From Fiber to Market
Weaving Together Research, Education and Outreach at NC State’s Nonwovens Institute
The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) is the recognized leader in the field of nonwovens and affiliated disciplines in research, outreach and economic development. The Institute offers a one-stop shop for the nonwovens industry by providing technology, training expertise and in-house product development.
The NWI has also established the world’s first accredited academic program for the interdisciplinary field of engineered fabrics and associated materials. These include such sci-fi sounding work as thermoplastic development, wire design, synthetic blood, fiber exclusion, needle punching and polymer characterization.
Based at the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University, the NWI represents an innovative global partnership between industry, government and academe. Operating on an ‘Open Platform’ innovation, the institute engages experts from industry and higher education in building next-generation nonwoven applications while also providing training and guidance to the field’s future leaders. This process follows nonwovens from fiber development all the way to market, an unprecedented model that has made the NWI the global leader in nonwovens expertise and workforce development through comprehensive certificate and degree programs.
In fact, the latter - training future leaders - comprises NWI’s core educational mission. To that end, the institute has over 45 PhD students and it has awarded 55 Graduate Certificates (with an additional 45+ Graduate Certificate students enrolled). Courses are taught by over thirty internationally recognized interdisciplinary faculty from NC State and partner institutions, including 10 NC State Distinguished Professors. And many former students now drive industry growth and hold key leadership positions. Take the comments of John McNabb, General Manager North America at Freudenberg Spunweb Company by way of example:
“Freudenberg’s nonwovens has greatly benefited from the NWI program. We have four PhD graduate from the program working at Freudenberg in Durham, NC. They are both current and future leaders of our company.”
The Nonwovens Institute is also a key engine for economic growth in North Carolina and beyond. As a truly inter-disciplinary program, the NWI serves hundreds of companies annually in service, research, training, and more. Here again - in engaging companies and partner organizations in these ways - the NWI provides a value-added educational experience for both students and partners. “I enjoy the way companies interact one-on-one with students as advisors,” Kris Senecal of the US Army says. “This benefits not only the companies, but the students, as well. Kind of a ‘pay it forward’ arrangement.”
Currently, the NWI receives between $3-4 million annually through memberships, private research and product development services. Part of these funds support PhD students and some are directed toward the institute’s state-of-the-art facilities for product development, analytical services, materials testing, analysis and evaluation. The total expenditures in 2013 exceeded $10,000,000 and all facilities and infrastructure have been created from funds generated entirely by establishing key service centers and the new incubator, LINC, LLC. Staff members are supported entirely from funds generated through research, service and product development and the graduate certificate program is subsidized these by having Institute research scientists teach these classes.
The institute continues to grow significantly owing to support received from 65 corporate partners, NC State, the State of North Carolina and the US Army NATICK Soldier Center. The wide range of partners reflects the inherently inter and cross disciplinarity of the institute’s activities and faculty.
Presently, the NWI stands on the precipice of enormous potential for growth. The organization has reached a critical mass in terms of corporate funding, service centers and student and faculty involvement. However, the nonwovens industry is expanding at an unprecedented rate and the institute must correspondingly increase membership and expand its global reach. Over the next five years, the NWI has plans to increase PhD graduate student support to at least 50, increase members to over 80 and establish new facilities for the next generation of nonwovens manufacturing pilot facilities. The established and projected success of the organization is accurately expressed in the following comment by Brad Easton of 3M’s Corporate Process Lab.
“At 3M, we believe that ‘uncommon connections’ lead to ‘innovative solutions.’ Participation in the Nonwovens Institute helps create key connections to information, potential partners and resources that enable solutions to be identified.”