{"id":52762,"date":"2023-09-18T17:40:54","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T21:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/?p=52762"},"modified":"2023-09-26T21:05:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T01:05:24","slug":"peter-hauser-deepens-legacy-of-innovation-as-professor-emeritus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/peter-hauser-deepens-legacy-of-innovation-as-professor-emeritus\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Hauser Deepens Legacy of Innovation as Professor Emeritus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

By Sean Cudahy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been three years since Peter Hauser<\/a> retired following more than two decades as a professor in the Wilson College of Textiles<\/a>. And yet, his longtime employer \u2013 his alma mater, too \u2014 is never far from his mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, Hauser and his wife, Helen, still live in Raleigh and have a family full of fellow NC State University graduates; self-described \u201cdiehard\u201d Wolfpack fans, you\u2019re likely to find an ACC basketball game on their television on any given night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Peter Hauser (right) and his wife, Helen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But these days, you\u2019re equally likely to find Hauser on NC State\u2019s Centennial Campus<\/a>, contributing however he can in an arrangement that\u2019s turned out to be the best of both worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI stay as busy as I want to be. But at the same time, I\u2019m able to travel and enjoy time with my family,\u201d Hauser says of his role as professor emeritus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That flexibility is certainly well deserved, on the heels of a career that brought him around the world over the course of two distinct chapters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Career beginnings in the textile chemistry industry<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After earning his undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemistry at NC State, Hauser embarked on a 24-year run as an industrial research chemist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with several major textile manufacturers and textile chemical producers, he honed an expertise in developing chemical finishes for textile products. Hauser had a particular focus on high-value finishes like flame retardants and water repellents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hauser (left) on a work trip to Argentina in 1992. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During his time at a small company based in Charlotte, Hauser helped perfect a dyeing process that cut both energy and resource usage \u2014 as well as manufacturer costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new method produced the iconic indigo color we think of with denim using a third less dye, saving money and reducing the environmental impact of the dyeing process along the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To demonstrate this, Hauser traveled extensively through Latin America during this career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Chile,\u201d he rattles off, naming countries he visited. \u201cI was able to run experiments in different companies\u2019 facilities and demonstrate the value of our processes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hauser on a work trip to Argentina in 2006. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1997, though, his career entered a new phase when he joined the faculty at the Wilson College \u2014 a role he took on hoping to share his extensive, real-world knowledge with the next generation of textile chemists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d spent 24 years in the industry,\u201d he says. \u201cI think that made me \u2014 I hope \u2014 a more interesting teacher. Because I knew what it was like out in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning to NC State<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Returning to NC State, Hauser\u2019s new role saw him teach both graduate and undergraduate courses within the Wilson College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also took on leadership roles in the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science<\/a>, starting as associate department head in 2004, and later as interim department head from 2014 to 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hauser with his graduate students in 2013.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But even as he imparted his knowledge on students, Hauser continued to deepen his own understanding of textile chemicals. His pioneering research into cationized cotton helped perfect a more sustainable approach to dyeing textiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe changed the cotton fibers so it could be dyed in a way that was more environmentally friendly,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe best feeling you get as a teacher is when your students succeed. I\u2019m proud of them, and hope I had something to do with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an achievement he labels the \u201cmost interesting\u201d aspect of his career in academia\u2026and one that helped set the stage for the achievement that, he says, was most humbling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) cited that research and other career accolades in honoring Hauser. The organization presented him with the Olney Medal, which is awarded for outstanding contributions in the field of textile chemistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that is the one thing I\u2019m most proud of: being honored by my peers,\u201d Hauser acknowledges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n