{"id":62955,"date":"2024-06-11T17:33:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T21:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/?p=62955"},"modified":"2024-08-02T16:20:14","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T20:20:14","slug":"tpacc-marks-30-years-of-innovating-and-adapting-to-meet-the-needs-of-government-industry-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2024\/06\/tpacc-marks-30-years-of-innovating-and-adapting-to-meet-the-needs-of-government-industry-partners\/","title":{"rendered":"TPACC Marks 30 Years of Innovating and Adapting to Meet the Needs of Government, Industry Partners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

For Wilson College of Textiles Professor Roger Barker, walking into the Textile Protection and Comfort Center<\/a> (TPACC) on NC State\u2019s Centennial Campus is something of a full-circle moment in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He finds reflection in watching teams develop new, cutting-edge ways to prevent heat strain in members of the Armed Forces \u2026 or in seeing researchers workshop test methods that might be the silver bullet for preventing cancer among firefighters \u2026 or, in collaborating with a major clothing retailer hoping to validate their claims about a new type of athletic wear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m amazed,\u201d Barker says. \u201cI think the vision that I had for TPACC at the beginning has been realized, over and over. And it didn\u2019t occur overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Roger<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a poignant assessment of the center Barker once founded \u2014 which is now set to celebrate 30 years operating at the crossroads of academia, government and industry in a way no other institutions do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always known that we\u2019re kind of a unique institution: a center within an academic setting,\u201d Barker says. \u201cYou can find several of the things we do at different locations around the world. But you won\u2019t find all of it, like we have here, anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adapting over 30 years<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The fact that TPACC boasts such a multi-faceted array of capabilities is, in many ways, a product of its growth over the last three decades \u2014 a trajectory defined by adaptability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early 1990s, the center largely grew out of Barker\u2019s vision for a one-stop location that would marry his research into the push-and-pull of heat protection and comfort, recognizing the two go hand-in-hand; after all, a firefighter who forgoes some of their protective gear because it\u2019s uncomfortable faces a direct threat to their safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Roger<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But if TPACC\u2019s work protecting firefighters from flames and smoke was cutting edge in the late 20th<\/sup> century, it took on increased meaning following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which exposed the need for more robust chemical protections for first responders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TPACC was among the first institutions to receive grant funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), itself created in the wake of 9\/11. The mission: to develop more user-friendly turnout suits for firefighters that would provide better protection not just from fires, but from chemical vapors and particles, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The center would later receive further DHS funding for what would become its Man-In-Simulant-Test, or MIST, facility, which helps TPACC researchers evaluate how toxic vapors can permeate garments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TPACC has also been at the heart of cutting-edge research developing suits to protect servicemembers from chemical exposures and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), research born from casualties sustained during U.S. involvement in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were already on the map,\u201d recalls Shawn Deaton, TPACC deputy director. \u201cBut our purpose took on new meaning following 9\/11, and with our subsequent military involvement overseas. It led to TPACC acquiring a lot more testing capabilities, and increasing our research as it relates to protective clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the decades, the center has continually adapted with the help of new technologies. Its PyroMan manikin (more recently \u201cupgraded\u201d with the new Dynamic PyroMan) has proved integral to testing the durability and protective properties of thermal protective gear \u2014 critical garments to protect firefighters, members of the Armed Forces and industry workers facing potential heat exposures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Roger<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whatever the endeavor, TPACC\u2019s prowess helps equip industry and government partners with reliable, science-based data \u2014 not just on a single swatch or garment, but for full ensemble systems worn by first responders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s a mission that resonates with every test or reading conducted by the dedicated scientists at the Centennial Campus facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe think we have a mission that extends beyond the walls of the university,\u201d Barker marvels. \u201cIt\u2019s so dear to our hearts in TPACC.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A valuable asset for industry partners<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

TPACC\u2019s focus on how a garment or \u201censemble\u201d fares under the stress of fire, heat or human movement has brought the center plenty of valuable partnerships beyond the front lines, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies regularly harness the expertise of the Wilson College of Textiles in developing and improving cutting-edge apparel and gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s been great to work with all the partners that we have. Without them, we don\u2019t exist. We\u2019re a self supporting institution,\u201d Deaton points out. \u201cIt is critical, and with their advancements and them using us to evaluate or help improve their products, it certainly helps us out as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That symbiotic relationship has proven useful for companies in search of science-based conclusions to test their products, workshopped through test methods TPACC researchers regularly develop through the center\u2019s deep ties to internationally-recognized standards organizations like ASTM, the National Fire Protection Association, the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists and the International Organization for Standardization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson College Dean David Hinks specifically cites TPACC\u2019s early-century research support for Under Armour, at the time a young company, as a key factor in the company becoming a force in the athletic wear industry \u2014 today worth some $2.85 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“While TPACC is internationally renowned for its work in protecting and saving lives, its research is equally relevant to areas of functional garments such as sports apparel,\u201d Hinks points out.<\/p>\n\n\n