line of their academic journey, but also bid farewell to beloved college friends and campus life.
One student crossing that finish line this weekend has made an impressive mark during her undergraduate career at Clemson. Emily Thompson will graduate this weekend as one of the most-decorated physics students in the University’s history, racking up honors ranging from a Goldwater Fellowship to an Astronaut Scholarship and “every award available to her at Clemson,” according to Mark Leising, the interim dean of the new College of Science. Read more about Thompson’s remarkable college journey and what’s next for this outstanding student.
A graduate student who will have no trouble recording his cherished Clemson memories is Shehzad Ziaee. A lifelong photography enthusiast, Ziaee came to Clemson to get a master’s degree in structural engineering, but left having taken 192,340 photographs. Best of all, he did it with encouragement and support from the Clemson Library system! Read about how Ziaee made the most of his talent and University resources, and garnered some amazing photo-ops that will forever keep his Clemson memories alive.
The Clemson Medallion is the University’s highest public honor. This week two distinguished alumni and revered leaders were announced as recipients of the Clemson Medallion. President Emeritus James Barker and prominent businessman James E. Bostic Jr. have both served the University in ways that will leave lasting benefit for generations to come. We owe so much to these two gentleman who have bettered our course. Read about these two legendary Clemson leaders here.
An interdisciplinary team of Clemson University researchers focused on fighting organisms responsible for infectious diseases that threaten the health of billions of people globally has been awarded $10.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant will enable Clemson’s Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC) to develop a critical mass of scientists and research infrastructure that could accelerate the rate of discovery in the fight against pathogens that cause some of the world’s most devastating and intractable infectious diseases. Read more on this exciting announcement.
Our week continues with the end-of-academic-year faculty meeting tomorrow. We also have the pleasure of hosting the Alumni Board on campus tomorrow along with a special first-time campus visit by Jeff Immelt, CEO of corporate partner, GE, and recipient of an honorary degree at Saturday’s 9:30am commencement ceremony. Watch for more on this in next week’s B-Note.
In addition to Jeff Immelt’s honorary degree presentation on Saturday, approximately 2,625 Bachelor of Arts degrees and 550 master’s degrees will be presented at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville. Please join me in welcoming our newest alumni and congratulating them on their accomplishments. And on behalf of our wonderful family, many thanks to all of you who support this University and help make those accomplishments possible, this year and for generations to come.
Go Tigers!
Brian O’Rourke