By Clinton Colmenares
Clemson University

news@thepccourier.com

CLEMSON — When the second-ranked Clemson Tigers took on third-ranked The Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday, players from both teams left it all on the field in a contest for the chance to play in college football’s national championship game on Monday.

But the gridiron history between the teams (3-0, Clemson) is sometimes overshadowed by their collaborations in research. Just as athletes seek equally-matched, or superior, opponents, researchers seek collaborators who compliment and challenge their work.

One example is a multi-million dollar education project aimed at helping children who have difficulty learning how to read. Education researchers in Clemson’s Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Training Center works with Ohio State colleagues to train teachers who work with struggling readers. Their efforts could dramatically reduce the number of first-graders in each state who have trouble reading and writing.

Clemson education researcher Celeste Bates works with colleagues at Ohio State to help first graders learn to read.

“The intercollegiate relationship helps us understand how our work plays out in different states,” says Celeste Bates, associate professor of literacy education and director of the Reading Recovery center at Clemson. “We can study how children read and write in South Carolina, but because of state policies and mandates, it plays out differently from state to state.”

Earlier this year, Coach Dabo Swinney’s All In Foundation donated $10,000 to Clemson’s Reading Recovery center to provide 10 books each to 300 first graders who participated in the reading intervention program in South Carolina’s Upstate.

“Coach Swinney is committed to academics and the education of his players,” Bates says. “For our children who look up to the Clemson Tigers, that’s a good feeling to know that the coach has invested in the children of South Carolina as well as his own school.”

Another project takes place in the biological sciences realm. Jim Morris, professor of genetics and biochemistry and a researcher at Clemson’s Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center, collaborates with two Ohio State researchers on grants from the National Institutes of Health.

“The older is with Mark Drew that has involved working with Mark’s team and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the NIH to find small molecule inhibitors of an important protein from the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. We have recently published the first (and smaller) leg of the work,” Morris says.

The second project, recently funded by the NIH, pairs Morris with Karl Werbovetz, the chair of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy at Ohio State, and other collaborators from Brigham Young University, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Kansas.

With the grant, researchers will evaluate around 25,000 different molecules that may be able to starve parasites of their only source of energy: sugar.

Clemson’s James Morris works on infectious diseases research with colleagues at Ohio State.

If successful, the work could lead to the development of oral treatments for African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and Baghdad boil, an infection that has afflicted U.S. troops in the Middle East. Read more about that project here.

Bates, a big college football fan, says her close collaboration with Buckeyes leads her to cheer for Ohio State, unless they’re playing Clemson.

UPSTATE — SC Works and Tri-County Technical College’s Corporate and Community Education Division (CCE) are reaching out to unemployed and underemployed individuals by hosting a job fair this week.

The event will be held for Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties residents Friday, Jan. 6, from 9 a.m.-noon at the Industrial and Business Development Center located on the Pendleton Campus.

Participants will be given the opportunity to meet and interview with area employers that have job openings – in a wide range of businesses including manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, retail and services.

In addition, Tri-County is spotlighting the short-term training options in the fields of healthcare, business, industrial/manufacturing, highway construction and truck driving. Attendees can meet the instructors and program managers, see some of the course offerings on displa, and get information about available funding for instruction in these QuickJobs training programs. Rick Cothran, dean of Tri-County’s CCE Division said, “It’s a great opportunity for individuals to begin working on their New Year’s resolutions to find great local employment or to start training for a new career through CCE classes or QuickJobs training programs.”

There are opportunities for scholarships that will be spotlighted at the TCTC/CCE booth.

According to Cothran, this Job Fair is about connecting participants with potential employers. In addition, with new technology increasing the demand for higher entry-level skills, the event will help connect participants to the CCE short-term training certificate programs endorsed by area employers. They also can discuss further opportunities in an associate degree program.

Large and small area employers with immediate job openings and workforce resources such as SC Works, Palmetto Youth, Vocational Rehab and more will attend this event.

For more information, call (864) 646-1700.

CLEMSON — The Clemson University Wood Utilization and Design Institute continues to add to its cadre of founding partners and has received a $50,000 boost to help support the advancement of the South Carolina wood industry.

The gift comes from the Weyerhaeuser Company. The money will be used to help fund the institute, which brings together foresters, architects, engineers, constructors and building industry stakeholders to design advances in wood-based products through education and training, product research and development, as well as development of technical and design solutions.

“This gift will be used to support our institute as we go forward,” said Pat Layton, director of the Wood Utilization and Design Institute. A Weyerhaeuser representative will serve on the institute’s advisory board and will work with other board members to shape the direction of the institute.”

Graham Marsh, area manager for Weyerhaeuser-S.C. Lowcountry, said company officials are excited about working with the Clemson team.

“Weyerhaeuser is delighted to be a founding partner of the Wood Utilization and Design Institute at Clemson University,” Marsh said. “The talented team at Clemson is leading the way to find new and innovative uses of sustainable forest products. Clemson’s work complements our vision to provide great sustainable products that improve lives in fundamental ways.”

Clemson University’s Wood Utilization and Design Institute (WU+D) is a multidisciplinary entity that was established in 2013 to educate, conduct research and provide continuing education of stakeholders across the wood industry. Researchers with the institute currently are testing cross laminated timber (CLT) to determine burn rates, wind resistance and structural load.

The institute recently achieved national attention when a team of Clemson faculty and students competed with universities from across the nation in the 2015 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon in Irvine, California. The Clemson team won second place for architecture and communications and sixth place overall.

PICKENS — The Pickens YMCA will open registration for the Bethlehem Ridge Soccer Club’s spring recreational soccer season from Jan. 1 through Feb. 10.

The program is open to kids ages 4-15. The season will begin the week of Feb. 20 and end on April 29. All games and practices will be held at the Pickens YMCA.

Registration can be completed at the Easley, Pickens or Powdersville YMCA branches, as well as online at pcymca.net. Sponsorships and volunteer coaching opportunities are also available. Contact the YMCA at (864) 878-8380 or email Clarissa Suttle at clarissa@pcymca.net for more information.

YMCA officials believe children need to be a part of something bigger than themselves to help strengthen values, sportsmanship, leadership skills and the importance of relationship building and diversity. The YMCA soccer program allows children to actively develop individually through healthy competition in a positive and encouraging environment.

COUNTY — Region I-4A recently announced its 2016 all-region high school football team.

Players from both Daniel and Pickens were selected.

Pickens’ Cole Seaborn was selected as a linebacker.

Daniel had nine players chosen. On offense, Billy Bruce was picked at running back, while Daymon Greene was a selection at guard. Both Kahare Teasley and Donovan Morris were selected at offensive tackle, and Nick Muchow was picked as the team’s punter and kicker.

On defense, three players were chosen for the defensive line, including Miles “Boogie” Turmon, Kahlil Anderson and Palmer Story. Jake Venables was picked as a linebacker, and Malik Watt was selected at defensive back.

All-region selections are voted on by region coaches.

CENTRAL — Lost a loved one? Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home is sponsoring another Grief Support Group beginning Monday, Jan. 9, at 6 p.m.

The group will meet for eight Mondays at the funeral home. Issues to be discussed include: Understanding Your Grief, Exploring Your Feelings of Loss, How to Nurture Yourself and Dealing With New Life.

The group leader is Dr. Roger Lovette. There is no charge.

Interested? Call the funeral home at (864) 639-2411 or email linda@rolbinsonfuneralhomes.com.