Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Device May Aid Car Safety USC Res State Inc Total personal income in South Carolina rose to $10,200 million at seasonally adjusted annual rates in the second quarter of 1973, ac cording to USC's Bureau of Business and Fennomic Research. This record high, according to Bureau Director Olin S. Pugh, reflects a gain of approximately $400 million, or four percent, over the first quarter total of $9,806 million. Drawing on data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Dr. Pugh notes that South Carolina's four percent increase in total in come ranked eighth among all states and was nearly double the 2.3 percent rate df expansion in the country as a whole. About half of the increase in the state's personal income, he said, represents a rise in real income or purchasing power, with the other half reflecting continued inflation or price increases. South Carolina's income gain stemmed from increases in most areas of the state's economy -with more than half of the gain, $220 million, coming from increases in wages and salaries paid out by the' state's large manufacturing in dustry. The manufacturing industry, accounting for one fourth of all personal income in South Carolina, experienced a nine- percent rise in its payrolls, three times the comparable national rate of in crease. This gain, Pugh said, was spread among both durable and nondurable goods manufacturing. Farm income, he added, rose w3a percent from the first to The University of South Carolina has been issued a patent for a shock load dispenser -which potentially could increase auto safety. The device was invented by former USC Prof: *Ngm Suh, currently on the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute - of Technology. It is the first patent owned by USC. Prof. Suh has perfected a shock load dispenser, or a kind of shock absorber which involves a new principle in dispersing load through torque distributed through a mathematicall desi ned helix earch: :ome Up second quarter of 1973, compared with a national rate of gain of less than one percent. Farm income in the state totaled nearly $375 million at seasonally adjusted annual rates in the second quarter of 1973. This total which represents farm gross receipts less production expenses, is now about double its 1970 volume and nearly three times its first quarter 1971 recent period low. Income from other major sources, acording to Pugh, generally rose at rates well above the national average with one major exception found in govern ment payrolls. Government in come declined from $1,814 seasonally adjustea annual rate in the first quarter of 1973 to $1,782 in the second quarter. While this decline was less than 2 per cent, the fact that government is second largest income source in the state gives it an important role in' determining the rate of change in total income. Pugh also noted that unem ployment insurance benefits paid to residents of South Carolina in the second quarter were 6.5 per cent less than In the first quarter. This is the sole major income component, he said, in which a decline generally follows an economic improvement The USC professor also revealed that personal income in North Carolina was up 6.2 percent in the second quarter of 1973 to the record total of 21.5 billion, a rate of in crease fourth largest in the country. Georgia's relative Income gain of 2.9 percent ranked 17th among the state's and carried Georgia's Income total to an all time high of $19.5 billion. or spiral. While the helix looks like a spring, it does not act like one in that the coils do nof toub. Dr. A. Riley Macon, assistant vice-provost for research at USC, says of the invention, "We feel that the potential market is - good because it should have a great deal of interest in the auto market in bumper design -which will withstand a greater impact than the present designs. We also think it will increase safety in autos and reduce repair costs. Or it could be used in such areas as couplings for railroad freight cars to reduce cargo damage, or in aircraft landing gear." aE .The patent lists specific ad ditional uses such as automobile, dashboards, 'suspension systems, ship construction-particularly in submarines to minimize shock load damage--cargo handling and building foundation construction to minimize or eliminate shock damage such as that caused by earthquakes. The next step will be to find an industry interested in using the device. USO will retain 75 per cent of the profts it derives from the invention, with Suh getting 25 percent. Income from the patent will go into the Universit 's Research ~AV /~4 - MAM LENES NGH \TL.OMST C MU CASO ECAEEI MONDA, NOVMBER4 FIETL EE $1ncme. nu.h r... - Fund to support fufrther research efforts here. Macon pointed out that while USC is not in the business of making money, it is right that it benefit if its res6urces are used. Hi explains that the patent policy at USC allows faculty members to exploit their ideas, and that without this some of these ideas would die out because patenting is so expensive that many inventors do not have the financial resources to pursue a patent on their own. The patenting of Suh's invention .itself was i process which required more than three years, Macon added. Bidding Fall Farewell? As temperatures continue to fall and dormitory heaters continue to refuse to work, Carolina students are becoming all to painfully aware that the sunshine and warmth of September and October is coming to a halt. Jane McDowell of Beaufort takes advantage of one of fall's nicer days before colder weather arrives. Russell Jeffoat 30