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Wells Fargo executives joined leaders from Clemson and the College of Business on Tuesday, November 7 for the third annual Wells Fargo Scholars Luncheon, which celebrates Wells Fargo’s support of the Wells Fargo Student Endowment Scholarship Program, the Wells Fargo Professorship of Banking, Dr. Lucy Chernykh, Associate Professor of Finance, and the Wells Fargo Faculty Scholar, Dr. Brandon Lockhart, Assistant Professor of Finance.

The Wells Fargo Scholars Program was established in 1998 and provides scholarships to rising juniors and seniors studying finance-related disciplines. Students must have a 3.0 GPA, exhibit strong leadership and communication skills, and be involved in university organizations and clubs. The first scholarships from this endowment were awarded in 2007, and 88 scholarships have been awarded since.

The 2017-2018 Wells Fargo Scholars are:

Michael Akin, Financial Management, Atlanta, GA

Joseph Baynard, Financial Management, Charlotte, NC

Mitchell Brockmann, Financial Management, Hilton Head, SC

Taylor Brown, Financial Management, Greer, SC

Kyle Carrier, Financial Management, Hopkinton, MA

Paul Currey, Financial Management, Winnsboro, SC

Guerry Green, Financial Management, Pawleys Island, SC

Scot Mackenzie, Financial Management, Smithfield VA

Noah Mackey, Financial Management, Richmond VA

Eugene Mcelheny, Financial Management, Carbondale, IL

Alexandra Becker, Financial Management, Oceanport, NJ

James Hooks, Financial Management, Nashville, TN

Tabitha Davis, Financial Management, West Linn, OR

Emma Dilworth, Accounting, Greenville, SC

Mia Jones, Financial Management, Homer Glen, IL

The luncheon allowed students the opportunity to network with Wells Fargo executives and talk about their future careers in the financial world. At the event, Dean Bobby McCormick highlighted this by saying, “As we prepare for this next generation of excellent undergraduate education in business, we will look to partners like Wells Fargo to determine the experiences that will shape students into competitive employees once they enter the financial sector workforce.”

On November 1^st Clemson University welcomed State Farm representatives from across South Carolina to campus for a reception in the State Farm Sales Lab. The Sales Lab has become an integral part of the marketing department. Students utilize the lab as part of course curriculum to practice and fine-tune their sales abilities. Having the opportunity to watch themselves and other students make mock transactions in high-tech sales suites allows students to become more proficient in current selling techniques. Business School Dean Bobby McCormick spoke to State Farm’s generosity and the importance of their donation to Clemson marketing students at the event.

“We are delighted to have this opportunity – to celebrate State Farm’s longstanding support of Clemson University – and to provide a networking opportunity for our students. I would like to thank the State Farm representatives that are with us this evening for their continued commitment to Clemson.”

Brandt Ruszkiewicz has been awarded the 2017-2018 Hitachi High Technologies Electron Microscopy Annual Fellowship. As part of this fellowship, Ruszkiewicz, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in automotive engineering, received a $20,000 award from Hitachi High Technologies America. Ruszkiewicz is researching how an extremely strong type of aluminum reacts to electricity. This research could lead to new ways of forming and joining together automotive parts and help make cars lighter and more efficient. As part of his research, Ruszkiewicz uses Hitachi Electron microscopes to analyze the 7000-series aluminum and its reactions to electricity. Ruszkiewicz says this award gives him more financial freedom, and allows him to focus more on his research.

“I’ve got a lot more time to spend with these [Hitachi] microscopes now. I’m really excited to get through this work and see what we find. It’s an interesting opportunity because there aren’t a lot of people who can use a microscope that zooms in 2 million times.”

The Hitachi microscopes at Clemson’s Electron Microscopy Lab allow Ruszkiewicz to compare heated aluminum samples with those augmented with electricity. One of the microscopes he uses in his research, the Hitachi H-9500 Transmission Electron Microscope, is so powerful it can can allow the user to see individual atoms.

Craig Kerkove, president and CEO of Hitachi High Technologies America presented Brandt Ruszkiewicz with his fellowship during a ceremony on October 27^th.

“This fellowship is an extension of our ongoing collaboration with the University,” Kerkove said. “It is made possible by a series of contributions from Hitachi High Technologies America and is now helping its fourth student perform cutting-edge research. Clemson’s world-class Electron Microscopy Lab, with its eight Hitachi microscopes, continues to serve as an example for other institutions to follow.”

It was a professor at Penn State Behrend, where Ruszkiewicz graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering, that first got him interested in the research. Ruszkiewicz is now based at CU-ICAR, and expects to graduate from his PhD program in May. Previously, Ruszkiewicz received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the E. Wayne Kay Graduate Scholarship, and the R.C. Edwards Fellowship.

Phil Bryson, vice president and general manager of the Nanotechnology Systems Division at Hitachi High Technologies America praised the partnership that Hitachi and Clemson have. “We are pleased to see Hitachi microscopes play an integral role in Brandt’s research. The fellowship he is receiving is part of Hitachi’s long, mutually beneficial collaboration with Clemson.”

On Friday, October 20, Mercedes-Benz Vans representatives visited CUICAR to celebrate this year’s Mercedes-Benz Vans Scholarship Program. Representatives joined scholarship recipients for a tour of the CUICAR campus and a presentation on Mercedes-Benz Vans’ rapid growth in South Carolina. This year’s recipients were also given the opportunity to be mentored by early career Mercedes-Benz Vans engineers.

The 2017-2018 Mercedes-Benz Vans Scholarship recipients include:

Eric Joiner
Class of 2019
Mechanical Engineering

Jacob Thompson
Class of 2019
Electrical Engineering

Myranda Thomas
Class of 2018
Mechanical Engineering

Michael Redmond
Class of 2018
Electrical Engineering

The Southeast U.S./Japan Association, and their Japanese counterpart, the Japan-U.S. Southeast Association, hosted the 40^th Annual Joint Meeting of Southeast U.S. and Japanese business leaders in Greenville, South Carolina on October 21-24.  The Japanese Association’s membership includes Japan’s top business leaders and government officials. Membership in the Southeast U.S./Japan Association is open to the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The Association is currently chaired by Mrs. Minor Mickel Shaw, President of Micco LLC and Mr. Teruo Asada, Chairman of the Board, Marubeni Corporation.

South Carolina last hosted the joint meeting in 2002 in Charleston, and locations rotate between the seven membership states biyearly. This year, participants stayed at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Greenville. Between 375 and 475 regularly attend the annual joint meeting where key business leaders from the Southeast U.S. and Japan meet to network, participate in panel discussions, and attend keynote speakers. Attendees also had the option of participating in various tours and a golf tournament at The Cliffs at Glassy. Other activities include a tour of Clemson University led by students who had recently been to Japan with the Kakehashi Project and the Chairman’s Dinner at Poinsett Club.

President Clements also remarked on the importance of the conference:  “I am excited to be able to host this reception in the Clemson One Building which is home to Clemson’s M.B.A. programs, putting our students and faculty in the heart of downtown Greenville, where they can collaborate and interact with the Greenville business community. I am proud that we already have a number of strong partnerships with Japanese companies, including AFL, FujiFilm, JTEKT, Honda, Toyota, and Bridgestone. I am thankful for the relationships we have with numerous Japanese companies and universities, and I look forward to seeing them grow in the future.”

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.”

On September 22, Clemson announced the 2017-2018 recipient of the Bosch Endowed Fellowship in Automotive Engineering at an event at CU-ICAR. Bosch established this fellowship endowment in 2014 with a gift of $560,000.

Caroline Louis, who received her undergraduate degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Clemson in May 2017, was announced as this year’s fellowship recipient. She was joined by the past three Bosch Fellows, Valerie Clements (2016), Lauren Mims (2015), and Vismita Sonagra (2014), along with Clemson leadership and several executives from Bosch, including Mike Mansuetti, President of Robert Bosch LLC and Kathleen Owsley, Executive Director of the Bosch Community Fund, and leadership from Bosch’s three South Carolina locations.

Guests at the fellowship event enjoyed hearing more about the accomplishments of all four Bosch Fellows to date, as well as Bosch’s passion for diversifying the STEM workforce, and particularly the automotive industry, which helped inspire the creation of this fellowship for underrepresented populations in automotive engineering.

Congratulations to Caroline and all of the Bosch Fellows, and thank you to Bosch for their investment in Clemson students and programs!

Clemson recently honored Michelin for their support of students, faculty, and programs, totaling close to $5M since 1977, at an engagement reception in the Hendrix Student Center.

Janet Krupka, Director of Recruiting, and Stacy Davis, Campus Recruiter at Michelin, joined students, faculty, and staff from several programs supported by Michelin, including:

– the Michelin Endowed Chair in Vehicle Electronic Systems Integration, held by Dr. Venkat Krovi;

– the Michelin Scholarships for International Programs, which support students in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences who are proficient in a foreign language;

– the Michelin Career Center in the Center for Career and Professional Development; and

– the “One SC 2 Sustain” collaborative sustainability Creative Inquiry course with the University of South Carolina.

Students attending the event enjoyed learning more about career, co-op, and internship opportunities at Michelin, as well as Michelin’s passion for supporting higher education and the next generation of talent in engineering.

Thank you, Michelin, for your 40 years of valued support of Clemson University!