GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt visits Clemson

Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE, visited campus on Friday, May 6 with members of the GE-Clemson Engagement Team, Clemson alumni recently hired by GE, and Clemson student interns at GE. Mr. Immelt enjoyed touring Clemson’s campus, including the Watt Family Innovation Center, and seeing the strong partnership between Clemson and GE firsthand. Mr. Immelt was the commencement speaker on May 7 and received an Honorary Doctorate Degree.

View Mr. Immelt’s Commencement Address

Toyota-sponsored Deep Orange 6 unveiled at SAE World Congress

The Toyota-sponsored Deep Orange 6 concept vehicle was unveiled at the 2016 Society for Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit on April 12. Titled “uBox,” this urban utility, activity concept vehicle was built with members of Generation Z in mind and geared toward an uber-mobile, entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Toyota challenged the graduate students in the automotive engineering program at CU-ICAR to develop a concept vehicle that would appeal to young, urban buyers. Research shows that members of Generation Z are less interested in vehicle ownership, making it important to understand this generation and what type of vehicle would meet their needs and desires.

The Deep Orange framework immerses graduate students in experiential learning that asks them to apply lessons from faculty and industry advisors into new designs. CU-ICAR and the Deep Orange team benefits from the support and involvement from many corporate partners throughout the 2-year design and building process. In turn, industry experts get a firsthand look into the future of automotive engineering.

“This has been a valuable experience for us as well. Seeing how the next generation of engineers thinks, works and integrates technology has been a great takeaway,” said Jeff Makarewicz, senior vice president of Vehicle, Quality, & Safety Engineering at Toyota Motor North America.

Read more about Deep Orange 6

CFR Updates

PEER and WISE receive $80,000 from the Duke Energy Foundation
The Duke Energy Foundation has awarded $80,000 ($40,000 each) to Clemson’s Programs for Educational Enrichment and Retention (PEER) and Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) programs in the College of Engineering and Science. Both programs have been serving underrepresented students for over 20 years, and this award from the Duke Energy Foundation continues its longstanding support of Clemson students and programs, specifically those aimed at increasing and diversifying the STEM workforce in our state. The Duke Energy Foundation awarded over $500,000 for education grants to programs and initiatives across South Carolina during this grant cycle.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program officer visits Clemson
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program officer Dr. Alonzo Plough visited the Upstate on April 25 to meet with representatives from the Clemson University – Greenville Health System partnership, as well as from many community-based organizations focused on health and wellness. Dr. Plough also gave a presentation titled “Framework and Measures to Build a Culture of Health” and participated in round-table discussions with leaders of Clemson’s College of Health, Education, and Human Development and College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Life Sciences. At Dr. Plough’s invitation, Clemson will be submitting two concept papers that have potential to be expanded into full proposals to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Companies engaged with CFR
Honda R&D, Premier, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Dell, Graham Foundation, SunTrust, First Citizens Bank, South State Bank, Blackbaud,Sonoco, Nilpeter, Michelin, Duke Energy, Eastman Chemical Company, and GE visited with CFR Development Officers and other Development and campus partners in the past two months to broaden strategic partnerships and find new avenues of engagement with Clemson.

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