Staff Report
Published Feb. 5, 2013

Clemson University trustees approved a center for excellence in next-generation computing at its recent quarterly meeting in Columbia.

The center will establish and nurture public-private partnerships in high-performance computing cloud service delivery, software-defined networking and evaluation of new cloud technologies, the university said.

The board also approved a new Social Technologies and Analytics Research Institute, or STARI. It will engage academic and industry partners in funded research to understand social media for organizations. Faculty, students and technology staff across four colleges will collect and analyze data to evaluate the impact of increasing social media messages and improve organizational performance.

The trustees approved another center to study eukaryotic pathogen infections, which cause some of the most destructive diseases of human beings and domestic animals, using molecular, cellular, biochemical and genetic approaches.

The trustees also authorized the online delivery of courses in biomedical engineering, and students’ ability to take higher percentages of courses at university academic sites away from the main campus, such as Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research and the Advanced Materials Research Center.

The board gave concept approval for a new outdoor wellness and fitness center on Lake Hartwell. The facility will include approximately 16,000 square feet of climate-controlled activity and support space and approximately 15,000 square feet of unheated space for outdoor-covered programming.

The board also gave concept approval for renovating laboratory space and upgrading mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems at the John B. Pitner Center at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence. This center houses the advanced plant technology program, which provides research for the agriculture-based biotechnology industry in South Carolina.