The U.S. Department of Defense has tapped Drexel University as a key leader in the creation of a $75 million national research institute that will support
American textile manufacturers in bringing sophisticated new materials and textiles to the marketplace. The institute, called Advanced Functional Fabrics
of America (AFFOA), will be a national manufacturing resource center for industry and government to draw on academic expertise in new fibers and textiles.
The result will be fabrics engineered to see, hear, sense and communicate; serving an array of industries including aerospace, apparel, architecture and
health.
As part of a
multi-college, interdisciplinary group of researchers comprising the
Drexel AFFOA team, College of Computing & Informatics
Associate Professor and Director of the
Drexel Geometric Biomedical Computing Group,
David Breen, PhD, and
College of Engineering
Associate Professor and Director of the
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Group,
Antonios Kontsos, PhD, will be deploying
computational modeling programs that will enable AFFOA partners to anticipate
manufacturing challenges before they arise and create strategies for surmounting them.
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter formally recognized Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) as one of the
White House’s National Network for Manufacturing Innovation Institutes in a ceremony at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology on April 1. The NNMI initiative is a $317 million public-private effort to boost the value of American-made products
on the international market, by using new materials and manufacturing methods. MIT, Drexel, the University of Central Florida and Cornell University are
cornerstones of the institute because of their complementary research endeavors in novel fibers for textiles, rapid textile prototyping and computer
simulation.
Drexel will receive funding from the institute to address fundamental barriers to innovation in functional fabrics and to facilitate new textile product
development. Drexel will continue its innovative product development efforts, such as a
bellyband for uterine monitoring,
touch-sensitive skin for robots, a
haptic glove for hand therapy and
textiles that can store energy. It will also support engineers and
computer scientists who are creating methods for modeling, designing and testing the structure of threads and fabrics in order to predict their performance
in textiles, as well as continuing Drexel’s efforts as an incubator for start-up companies.
The center for functional fabrics research will develop advanced textiles, including touch-sensitive fabrics, for uses in aerospace, apparel, architecture
and health care.
“The fact that the DoD has identified functional fabrics as a critical focus for U.S. advanced manufacturing is validation for Drexel, where we’ve been
working on smart textiles for nearly a decade,” said Drexel President
John A. Fry. “We’re proud to be a leader in launching this new
industry with our public and private partners in AFFOA. Drexel’s commitment to interdisciplinary translational research as an economic driver led directly
to this moment.”
The Advanced Functional Fabrics of America group includes 31 academic institutions, including The University of Texas, The Ohio State University, the
University of Michigan and the University of California – Davis. It counts 16 companies as industry partners, NIKE, Microsoft, Goodyear, The North Face,
Bose and Medtronic among them. In addition, 26 start-up incubators and venture capital groups, including Angel Capital Association, Westbury Partners and
North Bridge Venture Partners have joined AFFOA.
Drexel will serve as the anchor for partners in the mid-Atlantic region, linking institutions such as Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, Temple University, the
MEDstudio at Thomas Jefferson University and Philadelphia University to manufacturing and investment partners like DuPont, Ben Franklin Technology Partners
of Southeast Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia Office of Manufacturing and Industry and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic
Development.
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