The Department of Polymer and Fiber Engineering has an interesting history, beginning with the Department of Textile Engineering which was established in 1929 during the administration of Dr. Bradford Knapp. Engineering curricula established at Auburn University during this period also include aeronautical, industrial, and civil and highway engineering. Collectively, these programs have had enormous impact on Alabama, the nation, and the world.
Polymer and fiber engineering is located in the Textile Building, 311 Magnola Avenue. Dedicated in 1930, it is one of the historical buildings on campus scheduled to be restored. Currently it houses classrooms, and laboratories, and offices for the department.
As the nature of the textile industry changed during the last century, so did the focus of the Department of Textile Engineering. The textile management degree was developed into the textile engineering degree. Textile chemistry provided a background in the science, dyeing and finishing. Textile management and technology emphasized technical knowledge combined with a business background.
As manufacturing of many products, textile among them, grew into a global arena, the department's research and educational emphasis moved from the production of fibers and fabrics to the utilization of fibers, especially polymers, in engineered materials. Since the early 1990's, the faculty have been conducting research in fibrous structural composites, geotextiles, nonwoven materials, safety materials (ballistics, filtration, and biohazard), enzyme treatments, biomedical materials, and waste material reclamation and utilization.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the faculty wrote a new strategic plan to provide a program that is constantly being evaluated in light of our constituencies - students, alumni, current employers of our graduates, potential employers of our graduates, and graduate programs that attract our graduates.
The first futures committee, composed of alumni, industry leaders, students and faculty, recommended changing the textile engineering major to fiber engineering. This change reflected the focus on fibers, especially polymer fibers, as structures to be analyzed, characterized, evaluated and assembled into advanced engineered materials with novel compositions and tailored microstructures - polymer composites.
The latest developments to come from this ongoing evaluation are the restructuring of the undergraduate engineering curriculum and the renaming of the department to polymer and fiber engineering. With full support of our constituencies, the Polymer and Fiber Engineering curriculum was approved by the University Curriculum Committee in September, 2005, and was approved by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education in December, 2005. The new department name was approved by the AU Board of Trustees in November, 2005.
