The South’s fast rise as a leader in the building of electric vehicles and the batteries to power them is helping drive Clemson University’s decision to form a new school that brings together its mechanical and automotive engineers, according to a news release from the school.
The new School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering puts the departments of mechanical engineering and automotive engineering under one umbrella, better positioning Clemson for innovation and education in a number of areas, including mobility, energy and advanced manufacturing, all cornerstones of the South Carolina economy, the news release stated.
The founding director of the new school is Zoran Filipi. He was chair of the Department of Automotive Engineering for nearly seven years before vacating his seat to become founding director of the Virtual Prototyping of Ground Systems (VIPR-GS) Center, a position he still holds, the release stated.
Filipi will be the top administrator in a strategically important school, with most mechanical engineers located primarily on the main campus in Clemson and most automotive engineers at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) in Greenville, according to the release.
The school, first approved by the Board of Trustees in October 2021, is home to 66 faculty members and has the largest enrollment in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, with about 780 undergraduates and 400 graduate students.
mechanical and automotive engineering at Clemson are entering a new era.
“The School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering will continue to position Clemson University as a national leader in academics and research as well as strengthen key industry partnerships,” Clemson University President Jim Clements said in the release. “The workforce of the future is rapidly changing. Opportunities for students to engage in experiential learning and interdisciplinary research, along with faculty and industry’s need for