Author: Christina Fleischer

On October 18^th, Clemson University hosted a luncheon with Hubbell Lighting representatives to honor the recipients of the Hubbell Lighting Annual Engineering Scholarship. This scholarship, which supports students in Clemson’s College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, was established by Hubbell Lighting and the Harvey Hubbell Foundation in 2016 with a pledge of $50,000 to award annual scholarships until the Hubbell Lighting Scholars Endowment, also established in 2016 with a pledge of $250,000, pays out.

The 2017-2018 Hubbell Lighting Scholars include:

Joseph Hawk, Class of 2019, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Justin Langley, Class of 2019,  Computer Engineering

Cameron Schnabel, Class of 2019, Bioengineering

Alexander Schreiber, Class of 2018, Mechanical Engineering

Gregory Szrom, Class of 2019, Computer Engineering

On Saturday, October 14^th, students from CU-ICAR unveiled their newest Deep Orange concept vehicle, sponsored by BMW. Deep Orange 7 is a fully functional, drivable concept vehicle re-envisioned from MINI, one of BMW’s iconic brands. Students were tasked with creating a vehicle for 2025 and beyond for the premium market that not only fits into the MINI brand, but contains new and innovative features. The BMW Group mentored students during this project, but made sure to minimize their influence to create unbiased results.

“Working with the students as a mentor in the Deep Orange 7 project was a wonderful experience. They worked really hard and showed creativity and professionalism at the same time,” said Julian Weber, at that time head of Innovation Projects E-Mobility at BMW in Munich, Germany. “The resulting vehicle is a huge step forward and showcases very interesting solutions. My biggest question during the project was why a course like this wasn’t offered when I was a student.

Deep Orange gives graduate students hands-on experience, and leadership and collaboration opportunities. Students at CU-ICAR dedicated hard work and long hours during their two year MS program to create this fully functional vehicle. Deep Orange 7 was engineered around three primary goals: target the premium U.S. market in 2025, maximize the use of interior space, and ensure a fun driving experience. Some of the ways students achieved these goals include the addition of features such as a floating dashboard, a parking marshal that assists other drivers while parking near the Deep Orange 7 vehicle, and a customizable personal virtual companion, MINI FACE, that anticipates the needs of the driver and prevents relevant information on a holographic display.

Avtec, the leading independent provider of pure Internet Protocol dispatch console solutions, has donated dispatching software, products, and services, valued at $428,000, to the Clemson Unified Command Post. In addition, Avtec has donated $75,000 cash to Clemson to strengthen academic, research, and public service programming related to emergency management in the Watt Family Innovation Center Center. This donation will support a variety of emergency management projects that will be conducted in the Avtec Emergency Response Center.

Alumni, Michael Branning (Clemson Class of ’86), Avtec Chief Executive Officer, and family members Donna Branning Thompson (’88) and Linda Branning Doherty (’92) were crucial in making the donation to Clemson University. “This gift is about ensuring the safety of the students and sports fans who visit the Clemson campus each year,” said Branning. “It also demonstrates our family’s appreciation for our alma mater.”

Avtec’s donation has already had a tremendous effect on Clemson’s campus. The software-based dispatching technology Avtec donated features the Scout Voice over Internet Protocol dispatch console and has already proven critical to Clemson dispatch services during home football games and other large campus events, and according to university Emergency Manager, Lynn Fischer Clemson’s public safety communications immediately improved with the implementation of the Avtec system.

“We are very appreciative of Avtec’s generous contribution to our operations center,” said Denny Lester, associate director of science and technology for the Watt Family Innovation Center. “The company’s contribution will be used to increase student and faculty involvement in cross-discipline academic research and homeland security – areas that align very well with national priorities as well as the university’s ClemsonForward strategic plan priorities.”