By Shelia Watson

The mention of “composites manufacturing” might evoke an image of large sections of steel coming together to form even bigger pieces of equipment.

But at the Composites Manufacturing Technology Center, managed by the South Carolina Research Authority’s Applied Research and Development Institute, the advanced technology composites are more often small components—microscopic, in fact.

The technology center’s facility, established following the receipt of a competitive award to manage one of the Office of Naval Research’s Centers of Excellence, works on improving manufacturing processes and facilitating technology transfer to provide solutions for the U.S. Department of Defense and, eventually, get the research to market.

One focus of the center is nanomaterial research and development and the introduction of the nanotechnology knowledge base into various applications.

Bill Mahoney, SCRA’s CEO, said the nanotechnology, to be such tiny material, has the potential to make a huge impact.

For instance, Selah Technologies, in which SCRA’s SC Launch! program recently invested $200,000, works with nanomaterials like that being researched in the technology center’s program.

“We found this company especially promising because it’s working with carbon nanodots, which are tiny, tiny particles,” Mahoney said. “They’re taking those carbon nanodots to market for a variety of applications. And this is the beauty of composite manufacturing—that you can take pieces and parts and put them with other things to make something even greater.”

In the case of the nanodots, Mahoney said one of the applications of that material is in cancer treatment.

“One of the challenges for cancer doctors is identifying where healthy cells leave off and cancerous cells start. The nanodots are used in certain treatments, but they’re usually made out of lead, which means they’re toxic in the body. But the carbon nanodots that Selah makes can be processed in the body, so this is a huge breakthrough.”

Putting money from the SC Launch! program into Selah allows that technology to get into the commercial market that much faster. At the same time, Mahoney said, the nanotechnology research has applications for DOD clients, which means more government funding could come into the CMTC program to benefit the state’s economy.

“The Navy research is of course helping the Navy in creating better systems, better processes and better materials for the Department of Defense,” he said. “But it’s also improving the economic development in the state. There’s no question the state has an opportunity to become a nationwide—and worldwide—leader in advanced materials because of the work being done at this center.

“It’s a nice economic development cycle that’s going on here. And there are numerous cases like this as examples.”

The ARDI facility is located in the Clemson Advanced Materials Research Laboratory building at the Clemson Research Park, and the Composites Consortium is chaired by the SCRA division in Charleston, but Mahoney called the work a “full statewide endeavor.”

“There are a lot of people throughout the state contributing to composites work,” he said. “It’s truly a collaborative effort.”

Mahoney said the SCRA, which is currently about midway through a five-year, $150-million contract with the Navy’s Center of Excellence, is engaged in “strategic discussions with the Navy and with Clemson about broadening the basis of our relationship.”

“This work involves more than 35 organizations ranging from industry heavy-hitters such as Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics to a number of universities, the foremost being Clemson with its fiber technology research. Clemson has five national centers for materials research, some funded by the National Science Foundation and some by the Department of Defense,” he said.

“They have some of the best scientists, materials and research, and a lot of what’s coming out of there we’re able to commercialize with our partners, both military and private. We’re hoping to maximize the flow of federal dollars into Clemson and see how SCRA through ARDI can broaden its work, primarily in the classified area.”