Ding and other Office of International Services orientation leaders.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nGaining real-world experience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Ding\u2019s time at the college helped her grow more than just a community; it also helped her build transferable skills and experiences she was able to carry with her as she progressed in her career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During her Ph.D. Ding had the chance to work with Walmart through their U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund, an opportunity she says pushed her to deepen her knowledge of various aspects of textiles, as well as develop completely new skills. Through the fund \u2014 which focuses on developing cost-effective and efficient domestic manufacturing \u2014 Ding worked on digital printing for outdoor textiles. She collaborated with professionals from across the industry, from startups innovating the digital printing process, to established leaders in traditional printing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was not only lab work, it required me to understand textile materials, chemistry, computer science and textile design,\u201d Ding explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She continued to challenge herself throughout her Ph.D., taking advantage of opportunities to visit different companies within the textile industry and to assist labs at the college with tackling real-world problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile that work was not always 100% related to my dissertation, it gave me the opportunity to really make contributions to the textile industry,\u201d Ding says. \u201cI am so proud of this experience, and I am still doing research in this area in China.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After receiving her Ph.D. in 2016, Ding stayed with the college, working as a postdoctoral research assistant and continuing her work on digital printing. In 2018 she accepted a position as a lecturer at the Donghua University College of Textiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cI teach textile color management and textile supply chain management,\u201d Ding says. \u201cI am also continuing my research on textile digital printing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As part of her work, Ding mentors a number of graduate and undergraduate students, something she says her time at the college prepared her for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI supervise a few graduate students in China now,\u201d Ding says. \u201cIt always reminds me of my experience at NC State, always being open, accepting different opinions and creating interesting ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wilson College of Textiles alumna Yi Ding is now an associate professor at Donghua University in Shanghai. Read how she got her start in the 3+X program.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":58288,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"Mary Giuffrida","ncst_show_custom_author":true,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"displayCategoryID\":490,\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[742,490,479],"tags":[487,1143,2328,1408,1055,1382],"class_list":["post-58286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newswire","category-our-people","category-tecs","tag-alumni","tag-department-of-textile-engineering-chemistry-and-science","tag-graduate-programs","tag-m-s-textile-chemistry","tag-ph-d-fiber-and-polymer-science","tag-wilson-college-of-textiles"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":490,"name":"Our People","slug":"our-people","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":490,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":669,"filter":"raw"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"
Textiles Alumna Built Community, Real-World Skills in 3+X Program - Wilson College of Textiles<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n