Advanced Textiles Speakers

Julianna Abel earned her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan. She is interested in the model-based design of smart materials and structures with an emphasis on geometric and textile based architectures for the creation of novel actuators, sensors, and energy harvesters. Her research establishes frameworks to design and synthesize smart material technologies to enable new aerospace structures, medical devices and consumer products.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart track: Mechanical Fabrics that Work

Mohammadreza Abtahi is a PhD candidate at the University of Rhode Island. He got his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University and his Masters degree in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering from University of Rhode Island. He is currently a member of Wearable Biosensing Lab at URI, and his research interest areas are Wearable Sensors, E-Textiles, Biosensors, Brain Monitoring, Signal Processing, Machine Learning etc. He has been an organizing member of URI Brain Fair 2017, Health Hacks RI 2016, E-Textile Engineering Day 2016, Wearable Engineering Day 2015, Internet of Things Hackathon RI 2015.

E-Textiles Hackathon Design Challenge Facilitator

Samuel Alexander is the founder and CEO of Concept 2 Consumption (C2C), an Austin, TX-based business providing its clients with access to a revolutionary B2B2C fashion eco system.  Alexander’s experience spans more than three decades—and brings together expertise in both the fashion and technology industries.  Samuel is an expert in product design/development; global sourcing/production; strategic branding/marketing; and technology integration.  He was instrumental in promoting the growth and development of numerous major labels including Levi Strauss, Votre Nom Paris, Gloria Vanderbilt, Jones of New York, Shelli Segal, David Dart, Laundry, Icon Aura, and Samsung—among many others.  Alexander specializes in wearable technology, including safety and medical.

Through his newest venture, C2C, Samuel is revolutionizing the fashion industry by bringing his expertise to bear in the creation of two online platforms:  Order Register and C2C Virtual Shop. The Order Register platform (B2B) connects the production and fulfillment processes for the wholesale business into one software program.  C2C Virtual Shop (B2C) utilizes virtual and augmented reality to provide customers a personalized avatar life-like model allowing shoppers to virtually “try on” an article of clothing. The OR Virtual Shop platform also integrates with other retail and social platforms thus providing new and interactive features.

E-Textiles Hackathon Design Challenge Judge

Joanne Arbuckle is deputy to the president for Industry Partnerships and Collaborative Programs at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). As the liaison between the president, the college, and outside organizations, she develops and expands partnerships and collaborations nationally and globally for the college. She works closely with the executive director of the FIT/Infor Design and Tech Lab to integrate the work of the lab with the schools and other divisions of the college. Her experience as a creative director, business owner, educator, and higher education administrator, provides her with a comprehensive background in the development and implementation of educational programs.

Arbuckle served as dean of the School of Art and Design for over a decade. The school enrolls 4,000 students, has a faculty of 537 full-time and adjunct professors and instructors, and offers 17 majors. As dean, she was responsible for all school operations, departmental development, special programs, fundraising, student enrichment initiatives, and faculty recruitment. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Schools of Art & Design and served the association as a visiting evaluator on accreditation.
She became an associate professor in 2002 and a full professor in 2006. In 2003, she won the State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

An industry professional with more than 30 years of experience, Arbuckle worked as a designer and merchandiser before becoming president of the fashion-industry consulting firm Design Integrity. She has served as a consultant and industry expert witness for law firms on matters concerning the industry, and has participated in interviews for numerous media reports on subjects pertaining to fashion and fashion education.
Arbuckle co-authored the book Historical Dictionary of Fashion and contributed to the Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion.

She earned her Master of Arts in educational administration in higher education from New York University, her Bachelor of Science in fashion design at the State University of New York Empire State College, and her Associate in Applied Science in fashion design at FIT.

E-Textiles Workshop, Hackathon Design Challenge Judge

Dr. Charles A. Bass manages applied research and advance technology development for protection and hazard mitigation areas in the Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) and has served in this position for the last eleven years. He brings to the position over 37 years of experience in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons defense in tactical through strategic applications.

Dr. Bass’s career has included service in the military and private industry. He served for over twenty years of active duty in U.S. Army Chemical Corps retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. Dr. Bass has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, a Masters of Chemical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelors of Science in Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. He holds a Masters of Military Arts and Sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, School of Advanced Military Studies. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a Certified Level III Acquisition Professional in Program Management.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Military Track: Developing Advanced Materials for Chemical and Biological Protection

Dr. Jan Beringer was born in 1972 in Ostfildern near Stuttgart, Germany. After studying chemistry with special subject textile and fiber chemistry at the University of Stuttgart, he started his career by entering the Hohenstein Institutes as Head of the Competence Center Innovative Textiles in 2003. Since 2009 he is the head of research and development of the Department Function and Care. The Department mainly specializes in research and testing in the fields of clothing physiology, fit and workmanship of garments, functionalization of fabrics, textile UV protection, textile reprocessing and is registered as Notified Body and Test Centre for Personal Protective Equipment. Dr. Jan Beringer has extensive knowledge in textile and fiber Chemistry, functionalization, nanotechnology, coating and finishing.

Testing Q&A: Aerospace

Testing Q&A: Home

Advanced Textiles Conference/Military and Smart Tracks: The US Military is Moving E-Textiles to the Front Lines – Is Your Company Prepared to Meet Their Needs?

Nate Bolin is Counsel with the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, D.C., where he regularly advises companies and investors on U.S. export controls, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), national security policy, and related trade laws. He helps clients use those laws and the opportunities presented by trade negotiations and other policy initiatives to strategically to grow their businesses and add value to their investments. A graduate of Stanford University and the George Washington University Law School, Mr. Bolin worked at the U.S. State Department and Commerce Department before entering private practice in 2004. Recently, he was appointed by the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs to serve on the U.S. State Department’s Defense Trade Advisory Group for the 2016-2018 term.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Military Track: Understanding ITAR and the Future of Export Controls on Advanced Textiles

Mr. Bona is General Manager for Human Solutions of North America in Cary, NC. He has over twenty-five years of broad, progressive experience in operational management and consulting. His areas of specialization include 3D body scanning, organizational design, information systems, performance management and business planning/development. Mr. Bona brought over 10 years of experience in the area of 3D body scanning and military commercial applications to Human Solutions: an organization currently at the forefront of 3D technologies. Working with customers in the Apparel, Automotive and Aerospace Industries, Mr. Bona is the current project manager for the national anthropometric survey called Size North America. He oversees all government systems integration and research and development activities, and is responsible for overseeing the design, development, and enhancement of several 3D scanning applications.

Prior to joining Human Solutions, Mr. Bona was the Director of Materials Management for the Johns Hopkins Health System in Baltimore, Maryland. With a $5,500,000 annual operating budget and a staff of 150, he managed the distribution of $100,000,000 annually in supplies and equipment. Mr. Bona actively participated in the hospital's operational reengineering process so as to deliver more efficient and better coordinated services to the nursing areas. He also coordinated the efforts of user areas to review and evaluate non-labor expenses, resulting in a $5,200,000 cost reduction for the fiscal year. Working closely with nursing staff, he designed and implemented a procedure-based revenue capture system that increased revenue capture by $400,000 in its first 10 months. Furthermore, he worked with the Department of Radiology to implement a stockless delivery system that reduced their inventory investment by 25%.

Mr. Bona received his Master’s in Business Administration from Loyola College, Baltimore, MD.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: SizeNorthAmerica Anthropometric Survey

Testing Q&A: Military

Meredith Boyd, Corporate Business Development Manager at Unifi Manufacturing, Inc., drives innovative growth through new product development, process and capability research, as well as strategic cooperative ventures. She plays a key role in brand-focused technical developments with a key emphasis on the Company’s premier value-added products and flagship Repreve® brand.

Meredith started as the quality chemist at the former DuPont Kinston site during the time that Unifi was operating. She then moved to the company’s Yadkinville, NC site which houses the extrusion (recycling and melt-spinning) and polyester texturizing assets for Unifi. In her current role, as Corporate Business Development Manager, Meredith takes a strategic look at both immediate needs that require a keen understanding of the technical aspects of specialty products as well as working on strategic partnership developments with key customers and suppliers. She spends a considerable amount of time, and covers many global miles, vetting new product and placement opportunities as well as new technology application.

Meredith is a key rPET and melt-processing educator in the industry and has presented at many conferences and consortiums worldwide including Textile Exchange, Techtextil, the Synthetic Yarn and Fiber Association (SYFA), Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). Her writing has been featured in publications including Technical Textiles International. She sits on the board of directors for the Synthetic Yarn and Fiber Association, is a member of the Sustainability Working Group Advisory Council within the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and the recycled polyester working group in Textile Exchange.

Tuesday Keynote Luncheon: Unexpected Paths of Diversification

Fitzroy Brown has more than twenty five years of experience in the medical device industry. In his role at Bard PV OEM, Brown is responsible for understanding OEMs’ needs and solving their technical and non-technical textile challenges, as well as providing guidance in the operation and production of textile products for vascular applications.

Brown holds a patent for self-sealing ePTFE grafts. In 2006 he won the International Society of Endovascular Specialists’(ISES) Excellence in Research, Development and Technology Award

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical Track: The Evolution of Medical Textiles for Vascular Surgical Applications

Testing Q&A: Medical

Seth Casden is the CEO of Hologenix, a textile technology pioneer and producer of an FDA regulated textile technology (Celliant), the first of its kind. Seth has traveled the world and introduced this technology to markets in many counties. He has spoken about the benefits of infrared fibers at various institutions and conferences.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Improve Health with Technology Textiles

Ben is a passionate product and business developer driven by the need to find practical solutions to real world problems. He is currently Managing Director of IoClothes, a strategy and project management services company helping bridge the gap between apparel, footwear and textile companies and technology companies. Previously, Ben was a founding member of VF Corporation's Global Innovation Center. He led the product research and testing initiatives for Timberland, Vans and The North Face innovation, and VF’s wearable tech exploratory group. Before that, Ben co-founded the "smart" infant monitoring start-up, Sensible Baby, which gained both national and international recognition for its innovative approach to disrupting the juvenile products space. Prior to that, he was the Lead Footwear Project Engineer for the US Army and successfully led fast-paced multi-million dollar development efforts for the United States Department of Defense.

Ben received a B.S. in Biomedical Physics from Northeastern University and M.S. in Biomechanics with high distinction from Boise State University.

Tuesday Keynote Luncheon: Unexpected Paths of Diversification

E-Textiles Discussion: Health/Fitness

E-Textiles Workshop Host

Former College Athlete (Football) at West Virginia University, who began a career with Fruit of The Loom immediately after graduating college. Began work for FOL at one of the Manufacturing Facilities located in Kentucky. There, Brad served in multiple capacities within knitting and Process Engineering, ultimately managing the Process Engineering and Quality Departments. From there, Brad served as Director of Fabric Development at the World Headquarters, transitioning eventually into his current role of Sr. Director of Product Innovation. Brad has worked 12 yrs with the company, and has a strong lineage with FOL, where his family has over 100 yrs of combined service for the company.

E-Textiles Discussion: Protection

Jasmine Cox is the special projects coordinator at the Textile Technology Center. At the center she serves as project manager over prototyping and product development. Prior to the Textile Technology Center, Jasmine received her bachelors of science degree in textile technology from North Carolina State University. While at N.C. State, Jasmine completed research in the advanced wound-care focusing on developing prototypes for post-surgical flocked hemostatic bandages. She holds a textile testing essentials certificate through the Zeis Textile Extension/IFAI. Currently, Jasmine is a graduate student in the College of Textiles at North Carolina State University.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Testing Track Moderator

John Crocker has spent 20 years in the textile quality control industry, with experience in manufacturing, testing, technical sales, and standards development. As SDL Atlas Business Development Manager, John is responsible for working with customer relationships, standards development, laboratory installations, promotion of testing requirements, and installation and training for new customers. Prior to his promotion to Business Development manager, John was responsible for managing the agents and business in the US and Canada, as well as aiding with promotions around the world, a position he held since joining SDL Atlas in 2004.

John is an active member of several standards development organizations including AATCC; where he serves as an acting Board Member and as both Secretary and Chair on a number of Research Committees, ASTM; where he resides as D13 Membership Chair, and ISO; where he acts as Vice Chair and Technical Expert for the US TAG to TC 38. Prior to joining SDL Atlas, John worked as the Lab Manager/Quality Assurance Manager / ISO Management representative for the Glen Raven Knit Fabrics Group. He has a Bachelor’s of Science in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University.

Testing Q&A: Automotive

Testing Q&A: Home

Scott is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at First State Manufacturing in Milford, Delaware. He has over twenty years of experience in corporate marketing, branding, and corporate strategy.

As part of FSM’s Executive Team, Scott coordinates with ownership to establish and effectively manage marketing, branding, and sales strategies to meet organizational objectives. Scott evaluates customer research, market conditions, competitor data, and implements action and goal-oriented marketing plans.
Working as a marketing and branding executive for many years before coming to FSM gave Scott an opportunity to travel the world, including a five-year opportunity with the Israeli government. This global experience gives him a unique appreciation for life and the myriad of people in it. He is truly grateful for an amazing life and an amazing career!

Scott earned his Bachelor of Arts from Clemson University and his Master of Arts from the University of Virginia.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Military Track Moderator

A former primary patent examiner at the USPTO, David Crowe, a registered patent attorney, assists clients with identifying patent protectable innovations and obtaining patent protection that aligns with each product’s business advantages. David also assists clients with both offensive enforcement of patent and IP rights as well as with defensive strategies and risk analysis to minimize or avoid costly litigation. David is experienced with several aspects of the textile industry, including both manufacturing processes and finished products for use in medical, industrial and consumer environments.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Success Stories in Innovation – Medical Textiles

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Success Stories in Innovation – Apparel

Prof. Emiel DenHartog has a Masters degree in experimental physics from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and Ph.D. in medical physics from the Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. After obtaining his Ph.D. he went to work for more than 15 years in defense research on evaluation and innovation of military protective clothing systems.

Since 2013 he has worked at the Textile Protection And Comfort Center (TPACC) at North Carolina State University on the interaction between clothing and the human body to optimize protection, performance and comfort. The main focus of his research is on using and developing test and evaluation methods for functional textiles to demonstrate and quantify protection, performance and comfort of clothing and related textile products that interact with the body.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Testing Track: Evaluation of Moisture Management Methods

Intro to Testing

Testing Q&A: Comfort

Testing Q&A: Protection

Mentor: Testing Human Comfort & Performance

Vincent Diaz is the president of Atlantic Thread & Supply Co, Inc., an organization, that for more than 35 years has been devoted to meeting its mission by supplying high performance sewing threads, yarns, and other components used for the manufacturing of flame resistant and high performance textile products. This also includes participation in many technical organizations that develop standards and specifications for high performance textiles and garments. These include ASTM International and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Why Does the Structural Integrity of Your Protective Clothing Hang by a Thread?

E-Textiles Standards Roundtable

Since 2013 he has worked at the Textile Protection And Comfort Center (TPACC) at North Carolina State University on the interaction between clothing and the human body to optimize protection, performance and comfort. The main focus of his research is on using and developing test and evaluation methods for functional textiles to demonstrate and quantify protection, performance and comfort of clothing and related textile products that interact with the body.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track: Biomimesis in a Fiber Delivers Adaptive Breathability

Tara Dunn is a seasoned professional with more than 20 years in the electronics industry exclusively focused on the PCB sector. Her experience spans roles from manufacturing to sales and marketing.

Tara worked in the flexible circuit industry for several years before moving to the rigid board side of the industry. Tara is now president of Omni PCB, a manufacturers' rep firm which is uniquely focused on the PCB market, offering engineering support with technology ranging from standard technology to high-end HDI products including sub 1 mil line and space, and stacked microvias. Specialties are flex, rigid flex, RF microwave designs, and microelectronics.
Tara is also a founder of Geek-A-Palooza. This annual event provides all aspects of the local electronic industry with a unique networking experience focused on expanding resources and knowledge, building relationships and bringing the industry together in a social atmosphere.

E-Textiles Workshop Host

With 48 years of varied experience as a practicing attorney, he is also a widely published author on technology and the law. He was one of the first attorneys to work with computers and online information technology and has long been an evangelist for cybersecurity. He is listed in the SuperLawyers Pennsylvania directory for IP law, and in The Best Lawyers in America© for Technology Law and he has achieved the highest rating, AV Preeminent, in the peer-reviewed Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, and 10.0/10 Superb on Avvo.com. As a Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania, he conducted litigation on behalf of the Commonwealth, primarily involving antitrust or utility regulation. Later, as trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, he participated in civil and criminal investigations and complex litigation, including a trial of 5 pharmaceutical companies accused of fraud on the U.S. Patent Office. He returned to private practice in 1982.

At the beginning of that year, Gerry founded the legal journal Biotechnology Law Report along with publisher Mary Ann Liebert and continues to serve as its Founding Editor. Since the early days of 1982, Gerry has been an avid advocate of computer-mediated communication. Via computer, he has taught intellectual property management on the University of Phoenix online campus. From 1994 to 1999 he served as the sysop for intellectual property/legal matters in the Ideas, Inventions & Innovations Forum, on CompuServe.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track: Smart Talk: E-Textiles 'DIY'

E-Textiles Ask the Experts

Mentor: Intellectual Property & Cybersecurity Law

As USA Country Manager for the Better Cotton Initiative, Scott works with farmers, coops and merchants to expand the supply of US grown Better Cotton. Scott has nearly two decades of experience with market-based approaches to sustainable agriculture. He earned Masters degrees in geography and urban and regional planning from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and has worked in rural development and intercultural education in India and North Africa.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Testing Track: Green Certification Panel

Beth Ferrill is a partner with Finnegan. Ms. Ferrill focuses her practice on all aspects of design patents, including prosecution, counseling, and litigation. She also has extensive experience in utility patent litigation in the areas of software- and hardware-related technologies.

Ms. Ferrill counsels clients who hold design patents as well as those accused of infringement. She has experience with consumer and industrial products, medical devices, transportation and construction vehicles, and graphical user interfaces and icons. She has prosecuted families of design patents before the USPTO, directed prosecution in foreign countries, and argued appeals before the PTAB. She has a special interest in strategic counseling related to acquiring for worldwide protection for designs. She also litigates design patent matters at the U.S. district court level that include trade dress claims.

E-Textiles Workshop: Don’t Leave Valuable IP Unprotected - Design Patents in the Wearable Market

Dr. Jennifer Gerbi currently serves as a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). She manages the DELTA program, developed the new SENSOR program, and manages additional projects for solar and power electronics. Prior to joining ARPA-E, Gerbi worked at Dow Corning in multiple capacities including portfolio building and new business development. She led teams in areas such as solar, batteries, and silicones for electronics. In her most recent role, she and her teams worked directly with large global customers to enable technical solutions via silicones in consumer and crossover healthcare electronics markets. Prior to Dow Corning, Gerbi served as a Senior Materials Scientist at The Dow Chemical Company, focused on rooftop solar shingles. Gerbi served a postdoctoral fellowship at Argonne National Laboratory and as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Illinois. Dr. Gerbi holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science (Semiconductor focus) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She also received an M.S. in Physics from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in Physics from Bard College.

E-Textiles Hackathon Design Challenge Judge

Nicholas Goldsmith is senior principal at FTL Design Engineering Studio. Mr. Goldsmith has been in charge of design on major FTL projects including: Capitol Concerts Pavilion in DC, the Rosa Parks Transit Center in Detroit, and the Sun Valley Pavilion to name a few.
Mr. Goldsmith is a registered architect in several states, a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, a former chairman of the Lightweight Structures Association and a member of International Association of Shell and Spatial Structures. He has been featured in innumerable publications including: FTL: Softness, Movement & Light and his upcoming book, Mass to Membrane.

E-Textiles Discussion: Structures

E-Textiles Discussion: Automotive

Dr. Russell E. Gorga is Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor and the Director of Undergraduate Programs and Associate Department Head in the Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science Department at NC State University. He is a member of the graduate faculty in the Fiber and Polymer Science program and has affiliate appointments in both Materials Science and Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. Russell is currently involved in creating new processing modalities for nanofiber fabrication with applications ranging from tissue scaffolds (for regenerative medicine), antimicrobial fabrics, and filtration applications.

Russell is the co-director of the Textile Engineering and Textile Technology Senior Design Capstone Program where the students learn how to apply the technical design cycle coupled with project management and teambuilding skills while working to solve open-ended industry relevant problems. In addition, he is also very active in problem and project based learning (PBL) initiatives and active learning pedagogies (including a flipped classroom approach). In 2010, Russell received the “Professional Progress in Engineering Award” from the College of Engineering at Iowa State University. Russell received the NC State University Outstanding Teacher Award (2007 and 2016), the Alumni Association Outstanding Teaching Award (2016), the Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Award (2017), and was inducted into the Academy of Outstanding Teachers (2007). Before coming to NC State, Russell was a post-doctoral associate at MIT where he worked on improving the strength of brittle polymers using carbon nanotubes.

Earlier, Russell worked as a research engineer at Union Carbide Corporation (where he received the Special Recognition Award in 1998) from 1997 through 2000, where he focused on structure-property relationships of semi-crystalline polymers for high strength commodity applications.

Russell received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University (2002) where his doctoral work focused on developing relationships between molecular-micro-macro properties of polymer-polymer interfaces. He received a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Rutgers University (1997) and a Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering from Drexel University (1994).

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart and Tracks: Ideation in Engineering Design

E-Textiles Hackathon Design Challenge Facilitator

Jeff Grover is currently serving as a senior procurement analyst for the Office of Contract Policy and International Contracting, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition Technology & Logistics). Jeff Grover has more 30 years of active federal service with the US Army and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), entering initially in 1982 as an enlisted soldier and later in 1990 as a commissioned officer. Jeff Grover retired from the Army in January 2010 maintaining his current position as a DoD civil service employee. Key assignments in the Army included platoon leader (1990-1992 – 7th Infantry Division (Light)), maintenance officer (1992-1994 – 7th Infantry Division (Light)), company commander (1995-1997 – 1st Cavalry Division), Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. (1997-1999 - Training with Industry), contingency contracting officer (1999-2003 – Joint Contracting Commands in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Afghanistan) and executive officer (2003-2004 – G-3 HQ Army Material Command (AMC)). In 2004-2007, Jeff Grover was assigned to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) in Germany as the chief of contracting, with primary duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, managing multiple contracts supporting the Prime Vendor Food Programs in US Africa, European, and Central Commands. Since assigned to the Pentagon in 2007, Jeff Grover has represented the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) in developing and implementing defense-level contracting policy.

Focused initially on operational and contingency contracting policy for US Forces deployed worldwide supporting Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom; currently assigned as a desk officer managing a portfolio of over 30 countries providing international contracting policy, managing Reciprocal Defense Procurement and Government Quality Assurance international agreements, Buy American Act, Berry Amendment, security cooperation, and other international procurement policy and defense trade issues. Education includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from James Madison University (1989) and a Masters of Business Administration Degree from the University of Texas, Arlington (1999). Jeff Grover is also a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College (2002). Jeff Grover is Certified DAWIA Level III Contracting, Level I Program Management and a Member of the Defense Acquisition Corps. Awards include the Bronze Star for duty in Afghanistan and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for duty in Iraq.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Military Track: Defense Procurement and the Berry Amendment

Graduate Univ. of Minnesota.

Owned and operated businesses that involved Surplus and Salvage inventories on a retail basis ( as Ax-man Surplus stores) , as well as wholesale and mail order for approximately 32 years. While doing so, started and ran a company that marketed large mainframe computer parts on a world wide basis. Also during the Ax-Man period, created and marketed various items, ranging from inspection lights prior to fiber optics, chlldren's toys, and industrial hand tools.

After selling the Surplus business and supposedly semi retiring, kept ownership of a plastic manufacturing business that produces and sells high quality hand tools for use in the application of pressure sensitive vinyls. Has now created two different companies. Both of these are involved in the development and creating of the Intellectual Property of two different categories. One is called Flexssm LLC. which is in the field of thin film technology. Flexible and Extendable thin film materials. The other is called MedTextra LLC., which is the reasons we are here at IFAI. It means Medical Textiles and Extra Protection.

Happily retired spending 5 months in Florida, 4 months in Minnesota, 2 months in Mexico, and poking about the world with his much better half.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical and Smart Tracks: Nature-Inspired Moisture Management and Topical Drug Delivery

Professor Roberta H. Gruber is the Head of the Department of Design at Drexel University at the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. Roberta joined the Drexel Faculty in 1986 after more than 15 years as a design professional doing fashion illustration, designing wearable art, sportswear, engineered print dresses, handbags, men’s and women’s business cases along with small leather goods. Under her own label, Roberta Edwards, she designed ready-to-wear dresses. She wrote and illustrated the book Fashion Images.

At Drexel, in addition to overseeing the Fashion Design, Product Design, Design & Merchandising, Graphic Design, Photography programs and the Robert & Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection, she has curated Fashion related exhibitions for the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery. Beyond Drexel, Roberta is engaged in diverse art and design projects, and serves as the Educational Chair for Collab, a collaboration of design professionals supporting the modern and contemporary design collections at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Degrees:
M.S., Drexel University - Arts Administration
B.S., Drexel University - Fashion Design

E-Textiles Workshop Host

Mary Hakam’s forte is combining the art & science of textile product development with hard core engineering to produce game-changing products that work. At home in the C-suite, she is a high performance team business leader and CTO who bridges the gap between vision for new products and the bottom line – a solid return on investment.

Mary has grown from Padawan to Yoda, mentored by The-Best-of-The-Best in the NASA-JSC community, W.L. Gore and Global Business Management Consultants. Her expertise is technical textile products to enable human performance in extreme environments – specifically, NASA space suits and military Special Operations garment systems. Well versed in human/machine interface via human factors engineering, she was taught to do “good science” through designed experimentation. Mary has a broad knowledge and experience with all things textile: fibers to fabrics, manufacturing to performance testing. She is an expert sewer and is by profession, a mechanical engineer.

In 2015, Mary created Woodlands Textiles LLC, with a vision for consulting services to help companies navigate the adventure of next-generation, textiles product innovation on a customer confidential, intellectual property protected basis. She volunteers time mentoring university student entrepreneur/innovation projects and is a member of the IPC Association e-Textiles Committee working toward standard test methods for e-textiles.

Testing Q&A: Aerospace

E-Textiles Discussion: Aerospace

Mentor: Technical Garment Systems

E-Textiles Workshop Host

Sylvia Heisel is apparel designer and creative director working with new materials, manufacturing and physical computing for apparel and wearables. Influenced as much by science, technology, and industrial design as fashion, Sylvia is an expert on 3D printing, functional apparel and design for smart wearables. Currently developing a work-flow and manufacturing system for 3D printed clothing she was named one of the "12 Amazing People You Need To Know In New York Fashion Tech".

Advanced Textiles Campfire: 3D Printing for the Textile and Apparel Industries

Jack Hicks helps inventors profit from their innovations by leveraging global intellectual property laws, including patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights and contracts. A former mechanical design engineer, Jack currently is a licensed patent attorney who has worked with inventions for more than 30 years in numerous advanced textile industries and fields. Jack practices with the regional law firm of Womble Carlyle and teaches intellectual property and international business law at Elon University School of Law.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Success Stories in Innovation – Medical Textiles

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Success Stories in Innovation – Apparel

Mentor: Innovation/Intellectual Property Law

Ms. Hill leads the Standards Team in the International Trade Administration (ITA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce, serving as the ITA liaison to the American National Standards Institute and U.S. standards development organizations, and spearheading a program to ensure that ITA offices effectively address trade-related standards issues. Her career with ITA has been long and varied, which allows Ms. Hill to bring a deep knowledge of trade policy to her standards work. Since starting with ITA in 1980, in addition to her current position, Ms. Hill has served as the ITA expert on trade-related intellectual property rights issues; as Director of ITA’s Office of European Union and Regional Affairs; and as a Director in ITA’s Office of Multilateral Affairs. Ms. Hill also served as a trade counsel with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee under the Legis Congressional Fellowship program.

Ms. Hill holds a BA in Economics and History from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and an MA in International Relations and Business from American University in Washington, D.C.

E-Textiles Standards Roundtable

Gale Holmes received a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Texas @ Austin in May 1977.  He then worked for the Dow Chemical Co in Freeport, Texas as an analytical chemist for 12 years.  In August 1989 he left Dow for Texas A&M University to pursue a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering.  After graduation in August 1994, he was briefly employed at Federal Mogul in Ann Arbor, Michigan before accepting a research position in April 1995 with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.  He was the vice-chair and chair of the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Composites  in 2008 and 2010, respectively.  He has received two Department of Commerce Gold Medals (2007, 2010) for his work of the Electronic Passport and Soft Body Armor.  His research interests are ballistic fibers, nano-tailored multi-functional materials, embedded interfaces, composite micromechanics, time-dependent relaxation phenomena in polymeric systems.

E-Textiles Standards Roundtable

Keith Hoover is involved in developing and implementing manufacturing-centric product development processes. His expertise spans creative product design through technical manufacturing execution. Most recently at Under Armour, Mr. Hoover was involved in Project Glory at the UA Lighthouse, a new model for product development and manufacturing based on digitalization, virtualization, and local-for-local sourcing. Mr. Hoover has contributed in all phases of apparel and hard goods product development. He started his career as a commercial artist and fashion illustrator for such brands as Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren. He moved into product development, devising color management programs for Target, Lands’ End, JCPenney, and Under Armour. He was part of a team that set up Polo R&D and oversaw Fruit of the Loom’s domestic dyehouses. Mr. Hoover was the first in the US to implement large scale end-to-end global digital color management for a major retailer ($70B). He has worked hands-on in mills worldwide and led development for multi-million dollar textile programs in China, India, Pakistan, and Korea. Mr. Hoover focuses on bridging the creative and manufacturing processes by effectively communicating with all facets of the fiber and textile supply chain.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: The local-for-local model for apparel development and manufacturing

Testing Q&A: Color

Mentor: Local Development/Manufacturing

Ron Houle is Founder and President of Pivot Step Consultants, LLC.
Prior to founding his consulting practice, Ron served for twelve years as vice president of Washington Operations for HDT Global, which had acquired DHS Systems/DRASH in February, 2015. Ron’s focus was on opportunities and programs of record in the defense, homeland security, first responder and community hospitals sectors. He has led company partnerships with federal, state and local emergency response agencies, including strategies supporting military support to civilian agencies.

Since joining HDT Global in 2003, Ron was actively involved with the company’s growth in both the defense and non-defense applications of core products. He was involved in building relationships and programs with the Army National Guard, Philips Healthcare, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics, to name a few. In his last three years, Ron was leading the company’s initiative to develop and deploy technologies that will result in a highly mobile tactical power grid.

Prior to joining HDT Global, Ron served as the director for legislative affairs and later as the chief of staff at the national headquarters of the American Red Cross. Prior to the American Red Cross, Ron served on the staff of the Secretary of the Army as the Director of the Programs Division, Office of Legislative Liaison, the Pentagon. Other experience includes an assignment as assistant professor, Department of Mathematics, United States Military Academy; congressional fellow in the office Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN); various command positions in the U.S. Army and service in Desert Storm. In addition to two assignments in Washington, DC, he served nearly six years in Germany, and assignments in Kentucky, Georgia, and Kansas.

Ron is a retired Army Colonel with over 24 years of Active Duty service, and a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY. He holds a master of science degree in applied mathematics, and a master of science degree in industrial engineering, both from Stanford University. Additionally, he holds a master of science degree in national security studies from the National Defense University and completed a curriculum in Foreign Policy Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies, the Johns Hopkins University. He also studied national security policy in one-year executive seminar with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a past chair of the Corporate Advisory Panel of the National Guard Association, and past chair of the board for the US Industrial Fabrics Institute, and the founder and a past chair of the Berry Amendment Textile Coalition.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Military Track: Making Sense Of A DoD Budget

Connie Huffa, president of Fabdesigns Inc. a textile engineering firm that specializes in 3D advanced knit textile engineering for footwear, automotive, medical, aerospace, military applications, wearable technology, upholstery and more. A textile engineer and product development expert from early in her career she excelled for top companies Shell Oil, Ossur, Kraco Enterprises, Tricot St Raphael, and Phillips Van Heusen. She is an alumnus from Philadelphia University, where she was also an adjunct professor of textiles in the Master's program in the 90’s. She's built a solid reputation for first to market success stories in several markets from luxury knitted apparel to extreme environment, automotive, and medical, utilizing highly technical textile applications, polymer science, building supply chain, best practices, and infrastructure. She has several patents, and patents pending. Her specialty: advanced textile materials.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track: Smart Fabrics – beyond the gadgets

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart track: Smart Talk: E-Textiles 'DIY'

Moderator, E-Textiles Ask the Experts

E-Textiles Workshop Host

Mentor: Advanced Textile Development

Clara Jimenez counsels clients in the chemical and medical device technologies in various intellectual property issues, including patent prosecution and litigation. Ms. Jimenez has counseled clients in matters related to cosmetics, aerogels, pharmaceutical polymers, catalysts, inks, metallurgical and nanomaterials. Ms. Jimenez often counsels clients in freedom to operate and patent validity projects. Ms. Jimenez writes often in practical strategies for intellectual property protection in the chemical and materials industries

E-Textiles Workshop: Don’t Leave Valuable IP Unprotected - Design Patents in the Wearable Market

Deb Johnson is the executive director of the Center for Sustainable Design Studies (CSDS) at Pratt Institute in New York City. Using Pratt as her platform she has been integrating sustainability into academics, research and practice for 15 years. Debera served as chair of the Industrial Design program at Pratt from 1997-2005, and in 2002 she founded the Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation. When she stepped down as chair she took the role as academic director of sustainability, which evolved into the CSDS in 2009. In 2014 the Incubator was funded by NYC and NYS and has now transformed into the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator. The BF+DA is a hub for ethical design, production and technology for NYC designers. The BF+DA mentors emerging design-based ventures into triple bottom line businesses, has a lab for short run knitwear and sustainable apparel production and a technology lab that supports research projects exploring innovation at the intersection of sustainability, technology and manufacturing in the fashion industry. The BF+DA produces events, exhibitions and discussions throughout the year including Pratt’s “Positive Impact Awards” which honors change makers and though leaders in the fashion industry and education.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Will the next Alexander McQueen Be a Biologist?

Chris Jorgensen is the director of technology transfer at IPC—Association Connecting Electronics Industries, a global industry association representing all facets of the electronics industry supply chain. As a member of IPC’s technical department, Jorgensen’s primary responsibility is staff liaison to standards development committees. These committees are responsible for such standards as those for e-textiles and printed electronics.

Jorgensen is secretary of the United States Technical Advisory Group – TAG – of the International Electrical Commission’s Technical Committee 91 Electronics Assembly Technology and is a participating member of its technical working groups. He is also a member of the US TAG for IEC TC 119 Printed Electronics and is a participating member of its working groups.

Jorgensen also represents IPC as a member of NextFlex–America’s Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Institute for which he is a co-lead of its Standards, Reliability and Test Technical Working Group.He has nearly 20 years of experience in standards development, nonprofit management and marketing. He received his degree in communications from Columbia College in Chicago.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Military and Smart Tracks: The US Military is Moving E-Textiles to the Front Lines – Is Your Company Prepared to Meet Their Needs?

E-Textiles Standards Roundtable

Dr. Jesse Jur is an Assistant Professor of Textile Engineering, Chemistry & Science at NC State University's College of Textiles. The College of Textiles at N.C. State is the global leader in textile education and research. Having undertaken his undergraduate studies at the University of South Carolina, and then spending three years in Silicon Valley, he earned his Ph.D.in Materials Science and Engineering at N.C. State. Dr. Jur has spent his career researching the interfaces of technologies: from semiconductor device development to textile designs. His current research focuses on integration of systems electronics into wearable platforms for energy harvesting and monitoring of a person's environmental and physiological state. He is the Technology Thrust Leader for ‘Wearability and Data’ for ASSIST (Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies), a National Science Foundation Nanosystems Engineering Research Center (NERC). He is also the co-director of the Textile Engineering and Textile Technology Engineering Design Program in the College of Textiles, an intensive course that interfaces students and industry for innovative product development.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart and TestingTracks: Roadmap for E-Textiles Standards

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart and Tracks: Ideation in Engineering Design

E-Textiles Hackathon Design Challenge Facilitator

E-Textiles Standards Roundtable

Sandeep Khatua is currently working as an independent consultant in the consumer products industry. He has over 18 years of history of work with individuals, teams and organizations helping them clarify what they want and focus on getting it.

Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Sandeep Khatua was the director of technical services, Softlines for Bureau Veritas. He has broad experience in the field of consumer product testing, quality assurance and process improvement for apparel, home goods and accessories including footwear. Sandeep is responsible for providing technical leadership to clients by developing and implementing initiatives that add value throughout their supply chain, including consulting and training. He is actively involved with AATCC, ASTM, AAFA, FDRA and various other industry organizations. He serves as chair of the newly formed ASTM subcommittee D13.50 (Smart Textiles) to lead wearable textiles activities. He is also serving as chair for AATCC committee RA 111 (Electronically Integrated Textiles) as well.

Sandeep received his Bachelor of Technology in textile engineering at the University of Calcutta, India; his Master of Science in textiles science & engineering at the University of Leeds, England; and his Ph.D. in fiber & polymer science at the University of California, Davis.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track: Smart Talk: E-Textiles 'DIY'

E-Textiles Ask the Experts

E-Textiles Discussion: Military

Martin King is regarded as an international specialist in the area of biotextiles, implantable devices, biomaterials and medical textiles. He joined the Department of Textiles and Apparel, Technology and Management in September 2000 following over 30 years experience working in industry, education and the government sector in Canada and Europe.

As one of the first graduates in Polymer Technology from Manchester University, U.K., Martin King was hired by Canadian Industries Limited (I.C.I. Fibres Division), and later by Celanese Canada Limited, Montreal, Canada, to work as a product development engineer on nylon and polyester fibers and yarns at its Millhaven plant in Kingston, Ontario, Canada . During this time he worked on the start-up of the first continuous polymerisation plant for the spinning of short staple polyester fiber for blending with cotton, on improvements in texturising nylon and polyester multifilament yarns, as well as developing polyester fibre/rubber adhesive systems that led to the manufacture of the first commercial polyester tire cord.
Martin King then returned to the U.K. to work with L.N. Phillips and W. Watt on the development of carbon fibers at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (now the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory), Farnborough, Hants. He was instrumental in identifying alternative precursor polymer systems and wet spinning and carbonising biconstituent acrylic/novoloid fibers for use in carbon fiber reinforced composites.

Over the last 25 years Martin King has developed an interest in the field of biomaterials and biotextiles (a term he has coined to describe the application of fibrous structures designed specifically for biological environments). During his 28 year tenure as a faculty member in the Department of Clothing & Textiles at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, he has worked with his graduate students on many research projects related to the study of implantable devices and has published widely in the textile science, biomaterials and medical literature. Support for these projects has come from national funding agencies, medical foundations and industrial sponsors.
During his time at the University of Manitoba, Martin King taught undergraduate courses in textile science and design, apparel engineering, applied economics and the appreciation of research. At NCSU he is currently teaching TT 331, Performance Evaluation of Textile Materials. At the graduate level, he has taught courses in polymer, fiber and textile science, biomaterials and research methods. He has advised and examined graduate and undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines, such as chemistry, civil, mechanical, biomedical and biosystems engineering, architecture, food science, anthropology, surgery, history and computer science, with their textiles, apparel or biomaterials related research projects. In 1989 he was awarded the University of Manitoba Merit Award for Teaching, Research & Service.

Over the years he has been recognised as an expert witness by different courts to present forensic evidence on topics related to the identification, damage and failure of textiles, apparel and surgical implants in cases of misleading advertising, product failure, patent litigation, medical liability, fire injury, rape and murder.
He also currently holds adjunct appointments in clothing & textiles in the Faculty of Human Ecology at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada and in biomaterials science at Laval University, Quebec City, Canada.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical and Testing Tracks: Expectations for Testing Medical Textiles: Is it Really Necessary and What Does it Achieve?

Jill received a bachelor of science in fiber science and apparel design from Cornell University. Jill has professional experience in the textile testing industry, specializing in personal protective equipment testing, including arc flash and flash fire testing. As the Textile Testing Laboratory Manager at ArcWear, Jill's work focuses on protective textiles, gloves, and garments where she can apply her background in textiles to the industry to increase compliance to ASTM and IEC standards for arc flash and flash fire. Jill also participates on standard technical committees, including NFPA 2112 for industrial flash fire, ASTM F23 for PPE, ASTM D13 for textiles, and ANSI/ISEA 107 for high visibility products.

Testing Q&A: Arc Flash

Dr. Kirkpatrick has extensive experience in the testing and analysis of textiles and fibrous assemblies. She is proficient in textile characterization techniques and has direct experience in evaluating textile performance via fiber content, fabric structure/design, and performance specifications. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Kirkpatrick completed her doctorate in Fiber Science from Cornell University.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Labeling Laws: Challenges for Innovative and Specialty Textiles

Melissa Knothe Tate is a prolific inventor of disruptive technologies, entrepreneur, engineering innovation consultant & expert witness. She works closely with the global med- & bio-tech industries, both as a consultant & R&D tech innovation partner, developing cutting edge & disruptive technologies with world leading multinational as well as start up companies. Knothe Tate shares her approach to engineering innovation through outreach & teaching programs with diverse groups, from Harvard engineering students to indigenous youth & global business/tech leaders.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical Track: Advanced Textile Solutions for Medicine - Inspired by Nature's Living Textiles

Mohan obtained his Doctorate in EEE from Imperial College London in the domain of ‘Ultra Low Power Wearable Systems” with specialization in implementing low power circuits for brain wave monitoring. He has about 22+ years of experience in the Biomedical, Semiconductor & Healthcare industries.Mohan has worked extensively in product innovation ranging from Consumer to Healthcare Technologies. Most recently, he led a team at Philips Healthcare to launch a Low-cost, Portable ECG for emerging markets like India. Earlier, he was also part of the "Low cost Cochlear Implant" project being pioneered by DRDO.

Mohan currently serves as a Country Head (India) for Wearable Technologies, AG. Earlier, he was Vice President of Strategic Business at MegaChips Corporation where he focused on IoT devices for Healthcare and Smart grids. He is currently the WG Chair for an IEEE EMBS & IEEE SA supported New Standard P2650 : Pre-Screening Audiometric Systems. He is also an active member of the IEEE SIG on Communications Disability that supports technology development for the Speech & Hearing Impaired, Visually Challenged & other communication disorders.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical and Smart Tracks: E-textiles integrating sensors, communications, IoT, cloud technologies for medical wearables

Valérie Lamontagne is a Montréal artist-designer, curator, and holds a PhD in “Performative Wearables: Bodies, Fashion and Technology” from Concordia University where she teaches in the Department of Design & Computation Arts. She is the owner & designer at 3lectromode, a wearable electronics atelier and founder & director of the upcoming Fashiontech Festival in Montreal. She is also co-owner of the wearables startup synapseWear with Alexander Reeder from Art&Program, based in Tokyo.

She has curated design and media arts exhibitions and events such as: “Tech-à-porter,” MUTEK IMG, Montréal, Canada (2016); “The Future of Fashion is Now,” Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2014); “TechnoSensual,” Museums Quartier, Vienna (2012); “Clothing without Cloth,” V2_Institute for the Unstable Media, Rotterdam (2011); “Electromode” at the the Vancouver Winter Olympics (2010); “Ellipse: L’art sur le web,” Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (2002); and “Location/Dislocation,” New Museum, New York (2001).

E-Textiles Workshop Host

Mary Lynn Landgraf has served as a Senior International Trade Specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), since September 2002. Ms. Landgraf has been involved in opening and cultivating new markets in Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East for contract/hospitality and specialty/technical textiles to include military textiles. She brings 20 years of private sector experience to the position, spanning the spectrum from fiber extrusion to yarn spinning, fabrics and finished products. Ms. Landgraf worked with the United States Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI) and supported, co-developed and co-lead a trade mission to Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Abu Dhabi and Dubai in October 2007.

Ms Landgraf establishes US pavilions and Sample Booths at trade shows around the world to assist small- and medium- size businesses with export promotion and sales with target markets: textiles, finished goods in all facets of technical textiles with an emphasis on military textiles and hospitality textiles. Most recently she has focused on foreign technology introduction and potential transfer of vital innovative technology to our US military. From 2006 to 2012 Ms. Landgraf was on special assignment to the Afghanistan & Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force of the US Department of Commerce. In this role Ms. Landgraf helped orchestrate visits and training for Afghan hand-woven carpet manufacturers and spearheaded the Afghan Rug & Cultural event at the January 07 Atlanta Rug Market and the January 08 Las Vegas Carpet show. Ms Landgraf traveled to Afghanistan in preparation for the Atlanta January ‘07event and the Las Vegas January 08 carpet. She worked with the Afghan Task Force on marketing and branding Afghan carpets and instructing best business practices to the Afghan carpet business community. Afghan Carpets were featured in a two page spread in the October 2012 issue of ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST.

Most recently Ms. Landgraf served on the RFT-MII selection committee for the establishment of the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) institute at MIT. She was also part of the International Trade Administration’s liaison to the Global Markets project for Hannover Messe 2016, where the USA was recognized as the Partner Country. Ms. Landgraf is the US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration’s 2011 recipient of the Lawrence M. Payne Memorial award. The award recognizes the employee who did the most during the past year to create and facilitate cooperative efforts between the public and private sectors to promote international trade. Ms. Landgraf served on 4 different DECs (District Export Councils), to include North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland/District of Columbia, for 19 years, as well as serving on various other international committees such as ETAC (Exporters Textile Advisory Committee).

Ms. Landgraf completed her undergraduate studies in political science and history at East Carolina University. She received a Master’s of Science in Linguistics & German from Georgetown University and did post-graduate work at the University of Innsbruck (Austria).Mary Lynn Landgraf has served as a Senior International Trade Specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), since September 2002. Ms. Landgraf has been involved in opening and cultivating new markets in Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East for contract/hospitality and specialty/technical textiles to include military textiles. She brings 20 years of private sector experience to the position, spanning the spectrum from fiber extrusion to yarn spinning, fabrics and finished products. Ms. Landgraf worked with the United States Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI) and supported, co-developed and co-lead a trade mission to Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Abu Dhabi and Dubai in October 2007.

Ms Landgraf establishes US pavilions and Sample Booths at trade shows around the world to assist small- and medium- size businesses with export promotion and sales with target markets: textiles, finished goods in all facets of technical textiles with an emphasis on military textiles and hospitality textiles. Most recently she has focused on foreign technology introduction and potential transfer of vital innovative technology to our US military. From 2006 to 2012 Ms. Landgraf was on special assignment to the Afghanistan & Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force of the US Department of Commerce. In this role Ms. Landgraf helped orchestrate visits and training for Afghan hand-woven carpet manufacturers and spearheaded the Afghan Rug & Cultural event at the January 07 Atlanta Rug Market and the January 08 Las Vegas Carpet show. Ms Landgraf traveled to Afghanistan in preparation for the Atlanta January ‘07event and the Las Vegas January 08 carpet. She worked with the Afghan Task Force on marketing and branding Afghan carpets and instructing best business practices to the Afghan carpet business community. Afghan Carpets were featured in a two page spread in the October 2012 issue of ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST. Most recently Ms. Landgraf served on the RFT-MII selection committee for the establishment of the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) institute at MIT. She was also part of the International Trade Administration’s liaison to the Global Markets project for Hannover Messe 2016, where the USA was recognized as the Partner Country.

Ms. Landgraf is the US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration’s 2011 recipient of the Lawrence M. Payne Memorial award. The award recognizes the employee who did the most during the past year to create and facilitate cooperative efforts between the public and private sectors to promote international trade. Ms. Landgraf served on 4 different DECs (District Export Councils), to include North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland/District of Columbia, for 19 years, as well as serving on various other international committees such as ETAC (Exporters Textile Advisory Committee). Ms. Landgraf completed her undergraduate studies in political science and history at East Carolina University. She received a Master’s of Science in Linguistics & German from Georgetown University and did post-graduate work at the University of Innsbruck (Austria).

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical and Smart Tracks: E-textiles integrating sensors, communications, IoT, cloud technologies for medical wearables

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Special Additives for Military Textiles

E-Textiles Ask the Experts

E-Textiles Hackathon Design Challenge Judge

Benjamin Leever is currently a Senior Materials Engineer in the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Soft Matter Materials Branch. His primary roles are Advanced Development Lead and Government Chief Technology Officer of NextFlex, a $170M public-private partnership established to create a domestic manufacturing ecosystem in flexible hybrid electronics. In support of AFRL’s investments in Soft Matter Materials, Dr. Leever determines technical strategy, manages AFRL contracts, and establishes industrial, academic, and governmental collaborations. He also leads the directorate’s Energy Integrated Product Team and respresents the directorate on numerous domestic and international power & energy and additive manufacturing working groups.

Prior to assuming his current duties, Dr. Leever led a research team focused on the development and modeling of multifunctional materials for structural power applications. Dr. Leever began his career at AFRL in the Manufacturing Technology Division, where he managed programs related to electro-optics systems. He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from Northwestern University.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Military and Smart Tracks: The US Military is Moving E-Textiles to the Front Lines – Is Your Company Prepared to Meet Their Needs?

Thomas Leucht is co-founder and CEO of the accredited and independent Application Lab Weber & Leucht. He received a Dipl.-Ing. degree in Textile chemistry from The University of Applied Science Hof/Germany and a postgraduate Master Sc. degree in Laboratory management and Statistics . He has been active in the area of textile testing and certification for over 15 years for personal protective equipment.

Testing Q&A: Protection

Eric is a product design leader with a unique balance of business, technical, and creative sensibilities and talent for driving consumer focused innovation. Through collaboration with ASTM and AATCC e-textile task groups, Eric lays groundwork for IoT and textile innovation, working with cross-functional teams to develop terminology and standards for emerging e-textile systems. Eric is an advisor and mentor for the University of Oregon Sports Product Management Program and a wearable tech workshop facilitator & instructor.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track: Smart Talk: E-Textiles 'DIY'

E-Textiles Workshop Host

Siqi (Lance) Li is the Senior Formulations Chemist of textile and liquid formulation R&D for Microban International. Lance holds a Ph.D. degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of South Carolina. He has 8 years of product innovation experience, in the fields of antimicrobials, biomedical assays and devices, and nanomaterials. Prior to joining Microban in 2016 Lance held research positions with Luna Innovations, Becton Dickinson and Lab 21 Inc. At Luna, Lance was the Principle Investigator of a Department of Defense STTR grant, who led the company’s efforts to transfer, develop and commercialize bacteriocin based antimicrobial technology from an academic partner at University of California at San Diego for military textile odor control applications. Lance holds 2 patents related to biosensor design and has had his work published 20 times over the last 10 years.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Odor Control Solutions for Textiles

Stephen Luckowski is a Competency Manager at the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), Picatinny Arsenal, NJ. His primary roles are Program Manager of the Department of Defense (DoD) Revolutionary Fibers and Textiles Manufacturing Innovation Institute and providing organizational strategic planning for the Materials, Manufacturing and Prototype Technology Division, US Army ARDEC. As Government Program Manager for the Institute, Mr. Luckowski is working on behalf of the DoD’s Manufacturing Technology Program to provide guidance and direction on the establishment of an advanced fibers and textiles manufacturing innovation ecosystem. As Competency Manager, Mr. Luckowski’s focus is developing and demonstrating new manufacturing process technology improvements in the prototype development of armament systems and components, to help reduce system costs and enable new designs as they transition from prototype to production. Mr. Luckowski has been responsible for transformational efforts in several key manufacturing technology thrusts within the Army/DoD to include titanium material processing and joining, digital manufacturing and design, and additive manufacturing.

Prior to this, Mr. Luckowski served as Chair of the Metals Processing and Fabrication Subpanel within the Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Panel (JDMTP) and spent one year on a professional development assignment with the Defense Production Act Title III program, working in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy. He has also been a member of the Technical Advisory Committees for other DoD Institutes, including America Makes and Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT).

Mr. Luckowski holds a Bachelor of Science in materials engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and previously served in the U.S. Army, leaving service at the rank of Major. He is a member of the Army Acquisition Corps and a prior Chair/current member of the American Welding Society D1.9 Structural Welding Titanium Code Committee. Mr. Luckowski has been awarded multiple patents and has been recognized by the Army’s Greatest Invention Awards Program for inventions in titanium welding as well as armament and protection systems.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Military Track: The Revolutionary Fibers and Textiles Manufacturing Innovation Institute - A New Industry/Government Partnership to Meet Future Defense and Commercial Requirements

Dr. Maureen S. MacGillivray is a full professor of apparel and textiles at Central Michigan University. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Apparel and Textiles from Michigan State University and her Ph. D. from Oklahoma State University.  In 1986, she interned with the Armed Services at the Science and Advanced Technology Lab in Natick, MA, where she worked on developing a cooling vest for soldiers to wear under their chemical protective gear. She became an assistant professor at Central Michigan University in 1988 where she developed the first functional apparel design course.  She was instrumental in building an innovation laboratory at CMU with a multidisciplinary team of researchers. Their work has included studies for national basketball, hockey and baseball teams as well as hospitals, bedding companies, automotive and other companies designing functional apparel and textiles.  The majority of projects have to do with enhancing thermal comfort.  Acquiring technology through collaborative grant writing with her team has brought a body scanner, infra-red thermography, a transgendered thermal manikin, a sweating guarded hot plate and other technologies to the innovation laboratory.  As a professor and researcher, she enjoys bringing real world problems to the classroom. This usually includes bringing clients to the classroom as well where CEO’s and project managers get to interact with students who are our future.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: SizeNorthAmerica Anthropometric Survey

Bentley Mah is the senior technical representative for Covestro CAS Baymedix for North America. He has over 6 years of experience in the medical polymers group at Covestro where he focuses on polyurethane coatings, adhesives, and foams for wound care, non-woven and textile medical devices. Prior to Covestro, Bentley acquired over 18 years of medical industry experience for Class II and Class III devices including implantables, intravascular and surgical devices, and neurological biosensors. These devices addressed clinical needs in women’s health, laparoscopic surgery, neonatal screening, cardiac arrhythmias, and neurovascular abnormalities.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical Track: Sustainable coatings for medical textiles

Joe Mango is a creative technologist/engineer whose area of focus is the research and development of new and embedded wearable technologies. His practice ranges from design, audiovisual performance/installations, wearable tech, and electrical engineering. Prior to completing his Masters at NYU’s ITP (Interactive Telecommunications Program), he did design thinking and application for various companies in NYC.

Joe has spent a lot of time building custom screen printed sensors into garments in an effort to track and pinpoint movement in the human body for both scientific and performative endeavors. Researching what it means to embed electronics seamlessly into garments and how to connect to them with ease is a topic that comes of great interest to Joe, and what has lead him to work alongside Despina Papadopoulos at Principled Design as Head of Engineering and Development.

E-Textiles Workshop Host

Madison Maxey is a creative technologist and 2013 Thiel Fellow. Her work and contributions to the wearable technology space have been featured in Wired, FastCompany and New York Magazine and she has provided e-textiles insights to the likes of the White House and Google. In her teens, she interned at Tommy Hilfiger and Nylon Magazine and is a Teen Vogue and CF+DA scholarship recipient. She is a Forbes 30 under 30 Member and on the NYCBLK 28 under 28 list. She has held creative tech residences/ fellowships at Autodesk, The School of Visual Arts and Undercurrent (acquired by Quirky) and is on the board of the Urban Assembly Maker Academy, a school focused on fabrications and design thinking. She has lectured on future textiles for the Parsons School of design Year 4 Labs program. More than anything, she loves fabricating the future at Loomia, a company she founded in 2013 focused on creating smart fabric.

E-Textiles Discussion: Home

Dr. Meredith McQuerry is an assistant professor in the Retail, Merchandising & Product Development department at Florida State University (FSU). Her research focuses on clothing performance and product durability. She completed her doctorate in textile technology management at North Carolina State University in the College of Textiles, where she worked in the Textile Protection and Comfort Center (TPACC). While at TPACC, she worked on FEMA/DHS sponsored projects to improve the performance of protective clothing for first responders. Meredith also holds a master’s degree and two undergraduate degrees from the merchandising, apparel and textiles program at the University of Kentucky (UK), with an emphasis in Textile Science. She has six years of experience as a senior lab technician and supervisor of the Textile Testing Laboratory at UK where she conducted a post-use durability analysis of structural firefighter turnout suits. She is Six Sigma Green Belt certified and has experience attaining ISO A2LA Lab Certification. Her work has been published by Fire Technology, ASTM, the Textile Research Journal, and the AATCC Journal of Research.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Product Quality: Linking User Needs, Performance, and Durability

Ben is a Customer Relationship and Technical Specialist with Hohenstein Institute Americas. In this role Ben has customer service responsibilities for the western United States and represents Hohenstein in many of its textile-industry collaborations. He also serves as the company’s liaison with governmental agencies and trade associations.

Ben has a decade of experience working with brands and manufacturers. He previously consulted with a variety of brands and industry associations such as Textile Exchange and AFIRM. In those roles, Ben was responsible for content development, training, and partnerships with established industry leaders and experts to increase industry engagement in green chemistry and sustainable textile processing. Ben started his career working for Nike, Inc where he helped develop a restricted substances program and was also involved in implementation of both sustainable materials and water programs.

Ben has a BS degree in Textile Chemistry from North Carolina State University.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Testing Track: Green Certification Panel

Laurie Mease has served as an International Trade Specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) since 2004. As a member of the Western Hemisphere Team, Ms. Mease assists companies with various aspects of trade in textiles, apparel, and footwear with Mexico, the Andean region, and DR-CAFTA countries. She is currently assisting in the implementation of the International Trade Data System (ITDS), the electronic “single window” for all cargo crossing U.S. borders. Ms. Mease also aids in the review of textile-related Free Trade Zone (FTZ) applications, administers the electronic systems used for the Dominican Republic and Haiti Earned Import Allowance programs (EIAPs), and reviews requests submitted under the commercial availability (short supply) mechanism of the DR-CAFTA, Peru, Colombia, and Panama free trade agreements (FTAs). Most recently, Ms. Mease served as the Industry & Analysis (I&A) bureau’s Communications Lead for the USA Partner Country activities at Hannover Messe 2016, as well as leading the Department of Commerce’s efforts to jointly host the 2016 Smart Fabrics Summit with the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI).

Ms. Mease is a graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business & Management and Spanish. She also obtained a Master of Arts degree in International Trade & Investment Policy, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Latin American & Hemispheric Studies, from The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington, DC.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track: Development and Commercialization of New Smart Fabrics Technologies

William Miller is President of Maximum Control Technologies (MaCT), a MILLER W J & ASSOCIATES Company with offices in the United States and Canada.

He is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with degrees in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, and Computer Programming with 36 years of experience in the systems integration, project management, including international sales and design of numerous process control systems for power, pulp & paper, chemical, and cement industries as well as consulting and standards development for industry and the US governement. Noted speaker on cyber security, Mobile Ad hoc NETorks (MANET) wireless in industrial plants, Smart Grid, Smart Cities, developing a metadata standard for the Internet of Things (IoT) and most recently IoT Harmonization. He is been a participant in a number of security and wireless standardization efforts including ISA-99 Industrial Control Systems Security & ISA100 Wireless Systems for Automation.

Founding member of the Process Control Security Requirements Forum (PCSRF) which was hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He has also contributed to security standardization for the US government including the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) guidelines, review of NERC reliablity and security requirements vs NIST SP800-53, and recommendaitons for security of wireless systems in the NIST SP800-82 Guide for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security. Previously Chairman for IEEE P2030 TF3 WG2 Use Cases for Interopreabilty of the Smart Grid, currently Chairman of P1451-1-4 (Sensei-IoT*), and IEEE P1451-99 IoT Harmonization Chairman with subgroups in INDIA, CHINA, and US/EU which is cosponsored by the IDEEE Instrument & Measurement Society (I&MS), IEEE Sensors Counvil (SC), and IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IES).. IEEE SA Steering Committee Member and IEEE Smart Cities Steering Committee. Previous ISO/IEC/JJTC1/SN1 member for Sensor Networks.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical and Smart Tracks: E-textiles integrating sensors, communications, IoT, cloud technologies for medical wearables

Boules Morcos is the North American business development and product manager of Electroless Nickel at MacDermid Enthone. He is an engineer, who has 28-years of experience in the metal finishing industry, specializing in engineered coatings, plating on metals and non-metals as well as surface preparation.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track: Smart Talk: E-Textiles 'DIY'

E-Textiles Ask the Experts

Kevin Nelson received his Ph.D. from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas under the direction of Dr. Robert Eberhart. As a faculty member in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1996, he joined a team working on an NIH grant to develop a fiber-based, biodegradable vascular stent with the goal of delivering gene therapy to the vessel wall. Simultaneously working with Dr. Nathan Schwade to develop drug-loaded microspheres for improved wound healing, he eventually combined the drug-loading techniques of microspheres with the fiber for the biodegradable stent, and fiber-based drug delivery was born. Eventually patented, this technology has been the focus of Dr. Nelson’s professional life and the driver behind TissueGen, Inc.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical Track: Enabling the Future of Medicine through Controlled Sustained Delivery of Biologics and Pharmaceuticals from Biodegradable Fiber

David Nelson retired from 3M after a 40 year career that included more than 30 years in nonwoven technology, research, product development, and manufacturing. Currently the Director of Industry Engagement at the Nonwovens Institute at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Nonwovens in Filtration

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Nonwovens in Transportation

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Nonwovens in Safety

Mentor: Nonwovens Technology

Scott is an operations research and systems analyst leading U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center’s (NSRDEC) E-Textile business case analysis (BCA). The purpose of this BCA effort is to develop a framework of current and emerging e-textile technologies with the potential to enable future Soldier and small unit system capabilities, and to inform resourcing decisions based on Army guidance and future operating concepts.

Scott is a retired military officer with over 20 years of service in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Officer and Military Operations Research & Systems Analyst. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Systems Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from New Mexico State University. Prior to working at NSRDEC, he served as an analyst for Soldier capability development at the U.S. Army TRADOC Analysis Center (TRAC) and the U.S. Army Capability Integration Center (ARCIC). Scott’s service includes two combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Military and Smart Tracks: The US Military is Moving E-Textiles to the Front Lines – Is Your Company Prepared to Meet Their Needs?

Yolita Wildman Nugent is an apparel engineer, entrepreneur and researcher of advanced clothing systems including wearable electronics. She has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in Apparel Design. Her wearable work has been featured in Time Magazine’s best inventions of the year, Wired, and The Wall Street Journal. She engineered the first wearable personal protective jacket to assist against violent close-quarter assaults. The patented technology uses electro-muscular disruption effects via a textile composite medium to protect the wearer.

E-Textiles Ask the Experts

Marie O’Mahony is Founder and Director of O’Mahony Consultancy and a Professor of Digital Futures at Ontario College of Art and Design University. With over 20 years global experience in advanced and smart textiles, she has worked with governments, research institutes, ThinkTanks, academia and industry. She is the author of six books. Marie is on the advisory board and a regular contributor to Advanced Textiles Source and is a member of the National Research Council Canada’s Smart Textile and Wearables Alliance.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical and Smart Tracks: Nature-Inspired Moisture Management and Topical Drug Delivery

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Training and education for the demands of a high tech textile industry

Mentor: Concept and product development

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Spunmelt Technology for Advanced Nonwovens

Eva Osborne is an innovation addict who uses her company, Significant Difference, to support her habit. Her specialty is using experimental design on creative solutions in the technical textile and functional apparel arena. She has worked with very small businesses (where a turkey baster was used for accelerated temperature testing) as well as large corporations with fabulously equipped electronic jacquard looms and a mechanic to die for. Eva calls herself the “The Missing Link.” One foot in design (BS-Drexel U) and one foot in Textile Science (MS-VaTech).

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track: Smart Talk: 101 E-Textiles

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track: Smart Talk: E-Textiles 'DIY'

E-Textiles Workshop Host

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track Moderator

A leader in the wearable technology and e-textiles world, Despina developed her first “wearable” in 1995 as part of her MA thesis project at NYU’s graduate Interactive Telecommunications Program. Since then she has developed a wide range of wearable technology projects and solutions, including mBracelet for NCR (which presaged e-payments), fabrickit (an open source modular system that facilitates the construction of wearable projects). She also developed click sneaks, love&hug jackets, and day-for-night (an homage to Paco Rabanne). She has been named one of New York City’s Six Most Interesting Women in Tech.

Despina is a professor at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, where she has been teaching classes on wearable technology and innovation for the past 12 years, and is founding faculty at SVA’s MFA in Design for Social Innovation Program. Her work has been featured in publications around the world and exhibited in major museum shows, including the V&A in London, the Holon Design Museum in Holon, Israel, and the Walker Art Center in Minnesota. Despina is a regular speaker and panelist on wearable technology and innovation, most recently at Smart Fabrics Summit, organized by the U..S Chamber of commerce, the PI Apparel 2016 and at the Forum of the Textile and Apparel Industry organized by the Chamber of Textile and Apparel Industry and Trade Zone of El Salvador (CAMTEX). In her TEDx talk, From Thinking to Making: Weaving Technology in Everyday Life, she discusses the important relationship between tools, innovation and emerging possibilities.

E-Textiles Discussion: Apparel

E-Textiles Workshop Host

Jan Pegram Ballard is an Extension Specialist and manager of the Physical Testing Laboratory in the Zeis Textiles Extension Department of the College of Textiles at North Carolina State University. She is also a Teaching Associate Professor in the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry, and Science. She received the B.S. degree in Textile Chemistry and the Ph.D. degree in Fiber and Polymer Science from North Carolina State University. After receiving her degrees, she worked at the Research Triangle Institute as a postdoctoral chemist and research associate in the areas of controlled release of pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals from polymeric matrices and environmental degradation of polymeric materials. She has been employed by College of Textiles since 1993. Current research and professional education interests include materials testing, quality control, fiber science, color science, and dyeing. She is a member of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, serving on Research Committee RA56. She has also served on the Technical Advisory Committee of Industrial Fabrics Association International.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Testing Track: Fiber, Yarn, and Fabric Testing

Lee Portnoff, is a Health Scientist in the Research Branch of the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL). Early in his career, he worked as an Associate Service Professor for Cornell University and supported forestry and ecosystem research projects for the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, University of Chile, and the Cary Institute of Ecological Studies. He started working as an Aerosol Scientist at the University of California in Davis in 1999. While at the University he developed aerosol monitoring devices to collect samples from around the world to be analyzed via X-ray Fluorescence at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories Advance Light Source.

As a science consultant, he worked with clients that included Johns Hopkins University, Charles University in Prague, the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, and the U.S. Army. His current work at NPPTL involves evaluation and testing of aerosol, liquid, and viral penetration through protective clothing.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Testing Track: Evolving Standard Test Methods to Evaluate Liquid and Viral Penetration through Protective Clothing

Behnam Pourdeyhimi is the Klopman Distinguished Professor of Textile Materials and Associate Dean for Industry Research and Extension. He also serves as the Director of the Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center at the College of Textiles at North Carolina State University.

Behnam received his Ph. D. from Leeds University in 1982. This was followed by positions as a research scientist at NCSU and then at Cornell University. His distinguished academic career has taken him through University of Maryland (1984-1995) and Ga. Tech. (1995-1999) before returning to NC State.

Behnam has taught textile and fiber science, technology and engineering as well as microscopy and image analysis applications to textiles, nonwovens and materials problems both at undergraduate and graduate levels. His research experience covers such areas as image and structural analysis of nonwoven fibrous webs, textile applications in sports, bioengineering and materials, instrumentation and test method development, among others. His contributions to fiber / textile science, engineering and technology and his contributions to the profession have been well recognized by several awards. He has published several books and monographs, over 150 refereed journal articles and over 150 conference presentations. He is the recipient of The Fiber Society Young Distinguished Achievement Award (1994) and Fellowship of the Textile Institute (1994). He served as the President of the Fiber Society in 1995. His students have won several awards, including the Fiber Society Best Paper award and the INTC Best Paper Ward.

Behnam’s research interests are in the area of nonwovens, materials, biomaterials, modeling performance, special textile structures, and image analysis. His expertise is recognized by major corporations and leading research bodies around the world. He acts as consultant to over 30 bodies and major Corporations.

Testing Q&A: Nonwovens

Christopher D. Rahn received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1985 and a M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986. He worked for three years as a Research and Development Engineer in spacecraft attitude dynamics and control at Ford Aerospace in Palo Alto, CA. He then returned to Berkeley, receiving a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1992. Dr. Rahn was a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University from 1992 to 2000 where he co-directed the Robotics and Mechatronics Laboratory and focused his research on the development and experimental validation of control systems for distributed vibration and noise and nonlinear models of high-speed textile manufacturing processes. In 2000, Dr. Rahn joined The Pennsylvania State University where he is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Mechatronics Research Laboratory, and Associate Dean for Innovation. His research in the modeling, analysis, design, and control of mechatronic systems has been supported by ONR, AFOSR, Army, DARPA, NSF, DOE, NIH, ARPA-E and industry. He has published two books, more than two hundred refereed publications and several patents. A fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Dr. Rahn served as chair of the ASME Design Engineering Division.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track: Energy Harvesting: Power for the People!

Jeff Rasmussen is the Director of Market Research at IFAI. He holds an MBA and has over 20 years of market research experience. His expertise includes the areas of customer satisfaction studies, custom market research studies, as well as industry and competitor analysis. He is also a frequent speaker on textile markets at industry events including past Advanced Textile Conferences, as well as the 2016 Smart Fabrics Summit at the Commerce Department in Washington D.C.; he authors IFAI’s annual report on the state of the specialty fabrics industry. Other reports by Rasmussen cover in-depth overviews of individual U.S. specialty fabric market segments including geosynthetics, marine fabrics, awnings, narrow fabrics and fabric structures.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Smart Track: Current Developments in the Smart and Interactive Fabrics Market

Dr. Glenner Richards is the Director of Microbiology & Analytical Chemistry Laboratories at Microban International, located in Huntersville, NC. Glenner earned her B.Sc. in Biology and M. Phil. in Botany from the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica and Ph.D. in Food Science & Technology from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. She is an experienced microbiologist and biological science educator who possesses technical expertise and experience managing projects and teams.

As the Director of Microban’s Test Labs, Glenner collaborates with the technical (innovations and engineering) and business (marketing and sales) teams to conceptualize new technologies and conduct studies. This role extends to the development, assessment, and review of standard test methods. Glenner is a member of RA31 Committee of AATCC; C09, E18, and E35 Committees of ASTM; as well as the International Association for Food Protection. In 2015-2016, she co-edited the publication of the 5th edition of the Microbiological Compendium, a compilation of ASTM Standards on Materials and Environmental Microbiology.

Testing Q&A: Antimicrobials

Stephan Robertson is the director of sales for Stoll North America. He will also have experts in the fields of technical textiles from Stoll assisting in the presentation

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Advancements in technical textiles in the 21st century

Jennifer L. Rodgers is a Director at ASTM International in the Technical Committee Operations division. She is the Technical Committee Manager for ASTM International Committee D13 on Textiles, and Subcommittee D13.50 on Smart Textiles, which is currently in the process of developing its first standard on terminology. Jennifer provides support, guidance and information to assist members with standards development through the ASTM consensus process. She also serves as a liaison for ASTM on outreach and education to government and global industry on the ASTM process, its committee participation structure, and its recognition as an international standards developer, as well as promotes the products and services ASTM offers as a solutions provider, such as training, proficiency testing, certification and innovative standards delivery platform.

Jennifer has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems from the University of Phoenix, and a Master in Business Administration from The University of Scranton. Jennifer has worked for ASTM International for 18 years.

E-Textiles Standards Roundtable

Stephanie is a textile junkie. Starting with an excellent foundation of textile engineering from Philadelphia University, she has been at the forefront of textile and component product development for luxury and flagship automotive interiors for General Motors, Magna International, Fisker Automotive and emerging electric vehicle companies.

When automotive became mundane; she redirected her design and engineering assets toward the tech industry. As the first textile engineer at Microsoft Corporation, she collaborated, coached & challenged XBOX and SURFACE researchers and engineers to design/develop with textiles. She also received two US Patents in integrated electronic textile applications and developing a user attachment for handicapped XBOX players. Stephanie is also a specialist in color development and is passionate about the use of engineering simulation, rapid prototyping as predictive development tools and manufacturing in the USA.

She has travelled the global textile community and has lectured about textiles to design and engineering students of all disciplines. She is currently partner of The Textile Foundry, Director of Advanced Product Development for Apex Mills, Co-Chairperson for IPC-4931 E-Textiles Standards Committee and advisory panel member of the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America Institute (AFFOA) managed by MIT.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Military and Smart Tracks: The US Military is Moving E-Textiles to the Front Lines – Is Your Company Prepared to Meet Their Needs?

Kenneth Russell helps inventors turn their ideas and inventions into licensable medical devices. After more than 25 years in the medical devices industry, his expertise aids academic inventors in creating quality devices that are valuable to industry partners by using the resources of Wake Forest Innovations to design, test and develop commercially-ready medical devices. The guiding principle of his work is improving patient care by connecting the medical device industry to academic inventors.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Success Stories in Innovation – Medical Textiles

As the Technology Director for Situ Biosciences LLC, Dr. Satchell focuses his biochemical expertise on product development and testing for industrial and consumer products. With over 20 years’ experience as a research biochemist, Dr. Satchell’s expertise facilitates global product development, environmental testing, regulatory support, and product registrations. Dr. Satchell participates in various committees that are directly applicable to common standards used with textile products and formulations. He brings an independent, scientific focus to the development of quality and durable products and materials, as well as making customer goals in greater environmental sustainability achievable.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Testing Track: Enhanced Product Performance and Durability by the Addition of Appropriate Antimicrobials

Dennis Scheer grew up in New Jersey (Exit 1) and has since lived in Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina where he currently resides with his wife and three grown children.

Dennis has a degree in Chemistry from the University of Richmond, taken various management coursed at Francis Marion University and completed an Executive Management Course at the University of Michigan. For his work in textile chemistry, North Carolina State University awarded him an honorary PhD.
He holds one patent, has filed for one patent and is working with four invention disclosures.

Dennis has worked for three large textile companies in senior management related to technology both at the plant and division level; Klopman Mills, Burlington Industries and Cone Mills. He has also worked with three large apparel companies in wet processing / product development / research; LEVI’s, Wrangler and Ralph Lauren. To round out his career, he also worked for Polymer Group Inc., and has been a consultant twice with his own business.

He is currently the Director, Finishing Innovation in VF Corporation’s Global Innovation Center in Greensboro, NC located in the Gateway University Research Park adjacent to the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering.

Dennis has a passion for innovation and discovering how things work and interact. In his current position, he inspires people to think how to do things differently and more effectively through finding new uses for products from different functional areas.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Success Stories in Innovation – Apparel

Alpesh Shah serves as the Senior Director of Global Business Strategy & Intelligence at the IEEE Standards Association, where his focus is on organizational growth and advancements of ecosystems towards accelerated outcomes. Prior to joining the IEEE, Alpesh worked as a trusted advisor to and for a number of organizations in various industries with a focus on organizational growth. Alpesh holds an MBA with concentrations in Strategy, Marketing, and Finance; MSc in IT Project Management and a BSc in Computer Science. In his spare time, he volunteers with Special Spectators, a non-profit committed to providing seriously ill children and their families a special day through sporting events across the United States.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical and Smart Tracks: E-textiles integrating sensors, communications, IoT, cloud technologies for medical wearables

Eduardo Siman is one of the original Angel Investors in Virtualitics. He is a tech blogger and VR evangelist, who has been recognized as a top 100 influencer in the areas of augmented reality and big data. Eduardo currently works as the Director of Information Technology at Intradeco Apparel, a leading apparel manufacturer. In this role, Eduardo is in charge of all strategic IT initiatives across the enterprise, including: data visualization, business intelligence, software development, cybersecurity, and cloud migration. Prior to Intradeco, Eduardo held multiple positions in the technology and financial sectors. He worked as a private banker for Goldman Sachs in both New York and Miami and as a Senior Consultant for Deloitte Consulting, where his primary client was the US Department of Defense. Eduardo holds a degree in Political Science, with a minor in Mathematics, from the University of Miami and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Additionally, he completed executive training courses at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and The Center for Creative Leadership.

E-Textiles Discussion: Virtual Reality

E-Textiles Workshop, Hackathon Design Challenge Judge

E-Textiles Workshop Host

Mr. Henry Tang is a senior materials engineer with Aerodyne Industries, LLC, and a subject matter expert at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). He specializes in testing and evaluation of textile and non-metallic materials for space applications, such as spacesuit, extra vehicular activity (EVA) tools, intra vehicular activity (IVA) hardware, and etc. He is also the laboratory manager of the JSC Crew and Thermal System Division (CTSD) Advanced Materials Laboratory, which has unique capabilities in measuring various materials physical, mechanical, and thermal properties for space applications. Mr. Tang in his 18 years at NASA has worked on multiple projects for the Space Shuttle, the Constellation, and the International Space Station programs (ISS). He currently works on crew module up-righting system for the Orion Program, advance clothing system for the Advance Exploration Program and acoustic insulation for the ISS Program.

Advanced Textiles Campfire: Textiles for Living in Space

Testing Q&A: Aerospace

Cherry Tom is Emerging Technologies Intelligence Manager for the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA). In her role, she is seeking to establish IEEE communities in emerging technologies for standards and/or standards related projects.  This involves collaboration with experts in IEEE-SA  and other parts of IEEE as well as organizations outside of IEEE including corporations, universities, government agencies, trade associations, consortia and other standards development organizations.  Among current topics of interest are Smart Materials, Brain Machine Interface, Big Data, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence.  Prior to joining IEEE, she worked for a large telecommunications company and a wireless startup where she managed standards and regulatory strategies, and participation in US standards committees under ANSI and global standards developing organizations such as IEEE, ISO/IEC JTC1, and ITU. She has a B.S. in Mathematics from Tufts University and an M.S. in Mathematics/Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology.

E-Textiles Standards Roundtable

Advanced Textiles Campfire: New Toxic Substance Control Act Pre-manufacture and Chemical Data Reporting Requirements

Mentor: Environmental Regulation Compliance

E-Textiles Discussion: Sports

Hugo R. Trux, IV is the founder and director of the Conductive Fiber Manufacturers Council, a trade association of companies associated with the manufacture of conductive fibers and films. Ina a previous role where he was instrumental in bringing a start-up fiber manufacturer to world -wide market and brand recognition. In this role, Hugo noted the absence of good information about conductive fibers and started the association to increase the awareness of, knowledge about, and utilization of conductive fibers to eliminate tradeoffs and help customers optimize their conductivity choices. Hugo also consults with various companies in the conductive fibers and films sector.

Additionally, Hugo is CEO of a startup, AccuFiber Technologies, a producer of products with optically signaling nanofibers.

Hugo also serves on boards and/or Advisory Boards of a few companies, and has sat on dozens of non-profit boards, often serving in executive capacities. He has been recognized for his achievements and has published numerous articles in marketing and performance audit research.

Hugo served three years active duty with U.S. Army, with counterintelligence. He has a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and earned B.A. and M.A. degrees with two years of doctoral level course work from Ohio State University in Columbus.

E-Textiles Workshop Host

As the Standards and Compliance Manager for Textile Exchange, Lee focuses on the consistent application and impact of their standards by certification bodies and certified sites. Since 2008, he has supported the creation, revision, and guidance of Textile Exchange’s standards that cover organic, recycled, and animal welfare criteria. Lee has an MBA from Texas Tech University.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Testing Track: Green Certification Panel

Diana Wagner is a senior functional apparel designer in the Bioinspired Robotics Platform at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, at Harvard University. Diana has contributed to the research and development of wearable robotics that augment and restore human performance though the design of textile based exo-suits and assistive devices for persons with disability. As part of a multi-disciplinary team Diana works to integrate apparel design and textile based prototyping with wearable robotics. In establishing this competency within the lab, Diana has worked to expand innovative material application as well as industrial methods of manufacturing and production.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical Track: Fabric-based Actuators and Functional Apparel Design for Soft Robotic Glove

Testing Q&A: Medical

E-Textiles Discussion: Bio/Medical

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical Track Moderator

H. Lee wainwright invented the LED/Optic E-Textile (Flexible Fabric animated display) (1985)
Invented the first machinery to manufacture E-Textile displays (1995)
Manufactured entertainment, utility, and military E-Textile applications (1997)
Taught Chinese companies how to create machines to produce E-Textiles (2003)
Created E-Textile displays for MGA Entertainment, Spinmaster, SONY, MACY's, Sylvania, NASCAR, GM Motors, MGM, Disney, Target, Miller Brerwery, D& G, GIVENCHY and many other companies
Created E-Textile outfits for the late Robin Williams, Missy Elliot's dancers, Britney Spears, and many other celebrities
Created E-Textile applications for dark rides at Disney World Theme parks
Created a "Smart Purse" with color-changing areas controlled by Smart Phones
Invented the "Optical Coupler" that allows designers to create their own smart fabric applications requiring no knowledge of programming or electronics

E-Textiles Workshop Host

Mentor: Electronic Textiles

Chris Webley hails from North Carolina, where he studied Textile Technology with concentration in Medical Textiles at North Carolina State University. He has worked for major retailers such as Calvin Klein, Victoria’s Secret, and Target, accumulating over seven years’ experience in the retail fashion industry as an R&D Textile Engineer. He has extensive experience in Retail supply chain consulting services, from product design & development, apparel & accessory innovation and product life cycle enhancement Chris is currently Chairman of New Rules Benefit Corporation; a 4,000 sqft co-working, retail, and event space established to expand creative and professional capabilities within the Design and Art Industries.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical and Smart Tracks: Nature-Inspired Moisture Management and Topical Drug Delivery

Diana Wyman is the Technical Director of AATCC, overseeing textile test method development, instruction and research. Diana has been involved in all aspects of product testing—from managing a contract lab to developing specifications for a retail brand. Diana holds a BA in Fashion Merchandising and an MS in Textiles. Diana was an active member of AATCC before joining the staff and continues to serve on textile committees of ASTM and ISO.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Testing Track: Green Certification Panel

Introduction to Testing

E-Textiles Standards Roundtable

Testing Q&As

Dr. Yang studied smart textiles and wearable technology for 10 years, especially the textile sensor for ECG,respiration,gait analysis,strain,pressure,skin capacitive etc. Dr. Yang also designed the e-textiles for 10 years. From the textile point of view, e-textiles need to be designed to exhibit physical properties similar to those of traditional textiles such as being bendable, stretchable and washable while maintaining good electrical conductivity. At present, Dr. Yang has acquired several patents. During the last seven years, he participated two times in an exhibition in Germany (MEDICA) , where the results were encouraging. Dr. Yang sent many papers to IEEE EMBC, BSN, BHI, International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE), ITAB,and ICE-GIC. Dr. Yang studied smart textiles and wearable technology for 10 years, especially the textile sensor for ECG,respiration, gait analysis, strain, pressure, skin capacitive, etc. Dr. Yang also designed the e-textiles for 10 years.

Advanced Textiles Conference/Medical and Smart Tracks: E-textiles integrating sensors, communications, IoT, cloud technologies for medical wearables