State Awards UML $11.3 Million for Advanced Textile Manufacturing
06/02/2017
By David Perry
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 May 31 announcement 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 S12 Technologies and Raytheon 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.
Image by Tory Germann
There will be room for prototyping and testing next-generation materials, a start-up incubator for emerging businesses and space for workforce development efforts. There will even be space in which fashion entrepreneurs can create runway-ready fabrics.
The space-age fabrics that officials envision are largely 鈥渟mart鈥� fabrics, with sensors and communications features, said 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 said.
鈥淲ith our ongoing leadership in the development of advanced fibers and textiles, medical textiles and flexible electronics, today鈥檚 announcement continues 51视频鈥檚 strong partnership with Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, NextFlex, the U.S. Army and the Commonwealth to build the future of high-tech manufacturing in Lowell and across the nation,鈥� said 51视频 Chancellor Jacquie Moloney.
UMass President Marty Meehan said the university鈥檚 roots date back to 1895 as the Lowell Textile Institute, an institution founded to educate workers who came to the Mill City for the textile boom.
鈥淚t takes partnership, and there鈥檚 not a community that does partnership the way Lowell does,鈥� said Meehan, noting the 鈥渋nnovation ecosystem鈥� 鈥� a critical mass of entrepreneurs, startups, university researchers and creative talent 鈥� that has developed in the city. 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 said.
State Sen. Eileen Donoghue described the new venture as 鈥渙n the cutting edge of the cutting edge.鈥�
鈥淭here was a feeling for a long time that textiles were part of Lowell鈥檚 past, but not its future. Lowell has become the leader of the technological revolution that once seemed so disruptive,鈥� she said.
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� where a state-funded $200 million judicial center is under construction, Baker noted.
