{"id":42598,"date":"2023-02-16T10:56:56","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T15:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/?p=42598"},"modified":"2023-02-16T10:56:57","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T15:56:57","slug":"undergraduates-join-research-team-learn-industry-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2023\/02\/undergraduates-join-research-team-learn-industry-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"Undergraduates Join Research Team, Learn Industry Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Mary Giuffrida<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newfound confidence and industry-level experience: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the two biggest assets Wilson College of Textiles undergraduate students Teresa Fiorito and Emma Myer-Medina walked away with after their summer Research Experience for Undergraduates<\/a> (REU).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two worked in Assistant Professor Januka Budhathoki-Uprety<\/a>\u2019s lab, each partnered with a Wilson College doctoral student to mentor and guide them throughout the summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Far-reaching results<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fiorito, a sophomore in textile engineering<\/a>, worked with doctoral candidate Nigar Sultana on her portable sensor research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy research is focused on developing sensors which can be used to monitor environmental changes or human cell activities,\u201d Sultana explains. Recently, her team reported optical detection of pH changes in artificial sweat using near-infrared fluorescent nanomaterials<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fiorito assisted Sultana in converting the sensor to new, more versatile forms which could be applied across disciplines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were trying to find ways to convert the liquid state of the sensor,\u201d Fiorito says. \u201cWe used heat to solidify the liquids and then we put it back in water to see if it would dissolve or form a gel.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They blended the sensors with polymers, then heated them up to bond the polymers and see if they would form a gel. The gel sensors could then be applied in different environments, from human skin to soil samples and textiles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt can be integrated into 3D printing, or with yarn that can be made into garments,\u201d Sultana says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Teresa
Fiorito (left) and Sultana in the lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Myer-Medina, a junior majoring in polymer and color chemistry<\/a>, was paired with Ph.D. student Meghan Lord. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was glad that I got to work on something that had a sustainability goal, because that\u2019s very important to me,\u201d Myer-Medina says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myer-Medina and Lord focused on sustainability through finding methods to remove dyes from wastewater, a widespread problem within the textile industry. Earlier the research group published related research in polycarbodiimide for textile dye removal from contaminated water<\/a>. The research found that a synthetic polymer can remove the dyes and then be recovered and reused, helping to combat environmental pollution and human health risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n