The case for R and D investment

August 6, 2018  |  My Take

The following is a letter to the editor of Specialty Fabrics Review by Donald L. Sturgeon, Ph.D., president of Multifibers LLC. It is in response to an article I wrote for the Review about IFAI’s Smart Fabrics Conference in April 2018. I found Mr. Sturgeon’s letter particularly interesting – …
Read More
Ubiquitous, for good reason

July 9, 2018  |  My Take

I’m going to guess that you use some kind of textile composite every single day—maybe many times a day. (Here’s a hint: if you’re caring for a baby or small child, it’s even more likely.) We are dependent upon textiles being a part of the material makeup of flexible composites (obviously) …
Read More
Sharing the future with robotics

June 11, 2018  |  My Take

“Robot.” What comes to mind? An R2-D2-type character? Something encased in metal that traverses the terrain in a clearly non-human way? Maybe you picture a sci-fi movie depicting an AI character so smart that it overthrows the human characters in a dramatic coup. Time to rethink that picture in…
Read More
How textiles get smarter

April 9, 2018  |  My Take

Advanced Textiles Source was launched to provide information about the most sophisticated textiles in the industry, and, specifically, new developments and trends in materials, technologies and end products. Increasingly, I find myself talking about smart fabrics as research in this segment is expa…
Read More
What is a textile?

March 12, 2018  |  My Take

Easy answers: woven, knit or felted materials, generally composed of yarn or fibers. Hmm. Nonwovens, then? Same deal, only not knitted or woven. Sometimes. Felted, then? How about films? Plastics, generally? Shall I go on? Regardless of your take on this question, I would challenge you to find two d…
Read More
NASA wants you!

February 12, 2018  |  My Take

About a week ago, SpaceX successfully launched its first Falcon Heavy booster. The private aerospace company may now claim ownership of the most powerful rocket, launched from the same site in Florida that was used for NASA’s Apollo missions. As much as it was a successful flight, the rocket&#…
Read More
Collaboration is where it’s at

January 8, 2018  |  My Take

We’re going to start this year out with a one-question test: Name five institutions of higher learning/research institutions that have industry partners. You have 20 seconds. Go. Done? Maybe some of you named more than five. Maybe as many as 10. With a longer time limit, you might have been able t…
Read More
Eco news increases

December 11, 2017  |  My Take

This month we’re talking specifically about issues of sustainability. In fact, we talk about this all the time, posting stories most often under our “Eco Note” tab. When I was putting together our newsletter, I was struck by the fact that I could easily post all “Eco Note” stories this tim…
Read More
Getting down to business

November 20, 2017  |  My Take

A good portion of this website is filled with product information, including materials, end products and the companies who make them. Sometimes, however, we should talk business, because if we don’t, all these great products may not survive in the marketplace—or even have the opportunity to try.…
Read More