Year: 2021

As our research enterprise continues to grow, the scholarly community is increasingly recognizing the quality of your work and using your research to advance scholarship and discovery around the world. Those are the key points in my fiscal year-end report to the University’s Board of Trustees.

Fiscal Year 2021 was another banner year for our institutional research metrics:

• Expenditures from competitive awards increased 9 percent to $114 million in FY2021 and exceeded the ClemsonForward goal of $100 million for the third consecutive year.
• Research awards increased 37 percent to $162 million in FY2021 as funding agencies reward your high-quality proposals.
• Proposal submissions increased 4 percent from FY2020, which had been a high mark, to $762 million.

Of course, when the awards are received, it is time to do the work: conducting the research and writing the papers and books, and so forth. The scholarly community is increasingly recognizing the quality of Clemson’s research. The average annual number of peer-reviewed journal publications authored by Clemson faculty have increased 29% since 2014 and citations of Clemson authors have increased 44%. That is outstanding.

You can read my full report to the Board of Trustees online.

To help continue our momentum, we have several efforts at the Division of Research aimed at nurturing research activity and professional development. The Office of Research Development, for example, is again offering its CAREER Academy in the Spring. The CAREER Academy provides a dedicated support structure for untenured junior faculty who are planning to submit National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) proposals.

These awards are career catalysts and the most prestigious awards junior faculty can receive. I know, personally, my CAREER award helped to propel my research portfolio and set me up for future success. And, Clemson faculty are becoming increasingly successful earning CAREER awards, in part due to the support provided through the CAREER Academy. Clemson faculty have earned 10 CAREER awards each of the past two years. That is an incredible accomplishment.

Applications for the 2022 CAREER Academy will be accepted from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30, 2021. Additional information is posted online.

On Friday, we will welcome to campus Sue Clark, deputy laboratory director of science and technology at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to speak with you about conducting research at SRNL. As many of you know, Clemson is a member of the Battelle Savannah River Alliance recently selected by the Department of Energy to manage research at SRNL. This is a tremendous opportunity for Clemson faculty and students to conduct research at one of the nation’s premiere national laboratories.

Sue will give a 15-20 minute presentation to share tips on engaging SRNL in research collaborations and then will answer questions from attendees. The event is 9:30-11:30 am. Nov. 12 at the Watt Family Innovation Center auditorium. More information about Sue and BSRA is posted online.

Lastly, I want to remind you that Calls for Proposal for this year’s R-Initiatives are now online. As I mentioned in a recent email to all faculty, we are expanding the SUCCEEDS initiative to provide four different funding programs, including two that were formerly part of the CU SEED program and another program that is new this year. Full details on the SUCCEEDS programs are posted online.

I encourage you to review our R-Initiatives webpage, mark the upcoming deadlines on your calendars and prepare proposals to take advantage of these opportunities. I truly believe there is something here for everyone. Since we launched R-Initiatives in 2017, we have invested in research projects involving 418 faculty members spread across every college. These funds have helped faculty secure $14 million in additional external funding, acquire 20 new pieces of instrumentation, publish 10 books and 66 journal articles, and conduct 10 art exhibitions. Additionally, funds have helped 97 students earn PhDs and have assisted in the hiring of 23 postdocs and research faculty.

Thank you for continued support of scholarship and discovery at Clemson.

–Tanju

September 2021 Research Report

Seeing so many colleagues and the students back on campus has really been inspiring. Though I must say, all of you involved in research at Clemson have remained inspired throughout one of the most challenging years I can remember.

Consider the momentum we have maintained in fiscal year 2021:

• Competitive research expenditures increased 9 percent to $114 million, surpassing the ClemsonForward goal for the third consecutive year.
• Competitive research awards were up 37 percent from the prior year at $162 million, the highest amount for decades. Incredible. Research awards are a testament to the quality of our research ideas and our proposals. We are competing with the best research institutions around the country to earn these grant awards, and Clemson faculty continue to succeed.
• Even as you have taken on more projects, you have remained committed, submitting $762 million in proposals, an increase of 4 percent from FY2020, which also was a banner year.

I am proud of your high-quality work and commitment to the pursuit of scholarship and discovery. Let’s keep the momentum going.

To help, our Office of Research Development has launched the Successful Grant Seeking series of professional development workshops. These events – led by experienced faculty – will provide insights on working with funding agencies, writing project overviews, forming successful research teams and communicating with reviewers. The workshops will be held in-person and online via Zoom. I encourage you to take advantage.

Additionally, the Office of Research Development will be offering its Clemson CAREER Academy to help junior faculty compete mainly for NSF CAREER Awards. These are the most prestigious awards junior faculty can receive. They are highly competitive and serve as a catalyst for your research program. Only the highest quality proposals are funded. The Academy has been successfully helping faculty craft competitive CAREER proposals. Junior faculty earned 10 early-career awards two years in a row in FY2020 and FY2021. Clemson has now more CAREER award winners per tenured/tenure-track faculty than many institutions around the country. I highly encourage all eligible junior faculty to take advantage of this very successful CAREER Academy and to pursue CAREER award competitions of various funding agencies. If interested, you can learn more about our CAREER Academy during a workshop on Oct. 18 that will be held at Watt Center as well as on Zoom.

Also, we are finalizing plans for our R-Initiative funding programs. Through these programs, we have invested $6 million over the past four years in projects involving more than 400 faculty members. Faculty members from every college have received funding, and I truly believe R-Initiatives provide value for everyone. Since we launched R-Initiatives in 2017, funding has helped faculty author 10 books and 66 journal articles; hold 10 art exhibitions; acquire 20 new pieces of equipment; hire 23 postdocs and research associates; and secure $14 million in additional external funding. Additionally, R-Initiatives have supported 117 students working to complete their PhDs. You can visit our R-Initiatives webpage to view opportunities. We will update the site and notify you when Requests for Proposal are available.

Lastly, I want to introduce Rhonda Shaner Ryals. Rhonda joined the Division of Research this summer to lead the Office of Export Compliance and Research Security. Research has no boundary, and international collaboration is important to scholarship and discovery that is relevant and impactful. Rhonda will work to support successful international research collaboration while protecting the intellectual capital of university research. For the past decade, She has worked with the Office of Research Integrity Assurance at the Georgia Institute of Technology, most recently as associate director. In this role, she has completed export reviews for internationally sponsored research, evaluated research agreement terms, drafted plans to safeguard export-controlled technology, evaluated risk and identified improvements to process and policy, among other responsibilities. She has also developed and delivered training to Georgia Tech faculty and staff involved in research with export-controlled materials. Clemson will benefit from Rhonda’s experience and I hope you take time to meet her, if you have not already.

I wish you all the best this academic year and beyond. The Division of Research is here to help.

-Tanju

July 2021 Research Report

For the past year, I have been living my professional life through a tiny square video screen on my computer. Adjusting to Zoom was difficult at first. Feedback would ring through our speakers when we didn’t mute our microphones. We would speak at the same time and then sit awkwardly silent while waiting for the other to continue. No, you first, please.

Now, we excel at meeting virtually, but I really miss seeing you in person.

I hope we can see each other on May 4 at this year’s Research Symposium, which will be a hybrid event with sessions available on Zoom and in-person at the Watt Family Innovation Center. In-person attendance requires advance registration. Register online here. Those attending via Zoom do not need to register.

One of the highlights of the Research Symposium, to me, is celebrating our Researchers of the Year and our recipients of the University Research, Scholarship and Artistic Achievement Awards. For Researcher of the Year, each college nominates a senior faculty member and a junior faculty member who received their terminal degree within the past 10 years. We have outstanding nominees, and I want to congratulate all of them. Regardless of who wins, being nominated by your peers in your colleges is an incredible honor; and it is priceless! Congratulations! Meet the Researcher of the Year nominees here and tune in at the Research Symposium May 4 as we announce the winners.

Research momentum

This has been an unforgettable academic year. There have been and continue to be many challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those challenges make the collective accomplishments of our research enterprise even more impressive:

• Clemson total R&D expenditures has continued to increase in 2020, reaching $229 million, highest since 2013.
• Fiscal Year 2021 new research awards are up 46 percent at $117 million through February when compared to the same period the prior fiscal year.
• You are publishing more papers and being increasingly cited, a sign your work is relevant and highly regarded by the scholarly community. Published papers have increased 29 percent since 2014, and citations are up 44 percent.
• Clemson junior faculty are increasingly successful earning prestigious early career awards. So far this year, Clemson faculty have earned eight CAREER Awards from the NSF.

More impressive than the numbers you are putting up is the impact you are having. My latest report to the Board of Trustees, which you can read here, includes some examples of that impact and the significant recognition you have received.

I am inspired by your commitment and dedication to scholarship and discovery at Clemson. Thank you.

–Tanju

April 2021 Research Report 

You continue to make big news, despite the unrelenting pressures of a global health pandemic that has uprooted all of our norms.

Consider a few examples of the major accomplishments I was able to report to the University’s Board of Trustees last month:

• The U.S. Department of Energy awarded a 10-year, $3.8 billion contract for an alliance that includes Clemson to manage the Savannah River Nuclear Laboratory near Aiken. This is the first time the lab has ever been managed separately from the Savannah River Site. Through this partnership, Clemson will be a key player in the nation’s energy, environmental, and national security research and workforce development efforts.
• Clemson faculty have earned numerous high-value awards in the past several months, including $16 million to support the development of autonomous military vehicles, $5 million to conduct specialty crop research, and $3 million for teacher development support. The diversity of disciplines earning these high-value awards is impressive.

• 

  Clemson faculty, students and alumni are earning significant national and international recognition. Clemson professor Aleda Roth had a national research award named in her honor. Two Clemson Science graduates were named among the nation’s 12 rising stars by Chemical & Engineering News. Professor Hala Nassar is one of just four professionals from across the country to be named a 2020 Fellow by the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.

• In just a few months, Clemson faculty raced to validate new COVID-19 tests and establish a CLIA-certified lab that has been a great benefit to the University and the surrounding community, as well as a unique learning resource for students and an innovation hub for future Clemson research.

These are just a few examples of the outstanding work you are doing. You can read more about these achievements and others in my quarterly report to the Board of Trustees here. At the meeting, Trustee Joe Swann, who chairs the Board’s Research and Economic Development Committee, and other trustees in attendance applauded your efforts to advance research at Clemson, as did President Clements.

Despite all this great news, I know the pandemic has created hardships, both personally and professionally. I hope you will find programs at the Division of Research helpful as you advance your research portfolios. Our R-Initiative programs have invested nearly $6 million in research projects involving 250 faculty members since 2017. These programs have helped faculty from all colleges publish books, conduct art exhibits, acquire equipment and hire research faculty. We are currently soliciting proposals for numerous R-Initiative programs.

Our Office of Research Development has also developed a series of professional development workshops designed to help you advance your research. I encourage you to attend these virtual sessions, and if you have missed one, you can watch past workshops online.

Additionally, I encourage you to attend the Research Symposium May 4. This will be a hybrid online and in-person event. The event brings together faculty from all colleges and the libraries to share ideas and form collaborations. My Faculty Advisory Board is seeking ideas for symposium topics. The Symposium theme this year is “Collaborate! Global problems, human solutions.” When thinking of symposium sessions, please consider topics that will bring researchers with similar interests together to foster new collaborations. Examples of potential session themes include: AI and ethics; pandemic readiness, response, and resilience; emergent knowledge from big data research; food, energy, and water in a changing world: security and scarcity; global movements and migrations; and translating local and regional problems into a global context.

The ideas for symposium topics can be sent by Feb. 26 to Sarah White, Erin Goss and Penny Reid. I hope to see you there.

Thank you for your continued support of scholarship and discovery at Clemson.

Go Tigers!

–Tanju

January 2021 Research Report

Last spring, we missed one of, in my opinion, the highlights of the academic year: our annual Research Symposium.

I greatly enjoy the camaraderie the Symposium provides: meeting with faculty from other disciplines, sharing ideas, brainstorming, learning, celebrating our successes while game-planning for new opportunities. In addition to numerous interdisciplinary workshops, panel discussions and networking opportunities, we announce our Researchers of the Year and honor our newest recipients of the University Research, Scholarship and Artistic Achievement Awards. The event is a fitting end to the semester.

We launched the university-wide symposium four years ago and we have seen participation increase each year. Last year, at least 150 people attended, and we had participants from every college, including attendees from our off-campus locations. Disrupting that momentum made cancelling last year’s Symposium even more disappointing, even if it was necessary.

I am happy to report that my Faculty Advisory Board is working hard to bring back the Research Symposium in May, possibly in a hybrid online/in-person format. Please mark your calendar for May 4 and look for future updates on the Research Symposium webpage. The Advisory Board is working hard to establish an agenda, line up presenters and finalize the many details that go into such a large event. You’ll likely be hearing from the Advisory Board as they gather input on making this event a success. Please share your ideas and plan to attend in May.

R-Initiatives

The COVID-19 pandemic has been painful for all of us, the Division of Research included, and I have been working to cushion the financial sting to our own business operations without disrupting the services our office provides to you. That said, I think it is important, particularly now, to continue to support your research through our R-Initiative funding programs. We just posted calls for proposal for four R-Initiatives:

• Clemson University Core Incentivized Access (CU-CIA), which provides access to our core facilities at no cost;
• Research Fellows, which provides funding for hiring and training researchers;
• Major Research Instrumentation, which provides funds to purchase or upgrade research equipment;
• And SUCCEEDS, which aims to position interdisciplinary faculty teams to successfully compete for significant external funding.

For the R-Initiatives, we are trying to use limited resources strategically, while reducing some of the burden on you. To do that, we have lifted the cost-share requirements from some competitions this year in hopes this will provide you more opportunities to submit a proposal. However, because our resources are limited, proposals that are able to offer cost-share may receive preference. Please review details on these R-Initiatives using the hyperlinks above and take advantage of these opportunities.

Finally, I would like to commend you all again on your productivity through this pandemic. I will be meeting with the Board of Trustees Research and Economic Development Committee later this month, and you give me a lot to brag about. I will be sharing faculty features provided by each college and including numerous announcements on various awards and honors I have read on the Clemson News site. As always, my report to trustees will be posted online after the meeting.

While I am still finalizing the report and gathering data, it appears that we continue to post strong results in our research metrics, thanks to your hard work. There is much for us all to be proud of. Thank you again for your ongoing support of scholarship and discovery at Clemson University.

Go Tigers!

–Tanju