Overview

The Department of Polymer and Fiber Engineering attracts exceptional faculty to teach and advance the discipline. That is evidenced by our ever-increasing list of faculty patents and inventions, professional memberships, and in peer recognition.  Today, the faculty of the Department of Polymer and Fiber Engineering consists of eight professorial (tenure-track) faculty members and one research faculty member; all hold the Ph.D.

The breakdown by rank is as follows:

  • Full professor - 6
  • Associate professor - 1
  • Assistant professor - 1
  • Assistant research professor - 1
  • Adjunct professor - 2
  • Emeritus - 3

These faculty members are both nationally and internationally recognized by their peers for their expertise in the mechanics of fibers and flexible assemblies, the chemistry of dyeing and finishing, quality control and assurance, the manufacture and mechanics of composite materials, nanomaterials, biomedical materials, and papermaking fabrics.

The faculty are diverse both in sex and ethnicity. Five faculty (55%) are native to countries other than the United States, and three are female (33%). They have wide and diverse backgrounds; in addition to terminal degrees in fiber and polymer science, materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering, they have undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in chemical engineering, civil engineering, materials engineering, mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, textile engineering, textiles, engineering mechanics, chemistry, wood and paper science, pulp and paper technology, and mathematics. This multi-disciplinary richness is brought to bear in the classes that they teach.
 

Individual faculty areas of expertise

  • Prof. Adanur: industrial textiles, fabric engineering, machine design
  • Prof. Auad:  polymers, nanotubes, microstructure and nanostructure 
  • Prof. Broughton: nonwovens engineering, fiber extrusion, microscopy
  • Prof. Buschle-Diller: dyeing and finishing, polymer chemistry
  • Prof. Davis: polymer nanocomposities, bio-degradable polymers, polymer processing, sol-gel derived nanoparticles, clay-based nanocomposites
  • Prof. ElMogahzy: quality engineering, yarn engineering
  • Prof. Gowayed: mechanics of flexible structures, composites  
  • Prof. Schwartz: mechanics of flexible structures, composites
  • Prof. Thomas: protective materials, fabric engineering, manufacturing engineering

 

Faculty areas of instruction

  • Structure: Adanur, Auad, Broughton, ElMogahzy, Schwartz
  • Properties: Adanur, Auad, Broughton, Gowayed, Schwartz
  • Processing: Adanur, Broughton, Buschle-Diller, ElMogahzy, Thomas
  • Performance: Adanur, Broughton, ElMogahzy, Gowayed, Schwartz  

Our faculty are supported by a dedicated and hardworking staff committed to making your educational experience or professional interaction smooth and productive.