Researchers and students from across South Carolina gathered at Clemson University Tuesday to advance shared research interests and workforce development efforts with Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL).
The annual SRNL University Partnership Day event serves as a springboard for new research collaborations to advance innovations in energy resilience, advanced manufacturing, nuclear security and environmental science. In addition to panel discussions and research presentations, the event showcased career opportunities for students and postdoctoral researchers.
“SRNL has become a significant national asset, a launchpad where we are connecting science to national security, energy resiliency, nuclear and critical technologies, and advanced manufacturing,” said Clemson University Interim President Bob Jones. “Importantly, we are leveraging this asset through our relatively new Battelle Savannah River Alliance, which has the promise of not just incremental, but also transformative advances. And Clemson is – as we say it here – all in with this partnership and commitment to collaboration.”
Event participants included members of the Battelle Savannah River Alliance, a consortium of universities and private industry selected by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2020 to manage SRNL. Led by Battelle, BSRA includes Clemson, Georgia Institute of Technology, South Carolina State University, University of Georgia and University of South Carolina, as well as small business partners Longenecker & Associates and TechSource. Representatives of Duke Energy and Palmetto Nuclear Coalition also participated in SRNL University Partnership Day at Clemson.
Clemson faculty have worked with scientists at SRNL for decades to study solutions to nuclear waste storage, advanced materials, environmental protection and energy security. Formalizing this long-standing relationship through the creation of BSRA has resulted in even more opportunities for Clemson undergraduate and graduate students to conduct research with SRNL scientists and Clemson faculty.
For example, the partnership has led to 22 scholarships awarded to undergraduate students and the hiring of eight grad students, two research scientists and three postdoctoral research associates to advance Clemson-SRNL research collaborations. Additionally, Clemson and SRNL have established six joint faculty appointments to advance research and support student training and workforce development.
The partnership also has supported STEM summer camps for high school students across South Carolina and professional development training for high school teachers across the state.
“This is truly a statewide effort touching all levels of education to develop a pipeline of talent while conducting research that supports development of critical technologies to lead national security, energy and manufacturing innovation into the future,” said Tanju Karanfil, Clemson senior vice president for research, scholarship and creative endeavors. “This partnership with SRNL makes South Carolina a leader in this effort.”
