Future Research Focus Areas
The number of department faculty necessitates that, to increase sponsored research funding, some synergies must be developed. To that end, our strategic plan includes the development of an "internal peak of excellence" in the area of protective materials. The department defines protective materials as those materials that safeguard people and property from threats. These threats can be biological, chemical, or mechanical in nature and the safeguards active, passive, or reactive. This "peak" was chosen because the faculty have prior experience in this area and have, in recent years, come together to propose research programs to expand upon previous work and propose new work. In addition, the department feels that this initiative dovetails with the existing Detection and Food Safety Peak. Research in composites, biomedical fibrous and polymeric materials, hard and soft armor, biocidal finishes, smart fibers, e-fibers, and superabsorbant materials are some examples of areas that fit under this "peak."
The strategic plan calls for the faculty, in appropriate, ad hoc, groupings, to concentrate writing research proposals in the "peak" area in addition to their individual areas of interest. Such proposals would be submitted to funding agencies such as NSF, NIH, DoD, DoE, and USDA. NTC funding may be used as "seed money" for the preliminary research to support these proposals. Traditionally these agencies, at least apocryphally, are biased against proposals from "textiles" departments and so it is hoped that the name change of both the degree and the department will enhance the probability of success.
