By C. Grant Jackson

Built around a theme of collaboration, communication and cooperation, the University of South Carolina and Verizon Wireless have launched an Innovation Experience Hub at USC for research into applying Verizon 5-G Ultra-Wideband internet technology to a wide range of business and industry uses.

The Innovation Experience Hub, located in the university’s McNair Center on Catawba Street across from the engineering school, is one of five Verizon 5G Innovation Hubs where Verizon partners with enterprises, startups, universities, national labs, and government/military organizations to explore how 5G can transform business and industry.

Hubs are also located at Wichita State University, Arizona State University, Emory University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Verizon 5G Ultra-Wideband offers massive capacity, super-fast speeds and low latency, or the time it takes date to be transferred from its source to the destination, allowing for more efficient transfer of information, including large data sets needed to power advanced applications.

The partnership was announced Friday, Sep. 16, 2022, at an event attended by university officials, Verizon executives, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, and other corporate partners, including IBM, Siemens and Yaskawa Motoman.

McMaster praised the Innovation Hub as one more example of how research partnerships are elevating the state’s economy.

“South Carolina’s economic success has been built by our talented entrepreneurs and innovators, making one of our state’s premier research universities the ideal partner for Verizon on this project,” McMaster said.

“Combine this with the expertise of our university researchers and the power of private sector innovation, and we can achieve great things for businesses large and small across South Carolina.”

The partnership with Verizon continues the efforts of USC’s Office of Economic Engagement to bring to the university a range of corporate partners including IBM, Siemens, Yaskawa Motoman Robotics and Nephron.

Since its founding in 2013, the OEE has created more than $790 million in economic impact, according to the university.

“Our relationship with Verizon exemplifies the benefits of partnerships between the University of South Carolina and the business community,” said USC President Michael Amiridis. “This aligns with our focus on expanding research opportunities that solve problems and accelerate discoveries.”

Projects developed in the Innovation Hub are expected to include business solutions for a range of industries critical to South Carolina’s economy. The initial areas of focus include manufacturing, health care, and civil infrastructure.

For manufacturing, Verizon said innovators at the hub will be able to leverage 5G connectivity and solutions to help improve manufacturing processes “with quality sensing and defect detection.”

In health care, 5G “can enhance emergency response by enabling remote health monitoring and real-time analysis of patient vitals, as well as hospital connected asset management, to streamline asset retrieval and dispatch operations.”

As for civil infrastructure, “researchers will examine how 5G communications can enhance monitoring of roads and bridges with condition analytics and reporting, as well as drone-based visual inspection of roads, bridges and buildings, using AI-driven computer vision."

Officials of Verizon and IBM showed those assembled for the event a video of a drone, in real time, inspecting the Blossom Street bridge.

“Working with the University of South Carolina, we have a great opportunity to collaborate with dozens of partners to ideate on and develop new 5G-powered solutions leveraging the latest technologies, including large-scale IoT, artificial intelligence, computer vision and augmented reality,” said Jennifer Artley, Verizon Business senior vice president of 5G Acceleration.

“Giving researchers access to Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband, with its high bandwidth and low latency, can accelerate the innovation process, leading to new solutions that will transform how enterprises operate and grow,” Artley said.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) said its president and chief executive officer, Leon J. Topalian, has assumed the additional role of chair of the board of directors and that board member, Christopher J. Kearney, has been appointed lead director of the board. 

John H. Walker, a member of the board since 2008 and most recently its non-executive chairman, will continue to serve as a board member.

Topalian has been president and chief executive officer of Nucor and a member of its board of directors since 2020. 

Previously, he held various leadership positions at Nucor, including president and chief operating officer in 2019, executive vice president from 2017 to 2019, and vice president from 2013 to 2017.

Having joined Nucor in 1996, Topalian also has been general manager at two of Nucor's facilities, in Arkansas and Illinois, as well as melting and casting manager, an operations manager, a cold mill production supervisor and a project manager.

Kearney, who was unanimously chosen by the independent directors of Nucor's board to serve as lead director, has been an integral member of the board since he joined in 2008.

Kearney founded Eagle Marsh Holdings, LLC in 2016 and has served as its managing partner since inception. He also serves as a director of Otis Worldwide Corporation (having previously served as executive chairman of the Otis board of directors from 2020 to 2022) and served as a director of UTC from 2018 to 2020, prior to the spin-off of Otis from UTC.

Kearney has served in various positions at SPX FLOW, Inc. (a spin-off of SPX Corporation) from 2015 to 2017 (including as non-executive chairman of its board of directors and as chairman, president and chief executive officer) and SPX Corporation from 1997 to 2015 (including as its chairman, president and chief executive officer, vice president, secretary and general counsel and as a member of the board).

Kearney was also director of Polypore International, Inc. from 2012 to 2015.

Nucor and its affiliates are manufacturers of steel and steel products, with operating facilities in the United States, including South Carolina, Canada and Mexico. 

The Kessler Collection celebrated the opening of its second property in South Carolina, the Grand Bohemian Lodge Greenville.

Adding to its portfolio of artistically inspired boutique hotels, the newest hotel offering is a boutique modern lodge overlooking the waterfalls and Falls Park on the Reedy River.

"After years of planning, we're proud to see our vision of natural beauty and tranquil ambiance come to life in downtown Greenville," said Richard C. Kessler, chairman and CEO of The Kessler Collection.

The ribbon cutting ceremony included traditional Native American drum and double flute instrumental sounds, as well as speeches from The Kessler Collection executives, Mayor Knox White, Ken Johnson, regional president for AECOM/Hunt Construction and Christian Sottile of Sottile & Sottile. 

The seven-story property features signature Bohemian interiors designed to reflect the natural beauty of the area.

The lodge offers 187 suites and guestrooms, gathering areas, Kessler's signature Poseidon Spa, $2 million worth of curated artwork, including a Grand Bohemian Art Gallery and upscale dining.

Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes and celebrates the contributions Americans tracing their roots to Spain, Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean have made to U.S. society and culture.

The observance was born in 1968, when Congress authorized the president to issue an annual proclamation designating National Hispanic Heritage Week.

Two decades later, lawmakers expanded it to a monthlong celebration, stretching from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

Hispanic Heritage Month always starts on Sept. 15, a historically significant day that marks the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

The designated period is also a nod to those from Mexico and Chile, which celebrate their independence Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau: 

Over half of Hispanics in the U.S. live in California, Texas, or Florida.

In 2020, the Hispanic population made up the largest racial or ethnic group in New Mexico (47.7 percent) and California (39.4 percent).

In 2019, approximately 6 percent or 347,000 businesses in the U.S. were Hispanic-owned.