Clemson senior works on alternative energy

Robert J. Gilliard Jr. is going back to Clemson University for his senior year armed with knowledge about how to attack the energy crisis.

The chemistry major studied this summer at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland on a fellowship provided by the Petroleum Research Division of the American Chemical Society.

He worked with professor Dr. John D. Protasiewicz making catalysts for developing efficient ways to make simple hydrocarbons into sources that can be used for fuel.

“Our efforts have been focused on iridium pincer complexes,” Gilliard said. “They have proved to be promising for transforming inexpensive hydrocarbons into more useful products suitable for transporting fuel through alkane dehydrogenation.”

Gilliard said this method has become popular in the last decade under research teams led by experts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The State University of New Jersey and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

“This summer, I synthesized novel iridium pincer complexes that will soon be examined for effective catalytic activity,” Gilliard said. “Hopefully, these materials will solve some of the problems that other research teams have experienced, such as selectivity and the severity of the conditions that these reactions require to occur. Soon these materials will be published.”

Gilliard received 13 scholarships to attend Clemson, where he is working with professor Rhett C. Smith.

“Dr. Smith is my research professor and an organic chemistry professor,” Gilliard said. “He is a chemical mastermind that I met three years ago. In the Smith Group, we work on solar energy materials and biosensors and their respective applications.”

Gilliard received the Merck Index and the American Chemical Society awards this spring.

The former is for school work and research combined, while the latter is from Clemson’s Department of Chemistry for outstanding undergraduate work. He also was inducted into the National Scholars Honors Society.

And when he graduates from Clemson en route to graduate school, Gilliard will have written five scholarly articles for publication in chemical journals.

Gilliard plans to study organic chemistry in graduate school. Among the institutions he’s considering are the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Alabama, University of Georgia and University of South Carolina.

Gilliard said he became interested in chemistry while attending Hartsville High School. He credits chemistry teacher Charlotte Godwin for this interest.

But chemistry isn’t Gilliard’s only forte. He plays the saxophone and piano and lifts weights.

He was ranked among the top ping-pong players in the state while attending Hartsville High. He also played football, basketball, ran track and was the senior class president.

“All the credit for my success should go to my parents, Linda and the late Robert Gilliard Sr.,” he said. “My mom works at Sonoco and so did my dad.”

Gilliard also is a member of Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church.