Graduate Research Symposium Shows Breadth of Textile Science

By Sarah Stone

A small college can have a big presence. That’s what graduate students from the Wilson College of Textiles demonstrated at NC State’s Graduate Research Symposium, where doctoral student Hannah Dewey won second place in the symposium’s Mathematics and Science category. 

Dewey, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in fiber and polymer science, is one of more than half a dozen graduate students that presented at the symposium. 

Their research, ranging from knit children’s shoes to disinfectants, shows the breadth of applications for textiles science.

Hannah Dewey

Doctoral Candidate, Fiber and Polymer Science

Dewey is researching how to develop optical nanosensors that can detect quaternary ammonium compounds, an active ingredient commonly used in disinfectants

Jeannie Egan

Master’s Student, Textile Chemistry

Egan is researching how to transform post-consumer textile waste into pumpable slurries in order to divert it from landfills. 

Wenna Han

Doctoral Student, Textile Technology Management

Han is investigating Chinese consumers’ response and likelihood to use a new digital closet assistant app called Smart Closet. 

Mars Harvey

Doctoral Student, Fiber and Polymer Science

Harvey is determining how 3-D printing technology can be incorporated into footwear to make shoes more comfortable. 

Rong Huang

Doctoral Student, Fiber and Polymer Science

Huang is using mathematical analysis to develop a standardized approach to measuring pores in a knit fabric. The porousness of knit fabrics is a crucial element to studying the performance of those fabrics. 

Elizabeth Kirkwood

Doctoral Candidate, Fiber and Polymer Science

A recent experiment Kirkwood conducted indicated that the fabric structure of a garment can influence surface roughness and impact how comfortable the wearer perceives that garment to be. 

Courtney Michaels

Master’s Student, Textile Engineering

Michaels is evaluating the effectiveness of a new test method for analyzing moisture movement through textiles. The single pore wicking evolution apparatus for textiles (SWEAT) test would be used to check the wicking claims of performance textile companies. 

Zoe Newman

Doctoral Candidate, Textile Technology Management

Doctoral candidate Zoe Newman (textile technology management). Newman is developing knit structures for fabric that would be incorporated into shoe design. The knit structure would allow the size of a children’s shoe to change.