Let\u2019s take a closer look at these two programs, both housed in the <\/span>Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science<\/span><\/a> (TECS) at the <\/span>Wilson College of Textiles<\/span><\/a> at <\/span>NC State<\/span><\/a>. What are they? How are they different? How do they overlap? What can graduates of either program do with their degrees? <\/span> Textile Engineering<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Textile Engineering program at the Wilson College of Textiles is completely unique. It is a multidisciplinary engineering program where the problems that we solve all have a common theme: their solutions involve fibers, yarns and fabrics,\u201d said <\/span>Dr. Philip Bradford<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Textile Engineering<\/span><\/a> program director. \u201cThese materials touch every aspect of our lives and we are interested in developing the next generation of processes and products that will make us more comfortable and improve lives around the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n TE is the only <\/span>ABET<\/span><\/a>-accredited textile engineering program in the country. According to ABET, accreditation by the nonprofit, non-governmental agency is \u201cproof that<\/span> a collegiate program has met standards essential to produce graduates ready to enter the critical fields of STEM\u201d careers. The voluntary peer-review process focuses on what students experience and learn in the program, including program curricula, faculty, facilities and institutional support. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTextile engineering is a fundamental engineering program utilizing math and science to solve problems, so the curriculum is rigorous,\u201d said <\/span>Dr. Russell Gorga<\/span><\/a>, TECS director of undergraduate programs and associate department head. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Students take a series of engineering calculus courses, differential equations, engineering physics classes, chemistry, thermodynamics, statics and a circuits class, plus polymer and fiber science, yarn and fabric formation, Lean Six Sigma, quality control and experiment design, as well as computer based modeling. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTextile engineering spans from understanding fiber structure and the fibers that make it up to yarns, textile structure and beyond, including product development; we also teach project management and communication styles and many other skills,\u201d said <\/span>Dr. Melissa Pasquinelli<\/span>, TECS associate department head and director of graduate programs. \u201cIn order to teach that multidisciplinary curriculum, our faculty are also multidisciplinary. We have people from all different types of backgrounds, including textiles. Some, like myself, are chemists; we have some from materials science, industrial and systems engineering, even aerospace engineering…It\u2019s a unique place and a unique degree because of that comprehensive look at materials, understanding them from the molecular level all the way to product development.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The textile engineering program is a joint program between the Wilson College of Textiles and the College of Engineering, and students benefit from the relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll the students in textile engineering have all the resources of the Wilson College of Textiles as well as the College of Engineering — software licenses, computer labs, the career fairs hosted by the College of Engineering and the Wilson College of Textiles,\u201d said Gorga. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Textile engineering students choose one of three concentrations: product engineering, chemical processing and information systems design. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile textiles seems like a very focused field to be an engineer in, the three concentrations allow students to develop even more of a specialty depending on their individual interests,\u201d said Bradford.<\/span> Product Engineering<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This concentration <\/span>centers on the design of new and innovative products and <\/span>is the most flexible. Students take three electives within an area of interest such as sports textiles, in which they can learn how to design high-performance materials for athletes; biomedical materials, in which they can create antimicrobial textiles, resorbable sutures and more; and sustainability, in which they can engineer textile products that are environmentally friendly. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Alumni might find positions with companies like <\/span>Nike<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Under Armour<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Medline<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>MediTEX Technology<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Eastman<\/span><\/a>. <\/span> Chemical Processing<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe chemical processing concentration is well suited for students who are interested in the materials used to produce fibers and the multitude of finishes that are used to give our fabrics a range of advanced functions,\u201d said Bradford. The concentration is linked with Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CHE) and students are able to receive a minor in CHE with one additional class. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n This concentration is tailored to meet the needs of polymer fiber companies like <\/span>Dow<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>INVISTA<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>DuPont<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>ExxonMobil<\/span><\/a>; it combines the skills of both textile and chemical engineers.<\/span> Information Systems Design<\/span> Students who pursue this concentration accept positions at companies both inside and outside the textile complex, such as <\/span>Gap<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>HanesBrands Inc.<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Patagonia<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Google<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>SAS<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Abercrombie & Fitch<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Duke Health<\/span><\/a>, BB&T, Lenovo, SAS,<\/span> and more.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll three concentrations can easily lend themselves to a minor,\u201d said Gorga. \u201cIn product engineering, you can get the materials science and engineering minor; in information systems, you will receive the industrial and systems engineering minor; in chemical processing, you can pick up the chemical engineering minor with one additional course.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Whichever concentration they choose, graduates will be in the vanguard of textile engineering, learning from the best in an ever-expanding field. All three concentrations produce engineers that can work in a variety of companies within the textile complex and beyond, owing to the marketable skill sets they acquire, including critical thinking, communication, team work, the Lean Six Sigma process improvement methodology, and computer based modeling with Excel and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome of the most visible developments in textile engineering are new products that may change the way we live our lives,\u201d said Bradford. \u201cThere are constantly ongoing advances in biomedical textile products, fiber reinforced structural composites, wearable electronics, protective textiles and a range of other products that have unique properties enabled by nanofibers and other nanotechnology based coatings.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n Textile Technology<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn textile technology…we apply those things that textile engineers might develop or design,\u201d said <\/span>Dr. George Hodge<\/span><\/a>, textile technology program director. \u201cTextile technology students are a lot more familiar with all aspects of textiles, from yarn all the way through a finished product.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Students prepare for more hands-on careers in the design, development and manufacture of products in the fields of aerospace, apparel, automotive, sports and medicine, among others. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTextile technology is a more applied STEM discipline in terms of understanding how the different fabric architectures give particular properties, and the TT students are going to learn these structures on a deeper level than the TE students will,\u201d said Gorga. Students are not required to study thermodynamics or statics or electrical engineering circuits — instead, they take individual classes in nonwovens, knitting, weaving, fibers and yarns. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The TT program offers four concentrations: medical textiles, technical textiles, textile supply chain operations and a general curriculum. <\/span> Medical Textiles<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The medical textiles concentration is <\/span>the first — and only — medical textiles curriculum to be offered as part of a university bachelor\u2019s degree program. <\/span>This unique course of study prepares students to design, fabricate and evaluate cutting-edge medical textile products through coursework that includes cell biology, biomedical engineering, statistics, quality management and regulatory affairs. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Alumni have taken positions with <\/span>biomedical device, medical textile, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies such as <\/span>3M<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Johnson & Johnson<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Pfizer<\/span><\/a>, as well as government departments like the <\/span>U.S. Food & Drug Administration<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> Technical Textiles<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Technical textiles are textile products designed to perform specific functions and solve problems; think firefighter turnout suits, seatbelts, filters, airbags, bulletproof vests and parachutes. <\/span>They are used in transportation, automobile engineering, storage, packaging, civil construction and geotechnical engineering. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Coursework covers product design principles, understanding of applications and the state of the art for these technologies, and students are encouraged to pursue internships, study abroad opportunities and undergraduate research. Alumni can become project managers, quality assurance managers, development technologists and technical marketing managers at companies in the vein of <\/span>Lion<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>AAF Flanders<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Mills Manufacturing<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Safety Components<\/span><\/a>. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span> Textile Supply Chain Operations<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n A supply chain is every step along the way in making and distributing a product, from raw material to manufacture to delivery of finished product. The textile supply chain operations concentration trains students to identify, solve and prevent problems in a supply chain, including manufacturing, sourcing, transportation, logistics and retail operations. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Students learn about the evolving technologies that move materials and enable the flow of information, from automatically-guided vehicles and robots to barcodes, radio frequency identification, data mining and more. Graduates will take positions as buyers, inventory managers, logistics managers and worldwide procurement directors for a range of companies, from local manufacturers to the titans of the textile industry and beyond; think <\/span>American & Efird<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Ralph Lauren<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>H&M<\/span><\/a>, and even <\/span>Amazon<\/span><\/a>. <\/span> General Curriculum Track<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The general curriculum track includes 18 hours of advised electives; this flexibility in coursework allows students to obtain an <\/span>academic minor<\/span><\/a> in any number of subjects, from forensics to sports science.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt facilitates study abroad quite well, at schools like <\/span>Hong Kong Polytechnic University<\/span><\/a>, where our students can take courses that will count toward their textile degree,\u201d said Hodge. \u201cIt also allows flexibility to students who are in research — and for those who want to go to graduate school, they might want to take some advanced math, advanced chemistry, advanced physics, and get that under their belt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n Comparison: Textile Engineering and Textile Technology<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is a lot of overlap between these two fields and quite often, teams with both these skill sets are needed within a company to most efficiently get new products to market,\u201d said Bradford. \u201c<\/span>Textile technologists<\/span><\/i> know the ins and outs of all the technology needed to produce a textile product with a defined structure. <\/span>Textile engineers <\/span><\/i>are often the ones that define that structure based on a list of performance requirements; [they] often draw on technical knowledge from mechanics, physics, materials science, chemistry and thermodynamics to develop new products and then can use statistical and analytical tools to optimize the manufacturing process.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cutting-Edge Equipment<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe pilot facilities that we have in our college don\u2019t exist at the same scale anywhere else in the world,\u201d said Bradford. \u201cThe fact that our course labs and senior design teams can utilize almost any type of equipment that they want is an invaluable learning tool and helps to better prepare them for industry.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Both TE and TT students have access to these state-of-the-industry fabrication and testing laboratories and equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize we have a complete textile manufacturing plant in our basement,\u201d said Hodge. \u201cAnd these are full-scale pieces of equipment. We can go from a bale of fiber to a finished product. We have a complete spinning plant downstairs, we have a complete knitting lab, a complete woven fabric facility, a complete dye house.\u201d<\/span>
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span><\/a>\u201cThe information systems design concentration is designed to produce students who want to make better decisions more efficiently in order to save companies money, improve people\u2019s lives, reduce cycle time as well as improve quality. Students take courses to learn to retrieve, analyze, and manipulate data as well as build computer information systems to accomplish these tasks,\u201d said <\/span>Dr. Jeffrey A Joines<\/span><\/a>, TECS department head. “Data analytics is going to be the wave of the future and these students will be positioned well.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Students](\"https:\/\/tex-cloud-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/textiles-ncsu\/20231108101329\/IMG_7894-edit-crop-small-1024x576-1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Textile](\"https:\/\/tex-cloud-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/textiles-ncsu\/20231108101329\/IMG_6976-edit-crop-small-1024x576-1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n