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Message from the President
Blame the unbending laws of supply and demand if you like - and it’s true that the large populations of India, China, and other nations are joining the already ravenous U.S. thirst for gasoline and other forms of energy. But even if energy supplies were unlimited, the conjoined threats of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming would force us to consider alternative energy sources. Can we have our cake - plentiful energy - and use it, too, without further deteriorating the environment? Even more to the point, what can energy research do to decrease American dependence on foreign oil, make electricity without making more greenhouse gas, and find viable ways to tap into renewable energy sources? Our dean of the College of Engineering and Computing, Michael Amiridis, puts it succinctly: “The energy problems we face are complex, and the solutions are going to be equally complex - there won’t be one magic bullet.” That’s why we’re focusing on several areas: hydrogen, PEM, and solid-oxide fuel cells, next-generation battery development, nuclear energy, photovoltaic cells, sustainable carbon usage, biomass, and energy conservation and efficiency. All of these are interconnected and could be part of the overall solution. The University of South Carolina has solid credentials in energy research and is committed to becoming even stronger. South Carolina is home of the nation’s only industry/university cooperative fuel cell research center, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and industry partners, and the Strategic Hydrogen Alliance will hold its national conference here in 2009. The University also has one of the world’s top photonics research labs, whose research has yielded important applications in energy-efficient lighting. In addition, the University has received a multi-million dollar research award to study clean coal technologies and will have recruited nearly a dozen new energy scientists by year’s end. Innovative energy research is crucial not only to America’s sustainable economic development and well being but also to the ecological future of the planet. Scientists at the University of South Carolina aim to be at the forefront in that important work.  Harris Pastides Vice President for Research and Health Sciences University of South Carolina |
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