Optical Materials Center of Economic Excellence

Inception:
2004

About the CoEE:

This CoEE, part of Clemson University’s Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET), will focus on the design, fabrication, and testing of optical fibers for use in (a) directed energy systems critical to federal defense efforts, (b) communication systems for automobiles and information technologies, and (c) light-based biomedical therapies. The Optical Materials CoEE Chair will lead research in organic and inorganic materials for optical fiber and related photonic technologies.

Two consortia have been created to advance the development of new optical materials, devices and components in support of the existing photonics industry as well as the creation of new ventures in the Carolinas. The Carolina MicroOptics Triangle (CMOT) is a regional optics cluster among Clemson, UNC Charlotte, and Western Carolina University. CMOT added industrial affiliates in 2007 and is recognized as one of only four university photonics clusters in the nation. In 2008, Clemson partnered with Duke University and NC State University to establish the Carolinas Photonics Consortium.

The CoEE has launched two start-up companies: Advanced Photonic Crystals and
Tetramer Technologies. In April 2009, Gulf Fiber Optics relocated a subsidiary division, its research unit, and four employee positions to Anderson in order to be near this CoEE’s work. In FY2009, research partnerships were also formed with defense contractors Raytheon and Northrop Grunman. To date, the CoEE has received more than $8.7 million in federal and industrial research grants.

This CoEE has received major funding from the J.E. Sirrine Textile Foundation.

COMSET provides a centralized infrastructure for faculty collaborating to develop advanced materials that exhibit a value-added interaction with light. COMSET operates the premier academic optical fiber fabrication laboratory in the United States. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense’s High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office awarded Clemson a $2.7 million research grant.

Funding level:
$5 million

CoEE Endowed Chair:

Nobel laureate Charles Townes (left) with Clemson’s Vice President for Research and Economic Development, Chris Przirembel (right), at the dedication of the Charles H. Townes optical science laboratories, affiliated with Clemson’s Optical Materials CoEE.