Two Textiles Faculty Members Earn University Honors

NC State University has named its most promising early-career professors in STEM and STEM education, and two Wilson College of Textiles faculty members are on the list. 

Assistant Professors Jessica Gluck and Rong Yin are winners of the 2024-2025 Goodnight Early Career Innovator Award. NC State offers these awards as a form of incentive for tenure-track assistant professors to continue their impressive work with the university. Winners will receive $22,000 each year for the next three years to put towards their research and other forms of scholarship. 

Below, learn more about the innovations of this year’s two winners from Textiles. 

Assistant Professor Jessica Gluck 

Assistant Professor Jessica Gluck’s tissue engineering research embodies the interdisciplinary nature of textiles. Although she is relatively early in her faculty career, she has already solidified herself a leader in this research field, writes Emiel DenHartog, the head of Gluck’s academic department. 

When quantified, her accomplishments make a clear statement about her success. Over the course of her time at NC State, Gluck has secured more than $800,000 in funding, including substantial amounts from prestigious partners like the American Heart Association and the Comparative Medicine Institute. In her time as a tenure-track faculty member at NC State, she has published 25 journal articles and has been invited to present at 25 conferences.

“She is a strategic and diligent researcher, and her research group has already become a hub for interdisciplinary stem cell research at NC State University and beyond,” Dean David Hinks writes in his letter of recommendation. “In addition, her commitment to ‘the next generation of scientists’ informs all that she does, and fosters a research environment where students begin as active participants and bloom into independent researchers.”

This commitment to mentorship is reflected in her role as director for student education and training at the Comparative Medicine Institute, as well as in a new project with other researchers and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance mentor development efforts in the Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates and Research Experience and Mentoring programs.

Assistant Professor Rong Yin 

Assistant Professor Rong Yin is paving the way for a better textile industry and supporting North Carolina’s agriculture industry through his research focus. 

“His research on hemp fiber is vital, not only to advancing sustainability in textile manufacturing, but also providing new comfort and protection possibilities while also developing high demand for this growing North Carolina crop,” writes Dean David Hinks in his recommendation letter. 

In addition to its projected impact on the North Carolina economy, Yin’s work is garnering interest at the national level. He has received research grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Navy, and the dean considers his work “instrumental” to the establishment of the North Carolina Textile Innovation and Sustainability Engine Grant from the NSF. 

In addition to his success as a researcher, Yin also earned this award for his impact as an educator in terms of both coursework and mentorship. He played a large role in updating yarn spinning classes for both graduate and undergraduate students, and his research group is known for its “culture of mutual respect, support, and enthusiasm,” writes Emiel DenHartog in his letter of recommendation. “His mentees are emerging talents with the potential to become future leaders in academia and industry.”