Honors Distinction Fall 14

Volume III, Number 1
Honors
D I S T I N C T I O N
Inside:
Making Magic
Big Worldview
Breaking the
Ice at the Sochi
Paralympics
T H E
clemson.edu/cuhonors
Honors
D I S T I N C T I O N
T H E
Volume III, Number 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FEATURES
2 From the Director
3 Honors at a Glance
4 Making Magic
by Frank Stephenson
9 The Man behind the Mohawk
by Kara Robertson 16
10 Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Fugitive
by Jeff Worley
Honors Students Collaborate with Faculty on
Research with Impact
by Kristin Buhrow and Collin Eichhorn
14 Big Worldview
by Heidi Coryell Williams
My Fellowships Journey
by Kate Gasparro
16 Clemson Honors Notes
20 Vital Robotics with People in Mind
by Jemma Everyhope-Roser
23 Paddling Against the Tide of Conformity
24 Physics Major Finds Harmony Between
Science and Music
The Honors Distinction is published by the Calhoun Honors College.
For information, please email cuhonors-l@clemson.edu or call
864-656-4762.
HONORS COLLEGE
MAJOR FELLOWSHIP WINNERS AND FINALISTS
20062014
200607
Christen Smith Rhodes Scholarship Finalist
Robert Clarke Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Christopher Pollock Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Bradley Collins Goldwater Scholarship Honorable
Mention
Chelsea Reighard Truman Scholarship Finalist
Matthew Allen Fulbright Scholarship Winner
Stephen Gosnell National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship (NSFGRF) Winner
Rebekah Moore NSFGRF Winner
Michael Murphy NSFGRF Winner
200708
Chelsea Reighard Rhodes Scholarship Finalist
Shannon Edd Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Julee Alaina Floyd Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Bradley Collins Goldwater Scholarship Honorable
Mention
Brett Ellis Fulbright Scholarship Winner
Robert Clarke NSFGRF Winner
Russell Hedden NSFGRF Winner
Alexandra Foguth NSFGRF Winner
Holly Tuten NSFGRF Winner
200809
James Hodges Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Michael Juang Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Jennifer Moftt Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Kemper Talley Goldwater Scholarship Honorable
Mention
Ab Watkins Fulbright Scholarship Winner
Laura Datko NSFGRF Winner
Julee Alaina Floyd NSFGRF Winner
Mary Kate Watson NSFGRF Winner
200910
Andrew Sayce Marshall Scholarship Finalist
Benjamin Cousins Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Ann Guggisberg Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Kemper Talley Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Chelsea Woodworth Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Jeffrey Plumblee NSFGRF Winner
Suzanne Sawicki Parks NSFGRF Winner
Donald Mackay NSFGRF Winner
Kara Kopf NSFGRF Winner
Christy Leigh Herran NSFGRF Winner
Yvon Feaster NSFGRF Winner
Bradley Collins NSFGRF Winner
Jacqualyn Blizzard NSFGRF Winner
Jose Alfaro NSFGRF Winner
Dominic Triana NSFGRF Honorable Mention
James Hodges NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Samuel Bryfczynski NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Wesley Salandro NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Sandy Kawano NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Hattie Duplechain Fulbright Scholarship Winner
201011
Brian Bowers Goldwater Scholarship Winner
William Dylan Hale Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Laura Wiles Goldwater Scholarship Honorable
Mention
Toni Bloodworth NSFGRF Winner
Michael Esposito NSFGRF Winner
James Grayson NSFGRF Winner
Jennifer Ann Johnson NSFGRF Winner
Kristina Kesel NSFGRF Winner
Laila Roudsari NSFGRF Winner
Kemper Talley NSFGRF Winner
Daniella Triebwasser NSFGRF Winner
Natasha Bell NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Sarah Cisewski NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Jaclyn Ellerie NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Michael Juang NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Elizabeth Lange NSFGRF Honorable Mention
William Martin NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Wesley Salandro NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Christie Sampson NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Jacklyn Wilkinson NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Patrick Johnson Astronaut Scholarship Winner
201112
Miles Atkinson Boren Scholarship Winner
Miles Atkinson Critical Languages Scholarship
Winner
Marc Andre Schaeuble Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Benjamin Ujcich Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Joel Clingempeel Goldwater Scholarship Honorable
Mention
Julie Robinson Goldwater Scholarship Honorable
Mention
Sarah Cisewski NSFGRF Winner
Benjamin Cousins NSFGRF Winner
Allison Foreman Godwin NSFGRF Winner
William Dylan Hale NSFGRF Winner
Austen Hayes NSFGRF Winner
Kevin Keith NSFGRF Winner
Brynna Laughlin NSFGRF Winner
Ryan Need NSFGRF Winner
Daniel Showers NSFGRF Winner
Muriel Steele NSFGRF Winner
Laura Wiles NSFGRF Winner
Brian Bowers NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Cheryl Howell NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Amanda King NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Andrew Lisicki NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Andrew Ouzts NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Christie Sampson NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Patrick Johnson Astronaut Scholarship Winner
Lauren Harroff Fulbright Scholarship Winner
Lauren Hock Fulbright Scholarship Winner
Tom Kudlacz Fulbright Scholarship Winner
Brett Mills Fulbright Scholarship Winner
201213
Kate Gasparro Truman Finalist
Julie Robinson Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Scott Cole Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Brendan Roberts Goldwater Scholarship Honorable
Mention
Cheryl Howell NSFGRF Winner
Nadine Luedicke NSFGRF Winner
Hobey Tam NSFGRF Winner
Louis Hill NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Andrew Lisicki NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Andrew Ouzts NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Samuel Pollard NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Eric Riddell NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Graham Yennie Astronaut Scholarship Winner
Dorothy Behre Fulbright Scholarship Winner
Julieanne Garner Fulbright Scholarship Winner
201314
Brenden Roberts Astronaut Scholarship Winner
Brittany Avin Goldwater Scholarship Winner
John Farmer Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Kate Showers Goldwater Scholarship Winner
Chrissie Schalkoff Fulbright Scholarship Winner
Savannah Mozingo Killam Fellowship Winner
Jessica Lau National Institutes of Health Oxford-
Cambridge Scholars Program, National Finalist
Scott Cole NSFGRF Winner
Kate Gasparro NSFGRF Winner
Melissa Gende NSFGRF Winner
Devin Gordon NSFGRF Winner
Lauren Harroff (12) NSFGRF Winner
Julie Robinson NSFGRF Winner
Ross Beppler NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Jessica Lau NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Stefani Mokalled NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Brenden Roberts NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Benjamin Ujcich NSFGRF Honorable Mention
Kate Gasparro Rhodes Scholarship National Finalist
Melissa Moore Truman Scholarship National Finalist
26 A Students Reection: Breaking the Ice at
the Sochi Paralympics
by Alexandra Vrampas and
Professor Gwynn Powell
28 Writing Fellows Take Tigers to the Top Tier
by Katie Mawyer
30 Examining the Human Experience
by Dustin Wilson
32 Study and Experiences Yield
Abundant Harvest
On the cover: Clemson students pose in front of the
Paralympics sign and the Olympic ame in Sochi, Russia.
Above: Honors student Maggie Boyd works on the LIT project in
Keith Greens lab.
FROM THE
DIRECTOR
T
he 20132014 academic year was eventful for the
Calhoun Honors College. We began the year by
enrolling our best freshman class ever, and we ended
the year by graduating an extraordinary group of award-
winning seniors who are on their way to study at the
worlds top graduate, medical and law schools, or to work
for leading national and international companies. Heres a
brief summary of some notable happenings in the Honors
College:
Recruitment. The Calhoun Honors College continues
to attract top high school students at an ever-increasing
rate. We received almost 1,500 applications for fall 2014, of
which we could accept only 794 in order to enroll a class of
approximately 285. We expect next years class to break the
record held by the current freshman class for highest
median SAT scores and class rank.
Graduate/Professional Schools. Every year, our
graduates are more competitive for top graduate and
professional school admittances. This year our students
received offers (among many others) from Harvard dental
school, Harvard medical school, Stanford University (for
both law and engineering), the University of California
at Berkeley (for law) and MIT (for engineering). Many
students have chosen to continue their studies at Clemson
in leading programs such as automotive engineering,
bioengineering and genetics.
Building for the Future. Weve been working this
year with University Housing on plans for new space for
the Honors College, which will be part of Clemsons Core
Campus Project. The plans include new residence halls,
expanded space for Honors College activities and programs,
and new ofce space for Honors College administration.
Well keep you posted as these exciting plans develop!
None of this would be possible without our students,
faculty and staff, or the strong support of the University
and our alumni. We are deeply appreciative of the support
we receive from contributions of time, money and energy. It
truly takes a village to educate an honors student!
Bill Lasser, Ph.D.
Director, Calhoun Honors College
Mission
The mission of the Calhoun Honors
College at Clemson University is to achieve
the following:
Enroll top high school students from
throughout the United States and
abroad.
Educate and mentor honors students
in a wide variety of challenging and
enriching experiences inside and
outside the classroom to help them
achieve their full academic, intellectual
and professional potential.
Foster an atmosphere of intellectual
and cultural engagement to create
a strong sense of community among
current students, faculty, staff and
alumni.
Prepare honors students to
excel throughout their lives
as leaders capable of solving the
greatchallenges of the 21
st
century.
Fun Facts
Clemsons Norris Medal, honoring the
best all-around graduating senior, has
gone to an honors student for the past
12 years.
The Honors College offered more
than 200 sections of honors courses in
20132014.
In 2013-2014, the Honors College
awarded more than $80,000 in
Departmental Honors grants to support
students working closely with faculty on
an upper-level research project.
Honors awarded more than $150,000
in Educational Enrichment Travel
Grants for students to pursue
internships, research and volunteer
opportunities around the U.S. and
abroad.
Calhoun Honors College
Staff
Executive Director
Bill Lasser, Ph.D.
Associate Directors
Ricki Shine
Jamie Williams
Assistant Directors
Katie Bower
Dana Irvin
Ofce Manager
Lynn Reeves
Admissions Coordinator
Susan Falendysz
Administrative Assistant
Wini Del Winkler
Graduate Assistants
Leah Boyd
Bethany Haberstroh
Chelsea Muhlhahn
Mail
105 Tillman Hall
Clemson, SC 29634-5106
Phone
864-656-4762
Fax
864-656-1472
Website
On Facebook
facebook.com/
ClemsonCalhounHonorsCollege
On Twitter
@ClemsonHonors
Donate
clemson.edu/cuhonors/support.html
2014 Admission Stats
The Honors College received more than
1,500 applications for admission in fall
2014, up 22 percent from 2013. Of the
794 accepted, 35 percent come from South
Carolina; the average SAT is 1452; and the
average high school class rank is the top 2.9
percent.
Those accepted plan majors in
Engineering, 37 percent
Life Sciences, 22 percent
Other Sciences, 12 percent
Business, 9 percent
Health, 9 percent
Liberal Arts, Social Sciences, 8 percent
Undeclared, 2 percent
Architecture, 1 percent
Education, 1 percent
Those accepted come from
Southeast, 42 percent
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, Virginia)
Mid-Atlantic, 10 percent
(Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia)
Midwest, 6 percent
(Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin)
New England, 3 percent
(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island)
West, 3 percent
(Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,
Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah,
Washington)
2 3
Inspiring Professors
Robert Geist
Jerry Tessendorf
Of Art and Science
Theres good evidence that were one of the top programs in
the country.
Its no idle boast that Clemsons Robert Geist*, Ph.D.,
drops on an interviewer. Hes the co-founder (with Sam Wang,
now a retired professor from Clemsons art department) of the
Universitys Digital Production Arts (DPA) program, now into
its 14
th
year.
When he and Wang set out to build the program in the
late 1990s, they recognized a program run by Texas A&M as
the undisputed lead horse in providing the kind of academic
training in digital production they envisioned for Clemson. For
ve years now, the guy who started the A&M program, Donald
H. House, has kept an ofce around the corner from Geists.
A pioneer in computer visualization techniques, House is one
of 11 full-time faculty members in the Clemson program. He is
also the programs current director.
Were a magnet for [industry] recruiters who come through
all the time, Geist adds. This past summer, DreamWorks held
at their own expense an intensive, 10-week training program
here. They plan to repeat, and other studios plan to do the
same. Our students are frequently tapped for major honors.
Just last year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences picked two students in the country for lucrative
summer internships in Hollywood. One was from Carnegie
Mellon; the other was second-year Clemson DPA student Yujie
Shu. The year before that, two of the ve students picked by
a national search to work on a DreamWorks special project
were from Clemson. Marc Bryant, a 2003 DPA graduate, just
won a Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding FX and
Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
for his work on the movie Frozen: Elsas Blizzard.
Since the program awarded its rst masters degree in ne
arts in 2001, names of its alumni have run in the credits of
more than 130 feature lms industrywide, Geist says. Frankly,
its gotten to the point now that its sort of rare not to see
some of our graduates listed in the credits of any major picture
these days.
And then theres the programs leadership. In 2010, the
program attracted Academy Award-winner and Ph.D. physicist
Jerry Tessendorf, head graphics scientist at the California-based
Rhythm & Hues Studio. Both Tessendorf and Geist have
grabbed headlines for their contributions to Hollywood
Tessendorfs water-simulation software helped Life of Pi win the
Oscar for Best Visual Effects, and Geists digital map-ltering
techniques on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey helped make
that lm a runner-up for the same award in the Academy
Awards presentation in March 2013.
F
ilm buffs, take note: Weve evolved eons
since Gertie the Dinosaur. In 1914,
moviegoers thrilled to the silent antics of
Gertie, an animated dinosaur drawn by
New York comic strip artist Windsor McCay. A
young lm industry would never be the same.
Today, animation and special effects, fused to a
good story line, are the driving force behind cinematic
entertainment and advertising the world over. From
Hollywood blockbusters to TV commercials and even
digital billboards, the unmistakable stamp of animators,
computer graphics specialists and a host of other techno-
wizards is in-your-face ubiquitous. And we love it. Of the 50
top-grossing lms of all time, all but seven relied on special
effects or visual effects, the elds latest, computer-age
incarnation.
In the past 40 years, the business of special and visual
effects has exploded, ignited by sparks of creative genius
that gave the world such sci- hits as George Lucass Star
Wars (1977) and Steven Spielbergs Jurassic Park (1993).
The business itself has morphed from a handful of small
private companies in the United States to an international
economic titan, now boasting major centers in Canada,
Europe, Japan, Australia and India.
Pioneering companies such as Industrial Light &
Magic, Pixar and DreamWorks today comprise just the
iceberg-tip of an industry that employs thousands on almost
every continent. Thanks to globalization, lightning-fast
changes in technology and widespread economic malaise,
all these competing companies are obliged to work harder,
faster and smarter to survive. This means that, as never
before, movie moguls around the world need fresh supplies
of young and increasingly adaptable talent in every
phase of digital production.
Traditionally, the top source of such talent has been
campus-based art programs that offer special training in
various aspects of computer graphics. While thats still
largely the case today, there are a few highly specialized
programs scattered around U.S. campuses that follow a
different tack. These programs intentionally draw from a
variety of disciplines to produce graduates ideally suited for
working not just in the entertainment or advertising arenas
but also in science, medicine, engineering and a host of
other elds increasingly hungry for talent in visual effects.
MAKING MAGIC
For todays blockbusters,
the real wizards work their
magic behind the scenes with
computers.
by Frank Stephenson
4 5
Geist is quick to put DPAs rapid ascent into
perspective. When youre talking about being a top
program, you have to realize that theres just not many
programs of this kind to start with. Were small only 35
students enrolled in the spring semester and were highly
selective.
Training in the Magic Arts
What motivated Geist and Wang to start the program was
their growing realization in the early 1990s that the visual
effects industry known in the trades as VFX was on a
limitless trajectory with boundless potential for growth and
innovation, thanks largely to vast increases in the power of
computers. Star Wars had wowed audiences by pushing a
young eld known as CGI (computer graphic imaging) to
dazzling light-saber levels audiences had never seen.
But the machines that created those images were
kids toys by the time Geist and Wang sat down for their
rst serious chat. The two
saw a need to formalize
an academic bridge
between Geists specialty,
computer graphics (Ph.D.
in mathematics, Notre
Dame, 1974), and Wangs,
photography with an
emphasis on digital art.
Both disciplines faced a
palette of technical and
artistic power that seemed
to grow exponentially by
the day.
The many talks
Geist had with friends in the VFX industry helped
him and Wang formulate both a practical curriculum
and a philosophy for starting a program for Clemson.
Todays program still reects those early ideas, Geist says.
Essentially, were all about matching our graduates with
exactly what the industry needs at any given time. Since this
is a rapidly changing eld, thats a real challenge.
While housed within Clemsons School of
Computing, the DPA is jointly administered by the
Universitys Department of Art. The terminal degree is
an M.F.A., theoretically attainable in two years. But most
students usually require three because of the programs
stringent requirements, Geist says.
To get accepted into the program, students have to
demonstrate both a knowledge of and a competency in
both computing and art. We basically want people who are
both artists and computer scientists at the same time. We
want balance, though.
Students dont need to be superb freehand artists,
for example, to qualify for admission. Their art talents
can be oriented to music, sculpture, photography or even
art history. In the past, DPA students have come in with
backgrounds in architecture, engineering and a variety of
science disciplines. But by the time they graduate, the one,
irrefutable common denominator is a fundamental grasp of
writing computer code, literally the coin of the VFX realm.
Its common for some of our students to come in
with computer skills that need polishing. We have remedial
course work for that as well as in art, which is why for most
students the program takes three years to nish.
Geist says that his contacts in industry which he
works vigilantly to maintain tell him emphatically the
kind of graduates theyre looking to hire. They want
people who can pick up a pen and sketch out a storyboard
and then put that down and knock out a shell [computer]
script and not even pause in between.
Accordingly, the program is built around a no-nonsense
curriculum that for this past year has featured a rare
component a 10-week summer boot camp run by one of
Hollywoods most famous VFX companies, DreamWorks.
Though the program is an optional extension of core course
work, its highly popular because students know that it offers
them the closest encounter with the real VFX world that
theyll ever have on a college campus.
Hollywood Boot Camp
Robert Helms enjoys a perspective on Clemsons DPA
program known to few. A Clemson native, Helms is a 2003
graduate of the program, and after 10 years of steady work
in the industry, his ties with his alma mater are closer than
ever. For the past few summers, his employer, DreamWorks,
has sent him back to Clemson to help run a session of
an outreach project directed at select academic programs
around the country. At Clemson, its essentially a highly
intensive, 10-week course tacked onto the spring semester.
Clemson is one of the few campuses that DreamWorks
collaborates with as a means of creating a direct pipeline
between the company and the best sources of talent in
the country.
A specialist in digital character animation, Helms
was hired straight out of the DPA program in 2003 by
Californias Rhythm & Hues Studio, which is now defunct.
After three years there, he worked for a London-based
company for two years before coming back to California to
sign on with DreamWorks jumping around, he says, is
the rule in a young, uid industry that of
late is more uid than ever.
Helms has seen huge changes both in
the VFX industry and within Clemsons
digital arts program. DreamWorks,
although buffeted by the same market
upheavals that now rock the whole
industry, likes what it sees at Clemson and
is happy to keep investing in it, Helms says.
Clemson has been turning out
students that DreamWorks and other
high-end companies have been interested
in for some time now, he says. This costs
DreamWorks, so theyre very careful about
who they do this for.
Students who sign up for the
optional program can expect to work up
to 80 hours a week on start-to-nish lm
projects, Helms says. Its full production,
from developing story boards to building
props, animating characters, setting up
the lighting, learning how the camera
works, doing the [computer] rendering and
putting it all together.
Students emerge from the project
with yet another demo reel and all the
computer work behind it for their all-
important portfolios, literally their only
tickets for good jobs in the industry. Helms
says that hes constantly amazed at the
quality of what he sees. He believes that
much of the credit must go to his alma
mater for amassing a technical base that
far surpasses anything he saw during his
student days.
What they have here today compares
favorably with an industrial setting, he
says. They started out on a shoestring
with only a couple of math classrooms and
maybe a dozen or so computers. Now, even
though they still dont have a huge budget,
its pretty close to what youd see in the
industry.
The program now boasts a $6 million
phalanx of computer hardware that
includes more than 600,000 computing
cores that share the industry-standard
Linux programming language. The
systems speed, which dwarfs that of most
mainframe computer-based centers, gives students the
power necessary to process the enormous volumes of data
that standard, industrial-grade CGI production typically
demands. Only a minute or so of a nished CGI lm can
easily consume a thousand or more hours of computer
processing, even with the fastest machines and software
available.
The programs professional look and feel benets from
a new screening studio featuring exactly the same kind of
cinema-grade projection system that has helped numerous
projects win top technical awards in Hollywood. The
system gives students a critical tool for studying their digital
creations in ne detail on a daily basis.
Helms is only one of several DreamWorks specialists
who come to campus each year to help with the outreach
program. The programs California-based supervisor, Grazia
Como, describes it as a mutually benecial talent search.
Normally, she says, DreamWorks averages hiring 30 or so
top students from around the country each year.
Clemsons got a great program. Weve collaborated
with them for a long time and look forward to continuing
the relationship, she says.
Clemsons got a great
program. Weve collaborated
with them for a long
time and look forward to
continuing the relationship.
Grazia Como,
DreamWorks
In Robo Repair (above
left), a robot loses an arm,
attaches a high-powered
replacement and goes
airborne. Students on the
team were Alex Beaty,
Amanda Morland, Zhaoxin
Ye, Ben Sledge and Ashley
Anderson.
In QA-ARM-A (above
right), a klutz at the controls
puzzles over instructions and
pushes the wrong buttons.
Sparks y, and things go
from bad to worse. Students
on the team were Gina
Nearing, Mandy Madigan,
Karen Stritzinger, Jon Barry
and Timothy Curtis.
6 7
The Future of Magic
Students interested in pursuing careers in the VFX industry
particularly those with aspirations to work in lm are
under no illusion about what drives their chosen eld.
Since the days of Gertie, the central goal of special and
visual effects artists and technicians has been the same to
cinematically make the impossible possible.
Until the advent of powerful computers in the late
1970s, the bag of tools and tricks available to Hollywoods
elite corps of special effects gurus held few options. The
unreal was made real using a variety of camera techniques
such as multiple exposures, rear projection, mirrors and
a host of mechanical, sleight-of-hand tricks that could be
pulled off on a live-action set full of the right props. Instead
of Faye Wray, the real star of the rst King Kong lm
(1933) was a clay model of an oversized gorilla that enjoyed
climbing skyscrapers, all thanks to painstaking stop-action
photography.
When computers eventually made it possible to create
moving images entirely without cameras, the visual effects
industry came into its own. Today, moviegoers not only
expect ever-more eye-popping examples of the impossible
made not only possible but believable, they demand it. This
raises the question is there any limit to what VFX wizards
can do?
For nearly three decades, Robert Geist has witnessed
the VFX revolution both as an award-winning educator
and as a contributor to the industry. He says that the Holy
Grail of VFX technology is still well beyond reach of even
the brightest, most creative minds out there.
Theres an old joke in the VFX industry, he says.
Question: How do you know when youve been working
in the VFX industry too long? Answer: When youre
walking through a forest on a beautiful spring day; the sun
is shining; theres a gentle breeze blowing; the birds are
singing; and all you can do is look around, shake your head
and say, Ill never be able to render this in real-time.
Geist is referring to the capability of using computers
to make photo-quality, feature-length lms that are all
but impossible to distinguish from those shot and
immediately projected or broadcast with a camera.
Photo-realistic, real-time rendering is possible for
restricted shots, but in general it remains far out of reach.
VFX companies today are delighted when they can reduce
computation time to less than 300 hours for each second of
the movie theyre making.
Whatevers ahead for the VFX industry is riding on
the same train that brought it from a fuzzy dream only 30-
odd years ago to where it is today ever-faster computers
and better software, he says. VFX companies dont run out
of cool ideas; they just run out of time.
*Professor Geist has been recognized for his work as a mentor for
Honors College students.
This article is reprinted with permission from Clemson Universitys
Glimpse magazine, spring 2014.
I
ts pretty clear that Scotty Haas mohawk
stands for his Clemson spirit, but getting
it to actually stand up is a completely
different matter.
There are three ingredients that go into the creation
of the Clemson Mohawk, and they are time, patience and
hairspray. It takes way too long, Scotty laughed. The spikes
take approximately one hour, and the full fan takes three
hours. Thats why I only wear it for special occasions.
Luckily, his efforts never go unnoticed in fact, hes
become a fan favorite among Clemson tailgaters and students
alike. Its quite the ice-breaker, Scotty says. The comments
never stop. He loves answering crazy questions, which range
anywhere from How do you sleep? to Can I touch it?
Some people even ask to get pictures with him,
laughed Brandon Bagwell, one of Scottys friends who
experienced a football game with the legendary Clemson
Mohawk last January. It makes you feel really passionate,
he says. If not for Air Force rules, I would probably have a
mohawk right now.
It denitely looks like Scotty has all the passion of
a true Tiger fan, but does his spirit live up to his hair?
Without a doubt, Brandon says.
THE MAN BEHIND THE MOHAWK:
MEET SCOTTY HAAS, CLEMSONS BIGGEST FAN
Honors Communication Studies major
From his involvement with student organization
Central Spirit to attendance at volleyball and baseball games,
Scotty truly is all in. I love supporting Clemson however I
can, but mechanical engineering isnt easy, so it doesnt leave
me with a lot of free time, he says.
This semester, the Clemson student section is missing
its Mohawk. Scottys studies have taken the Honors College
student to Germany, the hub of the automotive industry, where
he hopes to get valuable experience that will bring him closer to
his dream of becoming a Formula 1 aerodynamicist. Scotty is
excited to bring his Clemson spirit overseas, but admits that he
misses watching the Tigers play from the sidelines.
But for Scotty, it isnt just about the football. Everyone
in Clemson is a family, and it becomes so evident on game
day, he says. When you walk around campus, you see how
friendly everyone is thats what sets Clemson apart.
This strong sense of community is a feeling Scotty will
never forget, even after he graduates. Coming to Clemson
University is one of the best decisions Ive ever made,
Scotty says. Orange is everything.
For everyone who wants to check a Clemson Mohawk
sighting off the Clemson bucket list, Scotty will be back
in Death Valley next fall for his senior season of Clemson
football. Get your cameras ready.
8 9
Stowe, like her husband, had long
been an outspoken abolitionist, but taking
this man into her house upped the stakes
considerably, Ashton says. A man eeing
for his life was not an abstraction or an
inspiration but someone who brought
the stark reality of slavery into her living
room. In meeting him, the corridor opened
between Stowes intellect and her heart,
and in talking with him she was a devout
Christian she very likely would have also
felt the hand of divine providence at work.
A few months later, in early March 1851, Stowe was
sitting in the familys church pew in the First Parish Church
in Brunswick when she had a vision of a man being
whipped to death, a vision that she said compelled her to
write Uncle Toms Cabin. Her novel became a best-selling
book of the 19
th
century, second only to the Bible, and
signicantly helped energize the most consequential social
revolution in American history.
This vision drew upon a lifetime of Stowes
impressions, research, knowledge and experiences. Adding
this man to that assortment of inuences is important,
because of the fact that he was the genuine article, and the
fact that he was sent to her for protection in a strange town,
may have been part of the nal push toward the writing of
her great novel, Ashton says.
So Who Was This Inuential Man?
Harriet Beecher Stowe never named this fugitive who was
eeing to Canada and, Ashton explains, Stowe had good
reasons not to disclose his identity.
Its entirely possible that she didnt know his name,
says Ashton, because the Underground Railroad made a
point of anonymity. But even if she did, to write or speak in
specics about the night he stayed with the Stowes would
have been an admission that she violated the Fugitive Slave
Act, and she might have suffered severe consequences.
It would be another 12 years before the mans identity
was revealed by the man himself. After a few years in the
city of Saint John, John Andrew Jackson went overseas to
England on the abolitionist lecture circuit and, while there,
wrote and published a complex and powerful memoir of his
time in bondage, The Experience of a Slave in South Carolina
(1862). In this book he mentions Stowe by name and
recounts the night he spent in her house:
Just as I was beginning to be settled at Salem
[Massachusetts], that most atrocious of all laws, the Fugitive
Slave Law, was passed, and I was compelled to ee in
disguise from a comfortable home, a comfortable situation
and good wages, to take refuge in Canada. I may mention
that during my ight from Salem to Canada, I met with a
very sincere friend and helper, who gave me a refuge during
the night, and set me on my way. Her name was Mrs.
Beecher Stowe. She took me in and fed me, and gave me some
clothes and ve dollars. She also inspected my back, which is
covered with scars which I shall carry with me to the grave.
She listened with great interest to my story, and sympathized
with me when I told her how long I had been parted from my
wife Louisa and my daughter Jenny, perhaps for ever.
Although there has never been a strong reason to
doubt Jacksons claim that Stowe hid him overnight, some
scholars of this historical period have been frustrated that it
remained unveriable. Important, too, is the timing of his
overnight stay at the Stowe house. Was Jackson the trigger
Stowe needed to put pen to paper and begin her history-
making novel?
Literary Detective Work
Three years ago Ashton started an investigation that she
hoped would lead to a fuller understanding of the night
in question. She had already edited Jacksons memoir for
her book, I Belong to South Carolina: South Carolina Slave
Narratives, and she wrote a further study of Jackson for her
second book, published last February, which focuses on
the South Carolina roots of African-American thought.
Still troubled by what seemed to be an incomplete sense
of his life and of who he was, Ashton realized that the
complexities of Jacksons life might merit a full biography.
As I started working through his life story, using as my
primary document, of course, his 1862 memoir, I suddenly
realized that the passage where he talks about Stowe hiding
him was quite early immediately after the Fugitive Slave
Act of 1850, Ashton says. She tried to trace any connection
HARRIET
BEECHER
STOWE AND
THE FUGITIVE
by Jeff Worley
O
ne cold night in Brunswick, Maine, in late 1850,
Harriet Beecher Stowe hid a fugitive slave in her
house. She and her children listened with great
interest to his stories and songs, and sympathized with
him when he told her how much he missed his wife and
daughter back in South Carolina. Stowe even inspected
his back, which was covered with scars from numerous
whippings. The man left early the next morning and, with
help from the Underground Railroad, made it safely to the
town of Saint John in New Brunswick, Canada.
He was not the rst fugitive she had ever met, but he was the rst
and only runaway slave that Stowe harbored in her own home, says
Susanna Ashton, Ph.D., whose special research interest is 19
th
-century
American literature. She willingly did this despite the draconian penalties
imposed for such behavior by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which had
been passed only a few weeks earlier. This law declared that all runaway
slaves were, upon capture,
to be returned to their
masters, and that any
person aiding a runaway by
providing food or shelter
was subject to six months
imprisonment and a
$1,000 ne.
This man made a great impression upon Stowe and her family,
Ashton says. He was, as Stowe wrote in a letter to her sister, a genuine
article from the Ole Carling State.
While it is tempting to speculate about what the fugitive might have
told Stowe on the one night that he spent under her roof, we can never
ultimately know, Ashton says, adding that the historical impact of the
incident stemmed from in its domestic presence.
Undergraduate Research
Was John Andrew Jackson the trigger Stowe needed to put
pen to paper and begin her history-making novel?
Susanna Ashton
10 11
From 1856 until the end of the Civil War, Jackson
lectured at churches and for social organizations in England
and Scotland, and in 1862 published his book, The
Experience of a Slave in South Carolina. After the Civil War,
he settled in Massachusetts, shuttling back and forth to
South Carolina and making a living for the rest of his life as
a teacher and lecturer.
Susanna Ashton is an associate professor of English in the College
of Architecture, Arts, and Humanities. Jeff Worley is a freelance
writer and poet who lives in Lexington, Kentucky.
After a few years in Saint John, Jackson decided to
go to England to speak on an abolitionist lecture circuit,
recounting his experiences as a slave in the American South.
He knew that a letter of introduction from Stowe would
greatly increase his chances of doing this successfully, that it
would be a form of currency, so he got a letter from her. Did
he visit Stowe a second time to get her endorsement?
Saint John isnt all that far from Brunswick, so
geographically it wouldnt have been all that difcult for
Jackson to come and see her, but because of the Fugitive
Slave Act this would have been extremely risky for him,
Ashton says. So this was much more likely just a letter
exchange or was obtained through the help of sympathetic
intermediaries.
between Stowe and Jackson, but Ashton found no particular
mention of Jackson in any of the Stowe biographies and papers.
I reached out then to colleagues and scholars around
the country who had expertise in Stowe, and one suggested
that the research staff at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in
Hartford, Connecticut, might have an idea about overlooked
sources. I contacted a reference librarian there who had never
heard of Jackson but did direct me to one of Stowes little-known
letters held at Yale University, in which she mentions hiding
an unnamed fugitive slave in November or December of 1850.
Ashton found this letter, on microlm, and was thrilled to read
Stowes account of a fugitive she hid, a fugitive who seemed to
match what is known about John Andrew Jackson.
Even with her husband almost certainly away as well
as her teenage twin girls, who were then visiting relatives
Stowe took the unnamed fugitive in and marveled at how well
her three young children [Henry, age 12; Frederick, 10; and
Georgiana, 7] interacted with the charismatic man, Ashton
says. She reads from Stowes letter:
Now our beds were all full & before this law passed I might have
tried to send him somewhere else. As it was all hands in the house
united in making him up a bed in our waste room & Henry &
Freddy & Georgy seemed to think they could not do too much
for him There hasnt any body in our house got waited on so
abundantly & willingly for ever so long these negroes posses some
mysterious power of pleasing children for they hung around him &
seemed never tired of hearing him talk & sing. He was a genuine
article from the Ole Carling State.
When she came across this letter, Ashton realized that she
had two incredible documents that told a remarkable story.
Not only had I almost certainly veried Jacksons story, I
had also provided information about a historical incident which
surely informed, if not inspired, Stowes composition of Uncle
Toms Cabin. Also, in terms of verifying an actual event on the
Underground Railway, this was tremendous too, since there are
very few accounts of the railway that are documented from two
perspectives that of the freedom seeker and that of the contact
who helped him along the way.
The Letter That Opened Doors
The night he spent in the Stowe house was not to be the only
contact Jackson ever had with Stowe. Having learned to read
and write after settling into Saint John, Jackson surely read Uncle
Toms Cabin after its publication and, says Ashton, had to be
surprised and impressed.
I can imagine him saying to himself, Wow, thats the
lady who hid me in Maine! Ashton says, laughing. It was
the bestselling novel in the world he couldnt have missed it
by then.
John Andrew Jackson, Author
When Ashtons discovery was widely publicized by the
Associated Press with considerable help, she says, from the
media ofce at Clemson Ashton got dozens of emails from
Stowe scholars and others excited about this new perspective
that had been added to the writing of Uncle Toms Cabin.
These responses have been focused almost entirely on Stowe.
The truth is, Ashton says, Harriet Beecher Stowe doesnt
interest me that much. Lots of scholars are out there to tell
her rich and complex story. More compelling to me is that
Jackson, who came from nothing, a eld hand degraded and
abused brutally, and not even literate at the time he was
sheltered by Stowe, claimed his life by his daring act of self-
theft, as it was sometimes called, by running away. Whats
more important to me is, how does somebody like Jackson
come to believe his life story is worth telling, worth writing
about? How did that encounter help lead him to believe that
his testimony on paper mattered?
Then Ashton brings this question home. How do we enable
people to believe their truth, their expression with words, is
important and valuable? Thats our challenge today in South
Carolina how do we get students and others to believe that
their stories can change the world?
Honors Students Collaborate with Faculty on Research with Impact
by Kristin Buhrow and Collin Eichhorn
Honors students Kristin Buhrow and Collin Eichhorn collaborated
this spring with English professor Susanna Ashton, Ph.D., to uncover
the life of South Carolina slave John Andrew Jackson. A slave in
Lynchburg, South Carolina, Jackson escaped from bondage to Boston
in 1847, later writing The Experience of a Slave in South Carolina,
which was published in Ashtons 2010 book I Belong to South
Carolina: South Carolina Slave Narratives.
History major Eichhorn and anthropology major Buhrow used their
academic training to investigate questions about Jacksons life,
combing through American and British newspapers searching for
mentions of Jackson, resulting in more than 50 transcribed articles.
They also scoured archives and deed registries for property and
sales documents, wills, marriage licenses and any other documents
that offered information into Jacksons life. The researchers cross-
examined these documents with Jacksons narrative to develop a
larger picture of his experiences.
Buhrow and Eichhorn also took on projects relevant to their respective
elds. Buhrow combined Jacksons narrative with legal documents to
construct an extensive family tree. The lineages of many slave and
master families in Lynchburg have proven to be interwoven, and an
understanding of the complex relationships between the people of
Lynchburg will reveal more about Jacksons experience, helping to
answer questions not fully explained in his narrative.
Separately Eichhorn researched the geography and logistics of
Jacksons travel within the 19
th
century, specically throughout
the British Isles. This information contributes to the researchers
understanding of his travel and experience while demonstrating how
different contemporary cultures viewed slavery and those who had
been held under its grip.
While much of the research to uncover Jacksons story has taken
place in libraries and online, Buhrow and Eichhorn traveled with
Ashton to Lynchburg to tap local knowledge and to search for any
evidence of Jackson and his peers visible today. They found at the
Sumter County Deed Registry documents indicating the sale of
Jacksons wife and daughter away from him in 1837 and his eventual
purchases of property after emancipation.
In addition to this incredible documentation, the visit to Lynchburg
also offered the valuable opportunity to share with the community a
version of their history that had so far been denied them. The ability to
reveal a previously unknown history is one of the core motives for doing
research, and the impact it has on those descended from Jackson and
his contemporaries is priceless.
Despite his developed career, Jacksons story is not commonly known.
Knowing Jacksons story allows readers to more fully understand
the grim realities of life under slavery and offers inspiration for
communities and people that continue to experience social injustice.
By using extensive literary, historical and anthropological research,
Ashton aims to publish a book on Jacksons life and his methods of
writing on his life as a slave. The research required to present a full
and accurate picture of Jacksons life calls for approaches from many
branches of the humanities and social sciences.
12 13
C
ivil engineering student Kate Gasparro has backpacked through
Europe, studied abroad in Strasbourg, France, and helped build a
schoolhouse in Nicaragua. Attending Clemson is the biggest part of
whats made those distant travels and many of the experiences that came
before, during and after them possible
When Gasparro rst began looking at colleges, she knew she wanted
to pursue a degree that let her think big. As the daughter of two civil
engineers, she also knew that a civil engineering program would help her
do that: Civil engineers are the ones who build the big things that we use
everyday, and we make a difference, she explains.
She visited 25 colleges before she landed at Clemson her senior year
of high school. By the time she left Clemsons campus, she knew shed
found her college home. The Huntington Beach, California, native is a
May 2014 graduate of Clemson with a degree in civil engineering and a
minor in international relations.
And just as shed hoped, shell be leaving this place with a lot more
than just a diploma in her hand. Shes moving forward with a portfolio of
experience she cant imagine having received anywhere else.
Its not about the name on the diploma. Its about the experience
you have there, Gasparro offers. Clemson helped me shape my future
and where I want to go and who I want to be.
The Calhoun Honors College has been an important part of that
experience, with its small class sizes that allow personal, passionate and
intellectual relationships with the Universitys best and brightest, she
says. For Gasparro, that meant spending her freshman year taking general
engineering courses alongside honors classes, including a medieval
history class with one of Clemsons Harvard-educated professors. There,
she and seven other students engaged in discussions about how war
inuences culture.
That same year, she and fewer than 10 other students studied Russian
literature and philosophy as a part of the Dixon Fellow program, which
allows students to learn for the sake of learning, Gasparro explains. It
expanded my own worldview and sparked my love of philosophy.
Her Clemson experience has also meant getting involved in
everything she wanted to be involved with. On the academic front, she
is one of 12 Dixon Global Policy Scholars, a Coca-Cola Scholar and a
member of the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership fraternity. Shes served
as treasurer and Latin American project leader for Engineers Without
Borders, as well as vice president of the Alpha Lambda Delta honor
society. And she stays involved with a variety of student groups including
the Clemson University Student Alumni Council, not to mention
University tour guides, Tiger Band, symphonic band, orchestra and the
Hillel Jewish Organization.
Getting involved is a great way to meet these people and realize
your own potential, she says. You feel such a greater tie to the
University when you are involved, and it makes you be a better student
because you can see the impact you make. You can tie your
extracurricular experiences into your academic curriculum,
making theory into practice and deepening your broader
understanding.
Even with all the accolades and experiences,
Gasparros favorite thing about Clemson isnt just one
thing: its the people. Sure, the Universitys president
knows her by name, but so do countless other students,
staff and faculty who share her appreciation for
community, not to mention her love of Clemson.
Clemson invests in people. Youre never just
a number, she explains. They make that personal
connection, and its all about that Clemson Family.
Gasparros travels abroad have provided some of her
most signicant academic opportunities. As a Dixon Global
Policy Scholar, she was able to complete a short-term study
abroad in Strasbourg, where she met with ofcials from
the European Union, Parliament and NATO to learn how
international policy is made. After interacting with French
and German students, she and some of her classmates
backpacked throughout Europe, and during those
travels she also completed course work in enlightenment
philosophy and public policy.
Gasparro also joined Engineers Without Borders and
started the student organizations rst Latin American
project. Leading a group of six other students, she located a
nonprot already doing work in Nicaragua. They partnered
with them in early September 2011, and a few months later,
Clemsons rst Engineers Without Borders team traveled
to the Central American country to lay the foundation for
a schoolhouse there. She returned to the country again the
summer before her senior year.
Ive learned what it means to partner with people
who have a different culture and history, and work with
them to construct something sustainable, Gasparro says.
These days, she prides herself on being smiling,
enthusiastic proof that a challenging degree doesnt have to
take away from the college experience.
College is what you make of it, Gasparro offers.
Being involved and in a challenging degree is all about
time management and understanding your own abilities.
Being able to relate your extracurricular experience to your
classes and understanding the value in having both is key to
making the most of your time.
College is what you make of it. Why not make the
most of those four years of your life?
My Fellowships Journey
by Kate Gasparro
I
f you had told me four years ago that I would apply for the Truman and
Rhodes scholarships, I would have laughed. Not that I thought this was
totally impossible, but as a freshman, I hardly knew what I wanted to
study, much less where I wanted to be after four years at Clemson.
I was introduced to the Truman Scholarship when I applied for the
Honors Global Policy Scholars Program. During my rst year, my cohort,
12 driven freshmen and sophomores, challenged me in many ways. We
debated philosophy, economics, ethics and policy. These discussions helped
me bridge my interests in both engineering and policy.
I worked closely that year with Jeff Fine, Ph.D., from political science
and Honors College director Bill Lasser, Ph.D., who suggested applying
for the Truman, which supports students interested in public service. As
a civil engineering major and having recently completed an internship
in Washington, D.C., writing public policy proposals for engineers, I
developed a specic focus in infrastructure.
Through the Truman process, I informed others of the dire need for
infrastructure investment and maintenance throughout the country to
increase economic and social progress. Soon, though, I realized that the
application process was going to be much more than a policy statement. It
was going to be a process of self-analysis.
Through this process, I worked with Meredith McCarroll, Ph.D.,
director of the Clemson Writing Center. Her unique perspective and
feedback helped me nd my voice in my writing and allowed me to bring
my application to life.
Through the Truman and Rhodes application processes, I spent
months writing dozens of drafts of personal statements and prepping for
interviews. During this time, I met frequently with professors who would
interview me about my interest in infrastructure in developing countries as
well as my opinion on Renaissance philosophers.
At the same time, I contacted Truman and Rhodes nalists and
recipients for insight into the application and interview process. I met
people who had started nonprots, were White House fellows and had
conducted medical research in South Africa. This preparation made
me more condent in my career path to pursue infrastructure policy,
domestically and internationally, to help strengthen communities.
During interviews for both the Truman and the Rhodes, I met
incredible students from across the country. I was humbled to be part of
this group of students. These were amazing opportunities and eye-opening
experiences. I keep in contact with the people I met along the way and am
thankful for the staff and faculty who supported me. Without their faith in
my abilities, I would have never applied for either of these scholarships.
The Honors College is much more than a supplement to my
education. They became a support system that challenged me to realize my
potential and pursue my passions.
Gasparro graduated in May 2014 with a degree in civil engineering. She is
pursuing a masters in civil engineering at Stanford University and was named a
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.
BIG WORLDVIEW
by Heidi Coryell Williams
With a Clemson education powering
her studies in the U.S. and abroad,
senior civil engineering student Kate
Gasparros been there, done that,
and shes more than ready for what
comes next.
Clemson Honors Students
14 15
Jeff Fine Recognized for
Exemplary Service and
Mentoring
Honors professor Jeff Fine, Ph.D., received two major awards
at the end of this year: the Douglas W. Bradbury Award,
presented to a faculty member who has made outstanding
contributions to the Honors College, and the Frank A.
Burtner Award for Excellence in Advising, a universitywide
recognition.
An associate professor in the Department of Political
Science, Fines involvement with the Honors College
includes teaching honors courses and directing the political
science Departmental Honors program since 2008. He has
mentored 21 honors students in individual research. Fine is
also extensively involved with both honors admission and
National Scholars Program selection.
According to his faculty nominator, Jeff Fine is the
perfect example of the teacher-scholar model and is very
deserving of recognition for his service, teaching and
mentorship over the years to honors students. His impact on
Clemson students is unparalleled, and his presence among
the faculty raises the bar considerably for his colleagues in
teaching and mentorship.
His student nominator said, His involvement in Dixon
Global Policy Scholars is just one of many examples of his
continuing efforts to provide honors students with new
opportunities and experiences to grow academically. My
time traveling with Professor Fine made evident his ability to
connect and relate to students in a way unparalleled to any
professor I have had in my college career.
What Honors College students said about Coates visit
Caroline Hensley: Coates talk was unlike any Ive heard. He presented his opinions in a way that
was both comfortable and familiar, yet stunning and slightly radical. I loved his ideas about the
Civil War, his polished mannerisms and his genuine passion for learning.
Claire Spellberg: It was interesting listening to Coates perspective on speaking at a university
with buildings dedicated to Pitchfork Ben Tillman and Strom Thurmond. I agree with his point
that we cannot shy away from our past; all we can do is acknowledge it and try to move forward.
Katelyn Ragland: Coates taught me that history is not necessarily in the past, but rather
continues to affect those living in the present in tangible ways. Slavery, the Civil War and the
Civil Rights Act have together created a process and condition in the United States that is still
evolving.
Author and Editor
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Inspires Honors
Students
Author and senior editor at The Atlantic
magazine Ta-Nehisi Coates led an honors
freshman seminar prior to a campuswide
forum on September 26. His talk Why Do
So Few Blacks Study the Civil War? drew
a capacity crowd to the Strom Thurmond
Institute auditorium. The Honors College
co-sponsored Coates visit with several
campus departments, including the National
Scholars Program and the Pearce Center for
Professional Communication.
Many know Ta-Nehisi Coates through his blog
at theatlantic.com, where his topics include
teaching writing, learning French, Mad Men,
Kurt Vonnegut and race in America.
Coates has reinvigorated the role of the public
intellectual and reinvented it for the 21st
century. His stance is not that of the cultural
mandarin preaching to the converted, but
rather that of an interested, informed and
relentlessly curious mind working through
problems and responding to events. And his
public is wide, including interlocutors who
are alternately admiring and cantankerous but
who are always part of a conversation.
But being a public intellectual requires
more than being public. There are, after all,
any number of ways to provoke responses.
Coates preferred route is to cast a critical
eye on our current cultural discourses, to
examine contemporary evidence and cite
historical facts, and to reect on values
such as morality, justice and equality. This
gives his writing a combination of scope and
incisiveness that is both made possible by and
transcends his medium.
Clemson Honors Notes
Lunch with the Author
Honors students met with visiting author Scott
Reich on April 7 for a lunch discussion of The
Power of Citizenship: Why John F. Kennedy
Matters to a New Generation. Reichs book
emphasizes the importance of citizenship and
provides a blueprint for how to improve public
discourse and to be effective citizens. Honors
students also received an autographed copy of
Reichs book.
16 17
Three May Honors College graduates received Clemsons top senior awards
this year.
Kate Gasparro of Huntington Beach, California,
received the Norris Medal, presented to the best
overall graduating senior. Gasparro is the 12th
consecutive honors student to be named as
Norris Medalist. Elliott Mappus of Charleston,
South Carolina, and Jenny Tumas of Los
Alamos, New Mexico, each received Algernon
Sydney Sullivan Awards in recognition of their
academic and leadership accomplishments.
Gasparro, who majored in civil engineering, has backpacked through
Europe, studiedabroad in Strasbourg, France, and helped build a
schoolhouse in Nicaragua. She was also a national nalist for both the
Truman and Rhodes Scholarship competitions, and she was an inaugural
member of the Honors Colleges Dixon Global Policy Scholars Program.
Gasparro was named a National Science Foundation Graduate Research
Fellow and will pursue a masters in civil engineering at Stanford
University next year.
Mappus, who majored in bioengineering, amassed
an impressive research portfolio in neuroscience,
working with researchers at Clemson and the
Medical University of South Carolina. He was a
resident assistant in the Honors College living-
learning community, chair of the Honors College
Student Advisory Board and a Calhoun Honors
mentor. Mappus plans to complete a masters
degree in bioengineering at Clemson before
beginning medical school next year.
Tumas, who majored in both communication
studies and political science, was a leader of
the Clemson debate team that won the National
Education Debate Association tournament. She
was also a Writing Fellow in the Clemson Writing
Center. A member of the National Scholars
Program and Dixon Global Policy Scholars
Program, Tumas studied at Cambridge University
after her freshman year, volunteered in India
after her sophomore year and interned with a
community health program in Detroit after her junior year. She will next
pursue a masters in political theory at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia.
A Passion for Excellence
Honors students received dozens of year-end
departmental awards for leadership and academic
accomplishments. The students listed below received
the top recognitions from their academic colleges.
College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences
Haaris Khan Phi Kappa Phi Certicate of Merit
Christopher Nguyen Blue Key Academic and
Leadership Award, Phi Kappa Phi Certicate of Merit
College of Architecture, Art and Humanities
Elyse Dengler Phi Kappa Phi Certicate of Merit
College of Business and Behavioral Science
Miles Atkinson Delta Sigma Pi Scholastic Key Award
Kathryn Jo Payne Award for Outstanding Senior in
the Social Sciences
Brian Probst Blue Key Academic and Leadership
Award
Samantha Reynolds Award for Outstanding Senior
in Business
Ellison Taylor Wallace Dabney Trevillian Merit Award
Jenny Tumas Award for Outstanding Undergraduate
Research
Shauna Young Phi Kappa Phi Certicate of Merit
College of Engineering and Science
Ross Beppler Samuel B. Earle Award for
Outstanding Senior in Engineering
John Farmer Award for Outstanding Junior in the
Sciences
Kelly Moran Award for Outstanding Junior in the
Sciences
Brenden Roberts Award for Outstanding Senior in
the Sciences
Kate Showers The Hambright Award for Leadership
in Engineering
College of Health, Education and Human
Development
Stefanie Mokalled Phi Kappa Phi Certicate of Merit
Theresa Wersinger Undergraduate Emerging Leader
Award
Two Clemson professors have been named
among the nations 40 top young professors in
a feature released by national online education
publication NerdScholar.
Leidy Klotz and Steven V. Miller are included
on NerdScholars inaugural 40 Under 40:
Professors Who Inspire list that celebrates
young teachers under the age of 40 and
the contributions they have made to their
respective schools.
Remember that teacher who left a mark
on your life, who changed the way you think
about the world, asks NerdScholars website.
NerdScholars inaugural 40 Under 40
celebrates professors who are doing just that:
cultivating passion in their students. Chosen
based on nominations highlighting their
love of teaching, these women and men are
inspiring the young adults of today to be the
world leaders and humanitarians of tomorrow.
For the past six years, Klotz, a 35-year-old
civil engineering professor from Cortland,
New York, has been inspiring Clemson
students to think green. He teaches about
sustainable energy innovation, restoration and
construction. He has rsthand knowledge from
his time managing school building projects
before arriving at Clemson.
My curiosity inspires me to develop the
material and methods, and my desire to
make positive change inspires me to follow
through, he says.
Klotz is a regular Honors College instructor of
a sustainability seminar, a two-time recipient
of Clemsons National Scholars Program
Award of Distinction and a Dixon Senior
Fellow. The Joseph E. and Caroline G. Dixon
Fellows Program brings together some of the
Universitys best students and faculty to form
a unique community dedicated to intellectual,
cultural, and personal learning and growth.
The purpose is to enhance the students
ability to compete for international fellowships
and for admission to top-level graduate and
professional schools; and, ultimately, to enable
them to assume a position of leadership and
responsibility in their communities and in
the world.
Steven V. Miller, 29, is a political science
professor described by NerdScholar as having
a spirited determination to help students
understand the world they live in.
In an increasingly complex world, the ability to
think critically and analytically process data is
crucial to basic literacy about politics and the
world in which the student lives, says Miller,
who came to Clemson from Los Angeles.
Nominations for NerdScholars 40 Under
40 were collected through student and
faculty recommendations, such articles as
the Princeton Reviews Best Professors list
and other pieces highlighting universities
with outstanding professors, supplemented
by such crowdsourced review sites as
RateMyProfessors and CourseRank.
These 40 inspirational professors were
nominated based on their ability to captivate
and engage students in the classroom, desire
to interact with students outside of class
and collaborate on research projects, says
NerdScholars Gianna Sen-Gupta.
Gasparro
Klotz
Miller
Mappus
Tumas
Clemson Honors Notes
Two Clemson Professors Named Among
Nations Top 40 Under 40
by Michael Laderman
Honors Students Reap Awards
18 19
VITAL ROBOTICS
WITH PEOPLE IN MIND
by Jemma Everyhope-Roser
they write a proposal to the National Science Foundation.
They were ecstatic when the proposal was approved on the
rst attempt and immediately went to work on their rst
joint project: the Animated Work Environment.
Were frequently a duo, Green says. Currently, they
share two labs joined by two doors that tend to be open.
Following the success of the Animated Work Environment,
theyve gone on to work together on the Assistive Robotic
Table and the LIT Room, again with support from the
National Science Foundation.
Green and Walkers projects the Animated Work
Environment, the Assistive Robotic Table and the LIT
Room have something else in common: They help people
help themselves. The Animated Work Environment is
a desk-and-wall structure that physically alters its shape
to support professional needs. Embedded with infrared
sensors and computer screens, the Animated Work
Environment can respond to gesture to ne-tune and store
a variety of activity congurations. Similarly, the Assistive
Robotic Table is a hybrid of homey nightstands and over-
the-bed hospital tables. Designed to work with people who
are aging or who need rehabilitation, the Assistive Robotic
Table allows people with changing capabilities to remain
in their homes for as long as possible. At public library
read-alouds, the LIT Room engages children by providing
a programmable environment that gives form to childrens
own imagination. When the environment doesnt hold
true to what the child imagines is in the book, the child
can reprogram it. Green describes it as an evocative
environment.
From the Ground Up
Although a lot of researchers buy a robot to elaborate on,
working with a platform thats already there, Greens team
is unique in that it actually builds artifacts from nuts, bolts
and whatever else we can nd around, he says.
It can be a struggle, sometimes, to work with a steel
fabricator to produce the necessary parts, to get the pieces
right so that they t together. But Green states hes got a lot
of local resources to draw on. The South Carolina Upstate,
home to a thriving automotive industry, supports many
high-tech companies.
Sometimes the team has to repurpose whats around.
Green says that when they want to buy a linear actuator,
which is more or less a rod that pushes up to lift part of the
structure, they rst must nd one that works within what
theyve already envisioned.
Although you might think that the processing power
required for complex movement might be an issue, Green
states, The capacity of a computer is not a problem, as
digital tools are becoming so powerful and accessible. The
real challenge is batteries. What happens if someone needs
it, and the battery is running out?
Another challenge involves the movement itself
the object has to shift and turn with a person so that its
movement feels comfortable. Walker specializes in this
aspect of design, combining the disciplines of kinematics
and motion planning, Green says. We have to be
choreographers to make sure the dance between the users
and the environment is clear, apparent, easy and hopefully
inviting.
when you go to work in the
morning, your car selects the optimal route,
accounting for accidents and ambulances,
communicating silently with buses and
trains, so that everyone reaches the correct
destination safely and punctually. At your
ofce, your desk congures itself around you
to accommodate the mornings tasks. You
can reprogram it if you like. When you return
home, you step into an environment that
adapts to your whims, altering its lighting and
temperature and form. Your very furniture
shifts and physically expands so that you can
stretch out and relax in the evening.
In this vision, the biological and computational
worlds have merged on every level, the physical world of
humanity joined to digital reality, and articial intelligence
is embodied in the hardware around you.
In this strange realm, Keith Green, Ph.D., dreams and
dwells.
Green works in the eld of architectural robotics,
trying to bridge the digital and the real within a cyber-
physical environment. He started out as a psychology
undergrad but branched out into architecture. His Ph.D.
focused on designing built environments that exhibited
qualities of the animate and inanimate. Under certain
conditions, Green says, we might ascribe to inanimate
things characteristics that are seemingly vital.
Green wanted the chance to apply what hed learned
in a practical way. And at Clemson, he got it.
About 10 years ago, Green realized he worked well
with Ian Walker when they were advising a mutual student
in Greens Master of Architecture studio. Green suggested
Above: Honors student Tyler Berkeley works on the LIT Room
prototype.
Below: Keith Green with a graduate student and honors student
Maggie Boyd.
21 20
So far, Green says, the participants have been intrigued
by his projects. The environments assist physical therapists,
teachers and ofce workers in accomplishing what
theyre already doing with greater ease, productivity and
possibilities. For people who are already kind of geeky and
are working collaboratively, the Animated Work Environment
is a thrill, he says. Kids love the
LIT Room, and the teachers love its
educational applications. And while
hospital staff tend to regard new
technologies with caution, Green
says, The staff at Greenville Hospital
System are curious and willing to help
us with the Assistive Robotic Table.
These are platforms for people
to collaborate on location, beyond
us being networked around the
globe, Green adds, because so many
human activities demand hands-on
participation in one site, localized.
Empowered, Not Imprisoned
Currently, Green is writing a book
with the help of Mark Gross, a
colleague at Carnegie Mellon.
The manuscript, tentatively called
Architectural Robotics, is under contract
with MIT Press. In the book, Green
tries to establish a typology for his
developing eld, describing the
varieties of architectural robotics at
physical scales ranging from smart
furnishings to the metropolis.
We still have a ton of work to
do in getting these things up and
running in a robust way, Green
says. Green faces another challenge:
selecting and locating the sensors and
writing the algorithms that would
best support people. He adds, If a
person is recovering from a stroke,
how can the Assistive Robotic Table
determine how little or how much assistance the person
requires to enable that person to regain command of
her life?
Although the rise of articial intelligence and
citywide networks may not happen tomorrow, we do have
drones ying today. Green says that we should thoroughly
investigate the consequences such technologies could bring
us. The adoption of new technology always comes with
issues of how we conduct our lives how we want to live,
he says.
Building robots on a large scale also brings up safety
concerns. If someone were to hack into an intelligent
transportation network, the potential for disaster could be
huge. If a transportation network couldnt perform during
an emergency, then people could be hurt when it failed.
One of the unique challenges is the safety dimension
for moving mass. Green is talking about the physical
mass of the object hes created. Take the Animated Work
Environment: Because it weighs a lot, Green had to mount
it in a heavy concrete block and attach a safety cable before
he could get approval for people to test it out. Since these
large-scale robotic artifacts could be dangerous, we have to
do a lot of testing and evaluation to make sure that these
systems not only support human activities in ways we
discerned from study, but are also safe.
Other concerns Green is careful to address involve job
security. Green says that when people think about robotics
theyre wondering what it will mean for their business a
decade or two from now.
This is inevitable, Green says. We are working hard
to be sensitive to how this technology might be adopted,
and we want it to be very supportive of the way we live
our everyday lives. We want it to be pleasing aesthetically,
function well, and we want people to be empowered, not
imprisoned, by the technology.
In an increasingly digital society, where we carry the
Internet around in our pockets, we still live in a hard-wired
and physical world. We really celebrate the world that
we live in, Green says. The scale we work in promotes a
physical world with digital things in it, as opposed to living
a virtual life more exclusively. At least thats my theory.
Keith Evan Green is a professor of architecture in the College of
Architecture, Arts and Humanities and a professor of electrical
and computer engineering in the College of Engineering and
Science. Ian Walker is a professor of electrical and computer
engineering in the College of Engineering and Science. Jemma
Everyhope-Roser is the editorial assistant at Glimpse.
Keith Green has
worked on research
projects with Honors
College EUREKA!
students like
Zackary Hewitt
(shown above) for
several years.
in the process. His vision and determination have made
Rebt what it is today, Eric says.
Kyles main job with Rebt is to maintain the
companys vision. Hes in charge of both the website and
brand, so he is constantly challenged to nd new avenues to
display the product.
Eric has taught me to never settle for the status quo.
His ambition is something I truly admire, says Kyle. His
relationship with Eric has been crucial in the success of
Rebt, but also for his business career as a whole. Eric has
looked out for me since the rst day we talked, Kyle says of
his mentor. Clemson alumni really do have a special bond.
And Eric agrees. Working with Kyle on Rebt has
been a lot of fun we both have very similar backgrounds
and business interests. Clemsons engineering program
instills a great problem-solving process, so I knew Kyle had
that skill from day one.
Kyle, always eager to learn more, is pursuing a masters
degree at the University of Virginias McIntire School of
Commerce. We are at a great starting point, but we want
to add more styles and options for our products. As a more
personal goal, I want to make maintaining Rebt my full-
time job, he says.
Despite his admirable ambitions and newly acquired
business savvy, Kyle wont forget where he started. My
Clemson degree has already been huge in shaping my
career, he says. There really is something in these hills.
Clemson alumni Eric Thome, left, and Kyle Clements have
transformed a simple idea into a full-edged business that
challenges us to rethink the way we use kayaks. Photo courtesy
of Flbt
PADDLING
AGAINST
THE TIDE OF
CONFORMITY
Honors communication studies major
W
ake boarding on Lake Keowee may
have been Kyle Clements favorite
thing to do between classes at
Clemson, but the civil engineering major never
would have expected water sports to become
an important part of his career until he met
Eric Thome.
With graduation approaching, Kyle felt torn
between his talent for engineering and his passion for
entrepreneurial business. Still unsure about which career
path to pursue, Kyle sought advice from Eric, a Clemson
grad from the class of 2000, who had made a similar shift.
After connecting with Kyle over the phone, Eric
encouraged him to follow his passion for business and
offered Kyle an internship at his own small business called
Flbt. (Its pronounced foal-boat as in folding-boat.)
Flbt sells kayaks that can fold up and t into
backpacks: an innovative concept that employs a unique
business strategy. I wanted to work with Flbt because
there was a great potential for learning, says Kyle, who
graduated in 2013. Plus, kayaking in the Charleston harbor
after work is a huge benet for anyone who loves being on
the water.
In no time at all, Kyle was making big waves at this
kayak company. What started as Kyles simple suggestion
to recycle kayaks became the central platform for a whole
new business. I became really interested in this idea and
spent an entire week brainstorming what we could do with
used kayaks and scrap pieces, he says. Then it hit me we
could make recycled items using the leftover materials!
Thus, Rebt was born.
After listening to Kyles plans, Eric was condent that
Kyle would be able to identify and resolve any problems he
encountered along the way.
I never expected Kyle to start a new business for us,
but it was easy to give him the creative and directive control
22 23
I
f youre looking for a classically trained trumpeter on campus and
your search doesnt begin in an upper-level astrophysics course,
youre going to miss out on John Farmer.
Farmer, a member of the Calhoun Honors College and a rising senior physics major,
doesnt buy into the trope that education in the arts and humanities and education in the
sciences are to be mutually exclusive. Before he was a 4.0 college student taking part in
groundbreaking research on particle physics and garnering scholarships and awards while
simultaneously performing with several Clemson University ensembles, he was honing his
chops in quintets, choirs and AP science courses at the South Carolina Governors School
for the Arts and Humanities.
I didnt want to go into science without ever taking music seriously, says Farmer,
a Chestereld, South Carolina, native. Music and science complement each other in a
number of ways, and I need to be doing both at the same time. When Im doing research
or course work, I always need some sort of creative vent to work with, and the same is true
when Im working with music.
PHYSICS MAJOR FINDS HARMONY
BETWEEN SCIENCE AND MUSIC
by Molly Collins, 13, M 15
Farmer was in sixth grade when he rst picked up a
trumpet, and as a young musician in a band program with
only one music class and no private lessons, he longed to
experience a higher level of musicianship. This passion
drove him to enroll in the Governors School for his senior
year of high school, where he would learn to balance
advanced course work with rigorous musical training and
meld his talents in both elds into a cohesive ambition to
excel in the physics eld.
And it is an ambition that continues to mesmerize his
Clemson professors.
It is the rst time Ive known us to enroll a major
with such a background, says Chad Sosolik, associate
professor of physics and astronomy. His ability to excel at
both music and physics speaks volumes about his innate
talents and intelligence. He has married his love of music
with the pursuit of an advanced scientic degree, and
he bears all of the hallmarks of an up-and-coming star in
our eld.
Farmer has achieved much scholarly acclaim. He
was most recently named Outstanding Junior in the
Sciences for the College of Engineering and Science and
is also one of three Clemson students to be awarded the
2014 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for Excellence in
Science, Mathematics and Engineering, an award that
covers up to $7,500 of tuition and expenses. And in May,
he was informed he would be a 2014 Astronaut Scholar
and the recipient of a $10,000 award from the Astronaut
Scholarship Foundation, the largest monetary award given
in the United States to science, technology, engineering and
math undergraduate college students based solely on merit.
But for Farmer, the awards are not just about the
money and the prestige, but rather a testament to how the
opportunities he has received as a Clemson student are
paving the way for his future.
The education that I have gotten at Clemson has
been amazing, and I cannot speak highly enough of the
research opportunities available in the physics department,
Farmer says. Physics professors are approachable and really
want students to do research with them, and when asked,
their response is often Sure, show up in the lab tomorrow,
and lets get to work.
Farmer also has an impressive prole as a researcher.
Last summer, he interned at Fermilab, Americas renowned
particle physics and accelerator laboratory in Batavia,
Illinois, where he worked on computer simulations of
particle physics. He recently returned from a three-month
stint in La Serena, Chile, where he completed a NSF-RFU
project on variable stars in the Milky Way at the Cerro-
Tololo Inter-American Observatory the same observatory
where scientists discovered the accelerating expansion of
the universe.
Farmer will use his work in Chile toward what he
hopes to be his rst authored paper in the Astrophysical/
Astronomical Journal and a presentation at the January
2015 American Astronomical Society Meeting in Seattle,
Washington.
But his research prole does not end there. Hes
also been observing at Kitt Peak National Observatory
in Arizona and has participated in a Creative Inquiry
undergraduate research project on astronomy since 2012.
Hes a really smart guy and ambitious, says
assistant professor and astrophysicist Sean Brittain, who
worked with Farmer on undergraduate research. He
jumped at the opportunity to apply to Research Experience
for Undergraduates in Chile, and he had done enough
extra work to get ahead in his classes so that he could afford
to take a semester off and still be on track to graduate
on time.
These accolades are music to Farmers ears, as his hard
work along with the many opportunities he has received for
research and eld experience have prepared him to pursue a
Ph.D. in astroparticle physics. Hes considering several top
schools in the country for the continuation of his research,
and hed like for his professional career to include teaching
as well as lab work. But rest assured that Farmers creative
vent will never close.
I will continue to enjoy composition and performance
as a hobby, Farmer says. Music will always be a part of
my life.
John Famer, left, is one
of Clemsons three named
Goldwater Scholars for 2014.
Here hes pictured with
graduate student Josh Wood.
Farmers research has taken him to the Fermilab as well as the
Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory in La Serena, Chile,
shown above.
Clemson Honors Students
24 25
A STUDENTS REFLECTION:
BREAKING THE ICE AT THE
SOCHI PARALYMPICS
NOTE: Three Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism
Management faculty members and a group of Clemson students
went on a study-abroad trip focused on the 2014 Paralympic
Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. The trips mission: Return with
heightened awareness of disabilities, culture and potential within
their respective elds of study, those that include sport and event
management. This reection was written by Honors College
student Alexandra Vrampas and Professor Gwynn Powell.
L
ong days and jet lag are a hard
combination for travel, but being in
Russia at the Sochi Paralympics has a
way of making you forget these minor worries.
Two nights ago (although we are so at home,
it already feels like 10), we arrived at our
quaint little Russian hotel in Adler. After a
needed nights sleep, we spent the day verifying
our credentials for our spectator passes and
exploring Adler.
Our hotel is a ve-minute walk from the sea, two minutes
from a 24-hour mini-market, and the town has a lot of small
knick-knack shops that became a great start to our Russian
shopping experience. That night we attended the Opening
Ceremony and were awed by the extravagance of the event.
They had Russian dancers and singers on the pedestrian
path up to the venue for us to take pictures with, sing along
and dance as we made our way to the event. Fireworks went
off within the stadium at the beginning of the event, and
there was a huge ship that oated across the huge ice stage
during one of the performances to symbolize the power of
sport to break the ice between nations. The president
of the International Paralympic Committee also had a
very important message of inclusiveness and did well by
mentioning how Sochi is paving a way for Russia and the rest
of the world because Sochi adapted to an accessible mindset
seen both through their buildings and in their attitudes.
A large part of the experience has been meeting the
volunteers. They do everything from free hugs and high
ves to ushering us in the right direction when we need
information. The majority of them are Russian university
students who are beyond excited to practice their English
and trade pins with us (our professor introduced us to the
Olympic tradition of pin trading with several American ag
pins to trade). They are happy to be a part of making the
experience interesting and safe.
Bright and early Saturday morning we made our
way up the mountain to the biathlon venue. Both at
the opening ceremonies and at the biathlon venue we
were honored with many requests to take photos. People
noticed the American ags and different accents and would
automatically ask if we would pose with them. We proudly
had our American ags on display and took photo after
photo with other Paralympic fans who were excited to be
part of such an international sporting event.
Though we met some, there were few other Americans
at the event, and we saw several Canadians, Kazakhstani
and Japanese, among other nationalities. The majority
of the fans, however, are Russian and are very eager to
cheer on any athlete whose fan base is not here. We have
also been so impressed at how loudly everyone cheers for
Ukrainian athletes. It has been explained to us that Russia
and Ukraine are like one body. People in the Ukraine
have family in Russia, and people in Russia have family
in Ukraine. Right now, due to politics, part of the body is
ill. Both countries know what war is, and people cannot
understand how nationalism can bring even whispers of
war in the modern world. People we have met are sad about
the situation, yet also hopeful that solutions will emerge
because deep down, both sides are family. If we were not
here for the Paralympics, we would not have heard this
personal Russian perspective on such a public situation.
One of the neatest aspects of the biathlon venue was
the equipment trials we experienced. We had a taste of the
challenge of the sport. We used a sitting chair that is used by
athletes to ski. We cant imagine skiing even a mile through
the snow in the chair, let alone up an incline and around a
track. The other piece of equipment was the gun that the
athletes with visual impairments use during the shooting
part of the biathlon. Instead of aiming for the target with a
scope, one listens for beeps through a headset, and when the
beeps become one high-pitched drone, it is time to pull the
trigger. Our professor Skye Arthur-Banning made the highest
score with a 4 out 5 targets hit, and Alexandra was the silver
medalist of our group. We think it is because he tried it with
his eyes closed and was not tricked by his eyesight.
The mountain-top venue gave us the opportunity to
try the famous Russian blini, a crepe-style pancake served
savory or sweet. For dinner we planned to have a nice sit-
down dinner, but we did not realize until too late that it was
a Saturday evening and International Womens day, a new
holiday for us. We received congratulations all during the day.
A few people in our study-abroad group took the last available
table of the restaurant, while the rest of us enjoyed a meal on
the terrace of our hotel of meat kebabs from a simple hole-in-
the-wall restaurant. We are looking to get a good nights sleep
before heading off to watch sledge hockey in the morning.
It was a surprise to us that our new Russian friend and
translator told us how happy she is to be here at the games
with us because our infectious zest for cheering caused her
to realize that she has much to be proud of about being
Russian. At her university, there are no sports teams nor
mascots, so our Clemson Tiger paws and abundance of
orange came as a surprise. She knew we would cheer for the
USA and is familiar with the sense of pride in the USA. She
told us that many Russians automatically assume that other
places in the world are better than Russia and maybe that
was true in the older times. But, listening to us cheer for all
the athletes and getting caught up in our excitement made
her feel proud that her country could host the entire world
and truly take the Opening Ceremony theme and break the
ice between people who often think they are so different.
As of now, not much else can be said except that we are
loving Russia and all the Paralympic Games have to offer.
Clemson student Meredith Swetenburg tries out the sit ski at
the Sochi Paralympics.
Clemson students pose in front of the
Paralympics sign and the Olympic ame in
Sochi, Russia.
Study Abroad
26 27
students undergraduate and graduate can schedule an
appointment to meet with a Writing Fellow.
The education doesnt stop with student-writers. All
Writing Fellows complete a three-credit course prior to
their participation in the Pearce Scholars program, which
includes the Writing Fellows and the Pearce Center interns.
The course helps the Writing Fellow to understand the
theory and practice of peer tutoring and writing as well as
the history and evolution of
the writing process.
Undergraduate peer
tutoring has proven to be one
of the most effective ways not
only of improving the writing
of individual students but also
of fostering a larger culture
of writing at universities,
LeMahieu says.
When we select Writing
Fellows, its not that were looking for students who never
have a comma splice; rather, were looking for students who
are cognizant of the fact that writing is not some gift thats
bestowed to them, McCarroll says. Fellows who have an
awareness about their own process are the best sorts of
tutors because they can relate to fellow students.
Writing Fellow Haley Nieman enjoys reading many
styles of writing and working with students from different
backgrounds while improving skills at the same time, she
says. Nieman, an honors communication studies major,
nds the camaraderie among Fellows and the programs
mentors incredibly enriching.
Clemson is traditionally known for its success
in engineering sciences as well as in excellence in
communication. The Writing Fellows programs aims to
join these disciplines under the umbrella of writing.
Often I hear, and chuckle, when a friend of mine
denes her identity as a scientist and not a writer, says
Glen Southergill, assistant director of the Writing Center.
She literally writes all the time proposals, reviews of
literature, reports, articles for publication. She also uses
tools like Twitter to connect informally with her scholarly
community; however, she seems to think these activities are
not writing.
Both Southergill and McCarroll believe theres a
tendency to underestimate the diversity of writing done in
different departments and that its important to note that
all disciplines engage in writing in some form. They strive to
communicate this across campus in order to attract a wide
variety of faculty and disciplines to partake in the program.
Theres a writing component in every eld,
McCarroll says. This initiative cannot take place in just
one department. It actually has to be writing across the
curriculum and be built across departments. The reality
is most people are already incorporating writing into the
classroom. The challenge, however, is talking with and
helping them realize that theyre doing so.
According to McCarroll, one of the loftiest goals of
the Writing Fellows program is to create a culture of writing
at Clemson and build on the intellectual community and
previously established Writing Across the Curriculum
initiative.
Were beneting from the exciting, engaging
conversations that happened then and expanding upon
them with this program, McCarroll says. To have a
program that can jump from discipline to discipline is part
of what makes the Writing Fellows program so exciting and
so much a part of Writing Across the Curriculum, she says.
Associate professor of political science Jeff Fine and his
honors course participate in the Writing Fellows program,
which Fine says has been a great experience.
The Writing Fellow assigned to my class has been
instrumental in helping the students develop their
arguments, with the students making marked improvement
from the initial draft to the nal product, Fine says. This
is the single best batch of papers that I have received since
arriving at Clemson over eight years ago, and I see the high
quality of the students papers as directly attributable to the
Writing Fellows process.
Southergill believes the immediate impact of the
Writing Fellows program will only continue to grow as the
program expands and says that Clemson is already seeing
good early indicators of its greater impact.
Theres a time that I imagine, McCarroll says, that
all Clemson students are sitting in the library, working with
one another together as peers. What happens in the Writing
Center and within the Writing Fellows program can, and
will, be a model for that.
The Writing Fellows program continues to expand
thanks to the support of the Department of English, the
Pearce Center for Professional Communication and Calhoun
Honors College, and represents the next generation of
Clemsons longstanding commitment to excellence in Writing
Across the Curriculum and Writing in the Disciplines,
LeMahieu says. The program complements faculty
development initiatives through a focus on students.
The Writing Fellows program aims to join the
engineering, science and communication disciplines under
the umbrella of writing.
WRITING FELLOWS TAKE
TIGERS TO THE TOP TIER
C
lemson University is no stranger to
national accolades, having earned the No.
21 spot on the U.S News & World Report
list of top public universities and being one of
only eight public schools making Writing Across
the Disciplines a top priority.
Representing an innovative expansion of past and current
initiatives, the Writing Fellows program has assisted Clemson
in gaining the spotlight. The program partners Writing Fellows
with student writers enrolled in cross-curricula seminar courses
in several departments across campus. Fellows function as an
important intervention in the writing process by promoting
the importance of revision in writing through peer interaction
across the Clemson campus.
Part of what the Writing Fellows process can do is
demystify this idea of writing as something that happens only
when theres inspiration, says Meredith McCarroll, Writing
Center director.
Clemsons Writing Fellows program aims to build on the
strength of writers, offer practical experience to the Fellows and
create a climate of academic conversation and revision within
academic courses. It was founded in 2012 by Bill Lasser, director of
the Calhoun Honors College; Michael LeMahieu, director of the
Pearce Center for Professional Communication; and McCarroll.
A program like Writing Fellows puts students in
conversation together about ideas in a way that is complex and
encourages creativity and critical thinking about an idea that
may otherwise seem stagnant, McCarroll says.
This academic years program includes 17 undergraduate
Fellows representing 10 majors ranging from communication
studies and English to political science and bioengineering.
The Writing Fellow receives a paper draft from the student
writer and provides written comments. Typically, these
comments are in the form of proactive questions that
encourage the student writer to think more deeply about the
next level of revision. After making revisions, the student
writer meets with the Writing Fellow for a 30-minute
appointment. This conference prepares the student writer for
another round of revisions before the assignments due date.
Student writers benet from the peer tutoring and
tend to be more comfortable talking with a fellow student
than with a faculty member. The environment allows
writers to let their guards down, voice their insecurities and
admit their fears.
Student writer and junior honors English major Megan
Brovan has experienced the programs benets rsthand.
I knew how the process would work but wasnt sure
what insight I could get, Brovan says. As it turned out,
working with a peer is a great step no matter what the
process. Partnering with different Writing Fellows over
time has introduced me to other conceptions of what good
writing is. Its helped me to be conscious of issues of clarity
in my writing, she says.
Writing Fellows also staff Clemsons Writing Center,
located in the Academic Success Center. Fellows meet
with students to go over writing samples ranging from
personal statements for medical school to papers for
graduate students in mechanical engineering. All Clemson
by Katie Mawyer
Leadership Leadership
28 29
EXAMINING
THE HUMAN
EXPERIENCE
by Dustin Wilson
A
n interest in culture is evident by
the collection of artifacts displayed
throughout the ofce of Mike
Coggeshall, Ph.D. From the collection of
Czech Republic beer coasters to stuffed
animal chimpanzees and apes, his passion
for stories and the people who tell them
began with a pursuit of better understanding
humanity.
I remember debating in college on whether humans
were innately good or evil and if the role of government was
to liberate or restrain, recalls Coggeshall, a long-time honors
seminar instructor. But none of this matters if we dont
understand what it means to be human.
Anthropology is the study of origins, social customs,
societies and the development of humanity. This discipline
often asks questions like, How do groups of people see the
world differently?
Since college, the different ways people see the world have
always been of interest to me, remembers Coggeshall. I think
the single driving question that led me to anthropology is What
does it mean to be human?
Coggeshall became focused on the how and why people
see things differently, which resulted in his interest in cultural
anthropology. These are the types of questions Coggeshall has
explored in over two decades of teaching at Clemson.
Coggeshalls thirst for answers has led him to study the
culture of German-Americans in the Ozarks and to write a book
on Southern culture in the Upstate of South Carolina, entitled
Carolina Piedmont Country. He has also done research for the
Department of National Resources regarding the Liberian
community in the former Jocassee Valley.
Many people were displaced by the ooding of
Jocassee Valley, and my work examined the cultural
interpretation of land from those who lived in this
mountainous area, says Coggeshall. I looked at how and
why land is important to these people and what it means to
be forced to give up their land.
A few years ago, Coggeshall was driving around
the former Jocassee Valley area as part of his project on
mountain cultures and happened upon Soapstone Church
in Liberia. After befriending Mable Owens Clarke, who
is the last living descendant of the original Soapstone
families, Coggeshall worked with Clark to document the
history of the Soapstone Church family.
Coggeshall partnered with fellow Clemson
anthropology professors Melissa Vogel, Ph.D., and
Katherine Weisensee, Ph.D., to survey and map the
slave cemetery at Soapstone Church in northern Pickens
County, which was in disrepair after decades of neglect.
Members of the student Clemson Anthropology Club
joined the Clemson faculty to rake, measure, identify and
map gravestones near the rst black church and the rst
black school in the Upstate.
The Liberia cultural project at the Soapstone Church
still holds great promise. Coggeshall is currently working
with other Clemson faculty on developing a Creative
Inquiry course that would focus on creating a documentary
lm on the historic Liberian church.
The Soapstone Church documentary lm project
is an exciting opportunity for students to gain experience
making a documentary and wrestling with the cultural
challenges with regards to lmmaking, says Coggeshall.
For example, who speaks for the people you are
documenting? Is it a narrative voice or is it the people
themselves who get to share their own culture?
While continuing a long-term goal of getting the
Soapstone site registered as a historic landmark, Coggeshall
has also been working on a new book that examines
folk life in the South and how traditional folklore and
traditional regional identity inuence the way that regional
groups dene themselves.
During Coggeshalls 26 years at Clemson, the
anthropology department has grown from one professor
to six professors, and in fall 2013, the department began
offering a major in anthropology.
The major was a dream of mine when I rst got
here, a long-term goal, recalls Coggeshall. As I worked to
increase anthropologys prole on campus, I continually
Clemson Majors
kept this idea in the back of my mind believing that
whatever I was doing would lead to this ultimate goal.
Coggeshall regularly teaches honors courses at
Clemson. Awarded the Thomas Green Clemson Award
in 2002 for his dedicated service and contribution to the
academic life at Clemson, he would tell you that his greatest
accomplishment was the opportunity to work with so many
students over the years.
It has been very gratifying over the years to see many
great students come through Clemson. I always wanted
every student to have an eye-opening experience, says
Coggeshall. If you go into the eld of anthropology or
whatever you do with the rest of your life, you dont see the
world the same way after having an anthropology class.
Mike Coggeshall worked with the Anthropology Club when the group decided to
adopt a primate at the Greenville Zoo.
30 31
Support Honors Student
Learning and Development!
Gifts to the Calhoun Honors College
Foundation account ensure that Clemsons
Honors College will continue to offer a wide
range of enrichment opportunities, including
the following:
Educational Enrichment Grants for research,
service and internships around the world
Departmental Honors Research and
Conference Travel Funds, which provide
equipment, supplies and professional
travel opportunities for advanced
students
Honors Center programs, workshops and
mentoring hosted in Holmes Hall
You may make a secure gift online
at cualumni.clemson.edu/give/
calhounhonorscollege.
Donations made to the Clemson University
Foundation for the Calhoun Honors College are
tax deductible. Gifts of $100 or more qualify
you for membership in a Clemson Fund annual
gift club.
D
uncan Pfaehler knew he was interested in
agriculture and teaching, so Clemson was an ideal
choice for his college career. What the spring 2014
graduate did not realize was how much his career choices
would be shaped by the Honors College and his out-of-
class activities. Honors opportunities helped him nd and
focus on his interests.
One of the most exciting things about being in
the Honors College at Clemson is being able to pursue
enrichment assignments for courses in order to receive
honors credit, Pfaehler explains. My Instructional
Methods class allowed me to develop an educational
unit on international agriculture. I hadnt explored the
subject in too much depth before the project, and I
learned a great deal about global trends in agriculture,
as well as how to adequately implement the subject in a
future agriculture classroom. It also enabled me to further
solidify my opinions on globalization, food policies and the
state of agriculture in the
world today.
Adding to Pfaehlers
international agriculture
perspective was a year
of study abroad in New
Zealand. The time he spent
outside the U.S. was a
pleasant surprise.
When people ask me
about my study abroad, one
of the rst things I tell them
is that it fundamentally
changed my perspective of
the world and humanity.
The next thing I say is that
it was the best time of my
life so far.
Pfaehler was able to use
the trip in the truest since
of the phrase study abroad
by continuing to develop his
knowledge in his major and
explore a different country
and culture.
STUDY AND EXPERIENCES
YIELD ABUNDANT HARVEST
Studying in New Zealand gave me a surprising
amount of practical hands-on experience. I was responsible
for germinating, maintaining and harvesting a variety of
truss tomatoes in my Production Horticulture course. I
learned about the big export markets of New Zealand,
including their world-famous wines and of course the
kiwi fruit industry. I got to get down and dirty with
earthworms in my Soil Properties and Processes course,
and I completed a massive soil analysis report while there. I
also spent two weeks helping a small heritage rose nursery
in Otaki, New Zealand, as a part of the Help Exchange
organization.
Pfaehler points out that while helping him hone his
skills, the study-abroad program also strengthened his
resolve to travel and to use his expertise to help others.
New Zealand opened my eyes to the enormity of the
world and all the incredible things a single human being
can experience on this Earth. Now I have several big trips
in the works because I was so inspired by my travels to
New Zealand. I was student teaching my last semester at
Clemson, and I hope to be accepted into AgriCorps, which
is a nonprot organization that takes recent graduates
abroad to teach local students agricultural techniques and
develop youth leadership programs. If I am accepted as an
intern, I would get to spend a year in a rural African village
in Liberia teaching students about agriculture and skills to
help them become successful leaders in their communities.
This way I would be able to pursue my goals of traveling
and teaching agriculture at the same time.
Along with a rewarding future ahead and a
determination to make a difference, Pfaehler can look back
on his years as a Clemson honors student with fondness
and appreciation for all he learned in and out of the
classroom.
I think the big fundamental epiphany I had was that
anywhere you go on this entire planet, people are pretty
similar, Pfaehler says. Not similar in their looks, or
possessions, or daily routines, but in their essence. People
at their fundamental essence are, in my experience, kind
and willing to help. Ill forever be grateful for my Clemson
experience, for this wonderful place and for all the
wonderful people Ive met here.
Leadership Clemson Honors Students
32
Visit Clemson
To schedule a campus tour, contact
the Class of 1944 Visitors Center at
clemson.edu/visitors.
Visit Honors
The Calhoun Honors College coordinates
meetings with prospective students through
the Honors Ambassador program. For
information on scheduling a visit, go to
clemson.edu/cuhonors.
Apply to Honors
Before completing the online Calhoun
Honors College application, applicants must
rst submit the online Clemson University
Undergraduate Admissions application.
All Calhoun Honors College application
materials MUST be submitted using our
Web-based application system. Full details,
including deadlines for both priority and
non-priority admissions notication, can be
found at clemson.edu/cuhonors.
Contact Us!
105 Tillman Hall
Box 345106
Telephone: 864-656-4762
Email: cuhonors-l@clemson.edu
Wesite: clemson.edu/cuhonors
105 Tillman Hall
Box 345106
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Organization
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Volume III, Number 1

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