Phi Psi Professional Textile Fraternity 102nd National Convention

Hey everyone!

I just got back from one of my FAVORITE yearly events!- the Phi Psi National Convention.  Phi Psi is a professional textile fraternity organized for the purpose of the social welfare of, and promoting friendly feelings between those students of Textile Schools.  This group was created in 1902 at Philadelphia Textile School and currently includes the active chapters of: Alpha- Philadelphia, Eta- NC State, Iota- Clemson, Lambda- Alabama Polytechnic, and Nu- Southern Polytechnic State.  (Beta at Dartmouth and Mu at ITT are currently inactive).

This year's convention was hosted by Clemson University and, as always, was a HUGE success!

The purposes of convention are not only to connect with other chapters at a social level, but also to take care of the year's affairs at the annual business meeting and to visit textile facilities.  Thursday night started the event with registration and ice breaker trivia.

On Friday, we rose bright and early to tour Milliken's Design Center.  

Milliken & Company is one of the largest privately held textile and chemical manufacturers in the world.  Many graduates from all chapters of Phi Psi have pursued successful careers at Milliken, including Asae Nakagawa and David Giovannini, who both stopped in for a visit.

Our next tour was at Leigh Fibers Inc., where they specialize in fibers and textile waste recycling since 1922.  The expansive wearhouse and plant we visited has been operating since 1961 and today is the largest textile and waste by-product reprocessing company in North America.  

Our final destination for the day was the new BMW Manufacturing Center.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take a tour because of a new, not-yet-released product on the line, but we did finish the day with some fun in the Museum.  Be sure to check out the My Photos link to the right for all the pictures inside the museum.

That evening we separated for dinner then met back at Clemson's student center for bowling, ping-pong, table hockey, and pool.  Beyond that, most of us even enjoyed a night on the town, listening to music at some of Clemson's student bars.

Saturday was another big day, starting with the business meeting.  At the annual business meeting, we discuss the rules and traditions of Phi Psi, extending membership, and hold the oral presentations, presented by each chapter.  

Following the business meeting, the fraternity then headed to a low ropes course for team building.  I heard this activity was "unbelievable fun", but decided to take some time to bond with the Eta alumns in downtown Greenville.  

We then got back just in time to throw on cocktail dresses for the banquet and headed down the hall to the hotel ballroom.  The banquet included delicious food and drinks, lots of dancing, and, most importantly, the awards ceremony.  Awards were given in the categories of Written Report, Photographic Archives, Oral Presentation, and Best All Around Chapter (who presented themselves the most professional, mingled with the other chapters, and contributed to the success of the convention).  I am VERY honored to announce that NC State's Eta Chapter swept the 1st Place award for all categories, and was recognized for Best All Around Chapter!  Each year the competition gets tougher, and this year certainly proved that- so congratulations to all chapters!

For more information about Phi Psi, and how to get involved, get your school involved, or if you'd like to extend an invitation for a company visit, please, as always, feel free to contact me.

Three Dimensional Weaving

Hey folks!

I realize its been a while since I last posted, thanks to mid-term season, but I'm continuously gathering fascinating information for your reading pleasure!  

But for the time being... 

For one of my courses, I am writing a report on Automotive Spacer Fabrics.  I've just printed all my articles and checked out my books...so it looks like I have a lot of reading ahead of me before I can report back to you.  Since this is a topic I am thrilled to learn more about, I'll be sure to let you in on this innovative (and environmentally friendly) advancement.  

Until then, enjoy these images I found from a University of Manchester presentation on "3D Weaving and Woven Structures" (which is different from, but related to, spacer fabrics).  These have multitudes of applications including automotive composites, medical implants, and protective clothing, and who else knows what the future holds for this versatile structure.  

And, as always, feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about this topic and I will answer to my best ability (or point you to the best resource).

Research Update

I had my second Committee Meeting on Tuesday, January 27...and its taken me this long to process it all.

I prepared for the meeting by presenting an estimated timeline of my research.  To create this, I worked backwards, starting with my ideal thesis defense date: October 26 (9 months from now).  I then included all other official due dates and dates for all committee meetings.  Each of these were about 2 months apart.  It was then a matter of filling in the gaps.  

I also prepared a more detailed outline of my thesis.  To do this, I reviewed previously published theses and analyzed the similarities.  I created chapters for my outline which include: Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results and Findings, Discussion, and Future Research.  There were, of course, sub-categories to each of these chapters detailing my plan.  

When I entered my committee meeting, I was so proud of these 2 major accomplishments and felt like I was really ready to move forward with the research phase.  When I left, I was more confused then ever- and the next week was one of the most stressful and frustrating I'd had!  My advisors began sending me articles to reference and asking me questions in terms I thought I understood, but clearly did not.  Conceptual Framework, Secondary and Primary Research, and Push or Pull Influences...these were all terms I'd used before and felt comfortable with, until after this meeting.  I realized that everyone within the committee was using these in different ways, and by the end of it all, I didn't know how to make heads or tails out of any of this information and was incapable of answering even the simplest question.  I am not one who gets discouraged this easily and knew I had to find the source of this disconnect.  

I realize that this is another issue that all student researchers face.  I have seen my classmates breakdown any given week because of misunderstandings.  I have now, 2 weeks later, decided how I will deal with this and know that it is first necessary to establish a common vocabulary within the committee.  Also, I feel fortunate that my timeline is different than most graduate students.  Because I entered the program in January, I have 2 summers within the length of my program.  I did keep this in mind when creating my timeline document for my committee, focusing the majority of my research during the summer months.  My advantage is that I can spend this semester working to fully understand the research process and developing a strong and comfortable backbone for my thesis.  My goal is to dedicate 10hrs/week to my research- no more, no less.  This way I can continually make progress towards my thesis while focusing on my course-work and the 20 hrs/week for my RA, without overwhelming myself.  Before I felt too pressured for time, but now realize that I was the only one putting pressure on myself.

Key Tip #4: When overwhelmed, take a step back and re-evaluate your situation.

Taking the time to re-evaluate the situation grants one of the biggest pay offs.  I now plan to dedicate more time and effort to my Market Research class, which will answer all these questions about terms and processes.  I also plan to read "The Elements of Academic Research" my Edward McCuen.  These sources will both help me to develop a common vocabulary with my advisors and be able to answer the questions that confused me just a week ago.  Basically, I was trying to do too much at once.  Now, I am preparing myself for a summer dedicated solely to my research and writing.  Joy...haha...but this does relieve so much pressure.

Key Tip #5:  When in doubt, refer to the professionals.

The final documents I prepared for my second Committee Meeting are specific to my research and process.  I began creating a DETAILED timeline of the past 120 years.  I included anything and everything that I felt had an impact on the automotive industry.  This list is still going and I plan to add to it every time I research.  My goal in creating this timeline is to identify all the factors that could have played a role in the development automotive fabrics.  There is no final plan for this information, but it is more fuel for my fire.

I also began researching the best-selling automobile in history: the Ford F-series trucks.  I am looking at these trucks on a yearly basis, analyzing everything from the annually-changing grille to the bed size and of course the interior.  This is going to serve as my pilot study.  I hope that this study will enable me to make connections between stylistic eras and what was happening with the interior (based on my DeLeo swatches) and to develop an organizational system in order to evaluate all fabric that I plan to analyze.  So far, this analysis is off to a strong start (from 1948-1960) and I hope to finish this analysis by my next committee meeting on March 24th.  Of course I plan to report my most fascinating findings on the F-series to my blog audience!

NC State College of Textiles Open House!

You're Invited!

The NCSU College of Textiles Open House is THIS Saturday, February 7th.  From 10am-2pm, we our hosting this annual event in order to get future students, as well as the community, excited about the amazing things being done at the CoT.

We offer programs in Fashion and Textile Management, Textile Technology (that's me!), Polymer and Color Chemistry, and Textile Engineering.  Most of our labs will be open, allowing an exclusive look into our one-of-a-kind facility and multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art labs.  We'll even be running live demonstrations of PYROMAN, "the hottest man in the world", in our newly renovated Textile Protection and Comfort Center.  

Pyroman Video

Throughout the Open House event, College of Textiles' faculty, staff, and students will be available to answer questions regarding our undergraduate and graduate textile degree programs, including our Anni Albers dual degree program and the new pre-Health concentration.

For more information, please call (919) 515-3780 and check out our website: www.tx.ncsu.edu

Come on out and see what makes us the 

#1 Textile School in the World!

College of Textiles Bookmark Competition

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