Christian E.G. Przirembel vice president for research at Clemson University, has announced his plans to retire in April after 28 years with the school.
The university says they will conduct a national search for a successor.
Clemson University President Jim Barker wrote, "without Chris, there would probably be no CU-ICAR, no Advanced Materials Research Lab and very few Centers of Economic Excellence endowed chairs."
Przirembel came to Clemson in 1981 as head of the department of mechanical engineering. The department added 17 new faculty members, added a new engineering building that consolidated departmental activities from eight different facilities and saw a seven-fold increase in both research funding and graduate enrollment during his tenure.
Przirembel arrived in the United States as a war refugee from Germany in 1953, knowing no English and nothing about engineering.
"For me, education has been the key to unlocking the very best that this country has to offer," he said in a written statement. "I believe it can be the key for many others as well. My parents often reminded me that nothing could take away your education - not even a world war."
The Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) is an advanced-technology research campus located in Greenville County.
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