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Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive

Research will be a 400-acre automotive and motorsports
research campus in Upstate South Carolina. The center promises
to make the Southeast a focal point of the nation’s multibillion-
dollar automotive and motorsports industries.
The research campus, which began as a collaboration between
Clemson University, BMW Manufacturing Corp. and the state of
South Carolina, will be anchored by Clemson’s new Carroll A.
Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center. The center will serve
the state’s existing automotive industries and help attract new ones
by bringing together a graduate program specializing in systems Clemson’s new research center has
integration with commercially viable automotive and motorsports an ideal location.
R&D, testing laboratories and other support facilities. The new More than 1,000 automotive assemblers and suppliers
campus will significantly expand Clemson’s motorsports research reside within a 500-mile radius of the campus — more
than in the Detroit area. In addition, 200 automotive
capabilities. companies and 115 automotive suppliers are located
The research campus will be located on I-85 between Charlotte, in South Carolina.
N.C., and Atlanta, Ga., in the center of the U.S. motorsports corridor.

Set
Automotive engineering is increasingly driving South Carolina’s economic future. BMW and Upstate South Carolina automotive suppliers
have invested more than $3 billion and have created more than 7,000 jobs since 1994, making the Upstate one of the fastest growing areas for
Tier I, II and III automotive suppliers.
The Upstate location also has one of the highest concentrations of European companies such as BMW and Michelin Tire Company. This
has expanded Clemson University’s motorsports interest beyond the U.S. racing series to include international racing and associations
such as the Motorsports Industry Association of the United Kingdom.
Motorsports is one of the fastest-growing and economically sound industries in the nation. The
motorsports industry and related automotive and cycle industries demand highly skilled employees.
Innovative ways of doing business in this extremely competitive environment demand sophisticated
and technically trained personnel. Clemson University is helping meet these demands.

Clemson
Through partnerships with industry, the University’s Brooks Institute for Sports Science and
Clemson’s newly proposed Center for Motorsports Excellence, Clemson will deliver significant results
Clemson University has one to the motorsports industry through the use of applied research in engineering, marketing,
of the foremost motorsports management and communications.
research programs in the The Brooks Institute for Sports Science is headed by R. Don Rice, who has more than 24 years of
United States. experience in managing sports organizations and developing sports teams, including NASCAR and
Indy Car race teams. The proposed Center for Motorsports Excellence will give the motorsports world
a source of all types of research and development. By combining the technologies of associated universities with Clemson University’s capabilities,
the center will be able to respond quickly to any automotive and motorsports industry research need.
Clemson’s research already benefits racing teams and racing series such as USAR, NASCAR, NHRA and American Le Mans, as well as
automotive industry partners such as Ford, GM, Chrysler, Honda, BMW, Michelin and Rockwell Automation.
 Green Light to
Automotive Research
Clemson University, BMW Manufacturing Corp. and the state of
South Carolina formed the center to meet the academic and research
needs of BMW, its suppliers and the state’s growing automotive
industry.
Systems integration is a critical challenge for the automotive
industry, as car components become increasingly intertwined and
complex. Through the engineering education center and related
research labs, Clemson faculty and students will find efficient,
effective ways to integrate the scores of different systems in
automotive development and manufacturing.
The program will offer master’s and doctoral degrees in
automotive engineering. Graduates will be prepared to meet the
engineering and management challenges of designing, building and
operating a highly complex automobile.
Construction will begin in 2004 on the $25 million graduate
engineering center. An additional $30 million from the state Research
Centers of Economic Excellence program and matching industry
awards will secure three endowed chairs and six additional faculty
members.
The center director is expected to be on board by 2004. An
international search has begun, seeking top applicants from industry
and academics.
Clemson Motorsports R&D
The center, set to open in 2005, will build on
existing strengths at Clemson, where
researchers already collaborate with some of
the world’s top automotive companies and
motorsports industry.
Current Clemson projects include
• Development of complex computer
models for predicting vehicle handling
• Studies into cell phone safety on the road
• Breakthroughs in fuel efficiency, thanks to
development of lighter-weight materials
and advances in continuously variable
transmissions
Plans for Clemson’s research campus include
• Automotive electronics systems lab
• Crash-worthiness lab

• Fuels lab with an emphasis in

hydrogen-based research
Corporate Partners
BMW Manufacturing of South Carolina will occupy an
• Full-scale wind tunnel
Information Technology Research Center adjacent to
Clemson’s graduate school. The $15 million center will
support research that focuses on improving automotive
software systems and software/hardware compatibility for BMW
products.
For more information, contact
IBM has committed $1.1 million to Clemson’s R. Don Rice, Director
automotive research initiative, including Clemson University
$750,000 worth of software and the assignment Brooks Institute for Sports Science
of an IBM executive to work with Clemson faculty and students. 242 Fluor Daniel Building
Microsoft Corp. has also pledged its support. Box 340924
Clemson, SC 29634-0924
Phone: (864) 656-6337
Email: donrice@clemson.edu

www.clemson.edu/autoresearch