Wilson College of Textiles Doctoral Student Uses Research to Improve Performance in Flexible Electronics

Akanksha Pragya arrived on the NC State campus with a passion for cutting-edge research, and a drive to use her work to help others.

Now a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Wilson College of Textiles fiber and polymer science program, Pragya is accomplishing both, with the help of her highly technical expertise — and a global network of women scientists she’s cultivated.

Pragya’s research is centered around mechanically gradient nanocomposites. Specifically, she’s focused on improving the strength and resiliency of those finicky spots where hard and soft materials come together and tend to break; picture the place where a wire connects to clothing on a wearable sensor.

Pragya’s specialty? Finding ways to seamlessly bridge these soft and hard materials.

Already, ideas abound about how her work might figure into potential, future applications.

“The good thing about this type of materials is that they are used in almost every field,” Pragya says.

Earlier this year, for instance, Pragya leveraged her research on gradient materials to propose a concept that would help make prosthetic limbs fit more comfortably for amputees. The idea earned her the award of best oral presentation at Biomaterials Day in April, sponsored by NC State’s Society for Biomaterials.

The broadly positive reception for her idea, Pragya says, was proof of how meaningful her work is.

“It showed me that this concept is very interdisciplinary and has a lot of potential applications — and a lot of people from other areas are interested in something like this,” she says. “It also has a huge impact because the issue of discomfort with the prosthetic wearer is immense.”

A passion for helping others

From a young age, Pragya knew she wanted to use her work to help others.

Growing up in India, Pragya’s parents ran a school for disadvantaged children. Gaining that early exposure to underprivileged youth helped solidify her passion for breaking down gender disparities. 

Today, when Pragya is not in a lab on NC State’s Centennial Campus, you’ll find Pragya advocating for women in scientific fields. She regularly networks with other women scientists from around the world as part of the international non-profit Graduate Women in Science (GWIS). She serves as vice president of the organization’s Research Triangle Park chapter and chairperson for the GWIS National Committee.

More recently, Pragya spent the summer of 2024 interning at Procter and Gamble (P&G) in Ohio, where she applied her expertise in gradient materials to help P&G improve the performance of its reusable menstrual products.

As part of the product development process, Pragya had the opportunity to engage with other women about their own experiences as consumers, which she described as a “truly wholesome” experience.

It was also something of a full-circle experience for Pragya, who as an undergraduate student abroad, helped co-lead a startup that developed affordable sanitary products for disadvantaged women in India.

“This internship helped me combine my personal interest in enabling women’s equality with technology experience to make a product better,” Pragya says.

The P&G internship also served, for her, as a reminder of the Wilson College’s deep connections to industry partners, complementing the world-class facilities and robust networking opportunities afforded to students.

For Pragya, it’s a network that will undoubtedly prove valuable as she deepens her research into flexible electronics — a field poised to be at the center of new innovation for years to come.

“It’s one of the top in the world,” she says of her experience at the college.

“I think there’s so much work that goes on here in so many different fields,” she adds. “If I need help on a project, I know there are all sorts of places I can turn for assistance.”