Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR)—Automotive Design and Development

Inception:
2004

About the Center:

CU-ICAR is a worldwide automotive/motor sports research and development campus where university, industry, and government organizations can engage in synergistic collaboration. It is strategically located in Greenville, S.C. on the Interstate 85 corridor and in the rapidly growing Southeastern automotive and motorsports region. At CU-ICAR, Clemson University offers the nation’s first Ph.D. in automotive engineering.

This CoEE researches and advances the fields of vehicular design and development,
methodologies, and design tools. Timken CoEE Endowed Chair Dr. John Ziegert and his team design automotive instruments and machines used in high-precision measurement and manufacturing. They also develop friction management and power transmission solutions that will improve manufacturing processes for a variety of industry sectors.

Non-state funding has been secured with the Timken Company, which provides automotive industry products and solutions based on friction management and power transmission.

In September 2006, Timken opened its Greenville Technology Center on the CU-ICAR campus, which houses 200 employees and Timken’s product development activities for automotive applications and its worldwide corporate center of excellence for dimensional and surface metrology and manufacturing process development. This CoEE also researches chassis fabrication for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and X-5 assembly issues for BMW. 

This CoEE has received over $650,000 in grant funding from federal and private sources.

State funding:
$5 million

CoEE Endowed Chair :

More information can be found at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research.

Clemson endowed chair Tom Kurfess uses
CU-ICAR’s seven-post shaker test cell for a teachable moment with students in Clemson’s automotive engineering graduate program, whose faculty come from four CoEEs, in manufacturing, automotive design & development, electronic systems integration, and automotive systems integration.