With support from numerous former graduate students, the Benjamin Clay Dysart III Environmental Engineering Fellowship Endowment was formally launched at a ceremony on July 9, 2021 in the Watt Center. Dr. Dysart was a professor in EEES (then named Environmental Systems Engineering) from 1968-1990. This fellowship was created to honor his contributions through generous donations from his many former graduate students. In addition to his celebrated career at Clemson University, Dr. Dysart worked in industry, as a scientific advisor to federal and international agencies, and as President of the National Wildlife Federation. Dr. Dysart and his wife Betty attended the ceremony. Former students Chris Thompson and Jim Hendricks shared their memories of Dr. Dysart’s impact on EEES, as did professor emeritus Dr. Tom Overcamp. The inaugural winner of the Dysart Fellowship is Gavin Gleasman, a doctoral student working with Dr. Kelly Lazar. Gavin’s research is investigating the impacts of high-energy storm events on carbon storage in tidal wetlands of South Carolina. With the establishment of this fellowship, Dr. Dysart joins the ranks of others who are memorialized through departmental fellowships for their lasting impacts on the department and environmental work in South Carolina, including A. Ray Abernathy, L. Gene Rich, Thomas M. Keinath, and R. Ken Tinsley.
