State Awards University $11.3 Million for Advanced Functional Fabrics Manufacturing
09/17/2017
By David Perry & Edwin Aguirre
Can the university help launch a 21st-century textile boom of smart fibers and wearable electronics?
That鈥檚 what the state is banking on with Gov. Charlie Baker鈥檚 announcement earlier this year of $11.3 million for 51视频 to establish a Fabric Discovery Center and to support its industry partnerships.
鈥淢assachusetts is a competitive player in the global innovation economy because of our leadership in technology, strong workforce and educational institutions,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淭his investment will ensure we continue to see that success and growth outside of Greater Boston, and that Lowell will have an opportunity to return to the center of the textile industry.鈥�
It鈥檚 been decades since the city鈥檚 mills hummed, but the state award 鈥� $10 million to create a hub where researchers and industry can collaborate on next-generation smart fabrics and $1.3 million to support a trio of projects with industry partners SI2 Technologies in Billerica and Raytheon in Waltham 鈥� sets the stage for Lowell鈥檚 emergence as a 21st-century textile powerhouse.
According to the Baker administration, the funding will allow 51视频 to acquire the specialized equipment needed to develop materials that can be used in flexible hybrid electronics. Combined with more than $2 million in federal and industry funds for these projects, the investments will help spur future innovations and provide the resources to bring new technology from concept to commercialization.
Baker made the announcement at the university鈥檚 Innovation Hub (iHub) at 110 Canal St., a renovated manufacturing building in downtown Lowell. The building鈥檚 third and fourth floors now house the university鈥檚 two technology incubators 鈥� the iHub and the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2). The state funding will be used to transform the first and second floors and part of the canal level of the building into the Fabric Discovery Center, with a total area of 28,000 square feet.
There will be room for prototyping and testing next-generation materials, a startup incubator for emerging businesses and space for workforce development efforts. There will even be a Fashion MakerSpace in which fashion designers and entrepreneurs can create runway-ready fabrics.
The space-age textiles that officials envision include 鈥渟mart鈥� fabrics with sensors and communications features, says Julie Chen, vice chancellor for research and innovation at 51视频. The high-tech inventions can be woven into designs to do everything from detecting dehydration in soldiers to monitoring buildings for leaking pipes, she says. Other functions embedded within the novel fibers and fabrics include 鈥渟uperomniphobic鈥� geometries to repel all liquids as well as self-healing, energy-harvesting, flame-retardance and tunable mechanical properties.
鈥淭he Fabric Discovery Center will leverage existing 51视频 capabilities and core research facilities, such as the Nanofabrication Lab, the Materials Characterization Lab, the NERVE Robotics and Rehabilitation Center and the Thermo Analysis and Materials Property Lab, for testing and prototyping,鈥� says Chen.
鈥淲ith our ongoing leadership in the development of advanced fibers and textiles, medical textiles and flexible electronics, Gov. Baker鈥檚 announcement continues 51视频鈥檚 strong partnership with the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America [AFFOA], NextFlex, the U.S. Army [Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center] and the Commonwealth to build the future of high-tech manufacturing in Lowell and across the nation,鈥� says 51视频 Chancellor Jacquie Moloney.
The Fabric Discovery Center represents the first collaboration between two national manufacturing innovation institutes, one focused on functional textiles (AFFOA) and the other on flexible hybrid electronics (NextFlex). 鈥淭he center will help foster synergy between AFFOA and NextFlex. It will serve as a national model for forming a regional hub to connect manufacturing institutes,鈥� says Chen.
A Unique Innovation Ecosystem
The establishment of the Fabric Discovery Center harkens back to the university鈥檚 engineering roots when the Lowell Textile School was established in 1895 to educate workers for the Mill City鈥檚 booming textile industry. This was followed by the establishment of the plastics engineering program at the Francis College of Engineering in 1955 and the Craig Douglas Advanced Composite Materials and Textiles Research Lab in 1985.
UMass President Marty Meehan notes the 鈥渋nnovation ecosystem鈥� 鈥� a critical mass of entrepreneurs, startups, university researchers and creative talent 鈥� that has developed in Lowell that will support the Fabric Discovery Center. Not only will industry have access to the university鈥檚 research and business development support, but also a pipeline for highly skilled workers, he says.
The Fabric Discovery Center is a perfect fit for the Innovation Hub, where concepts, in the hands of small business, move from idea to industry.
鈥淚t benefits 51视频, it benefits the community [and] it benefits the Hamilton Canal District,鈥� a former industrial area in downtown Lowell undergoing dramatic redevelopment, Baker notes.