Eastman Chemical Co., Kingsport, Tenn., recently presented Clemson University’s School of Textiles,
Fiber and Polymer Science, Clemson, S.C., a unique fiber technology worth an estimated $38 million
in intellectual properties related to capillary surface material (CSM) technology and over 100
patent rights. In addition, the university will be provided with equipment to establish a small
manufacturing lab for testing and demonstrating products.
“Eastman’s extraordinary gift brings us one step closer to our goal of being recognized as
one of the nation’s top 20 public universities,” said James Barker, president of Clemson
University. “Clemson will benefit not only because of the revenue potential, but also because our
faculty and students will have access to this technology for their own research. Ultimately,
consumers will benefit as the technology moves from Eastman’s lab through our labs to the
marketplace.”
The technology will become part of the curriculum at both undergraduate and graduate levels,
eventually becoming the foundation of post-graduate research in future years.
Bhuvenesh Goswami, a Clemson professor and technical editor for ATI, in conjunction with
Clemson professor Michael Ellison, will head research efforts, which could initially span
textiles-polymer science as well as bioengineering, environmental engineering and civil
engineering.
“This fiber research will not only impact the education of future engineers and scientists,
but could inaugurate a new chapter in the industrial growth of South Carolina,” said Thomas
Keinath, dean of the College of Engineering and Science. “Universities have always generated
intellectual capital, but we now know they can also generate economic capital by attracting
industries to the state.”
April 2000
