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Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design

Textiles Program

Textiles: The Next Horizon

A cross-pollination of information regarding specific cutting edge textile developments in the fields of medicine, materials engineering, chemistry, architecture, interior design, and fashion design.

Innovators in these fields will address new inventions occuring in the realm of textiles.

Lecture series directed by Marilyn Hefferen

Speakers & Schedule

Textiles Speaker
Dr. Andrew Dent
Textiles Speaker
Matilda McQuaid
Textiles Speaker
Dr. Sam Hudson
Textiles Speaker
Dr. Shanaka L
DeSilva
Textiles Speaker
Natalia Allen

Gallery Exhibition

An Exhibition of Innovative Materials from Material ConneXion®
Sponsored by a Drexel University Synergy Grant
www.materialconnexion.com

Gallery Opening

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Lecture Evening 1

Textiles Speaker
Dr. Andrew Dent

Dr. Dent received his Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Cambridge in England and plays a key role in Material ConneXion®'s expansion of its technical knowledge base.

Dr. Dent's primary function is to direct research into innovative products and processes. His role includes coordinating the monthly jury selections that vote new materials into the four libraries in New York, Milan, Cologne, and Bangkok as well as management of the physical library team and our online database. Dr. Dent is also charged with guiding the implementation of research in consultancy projects for Material ConneXion®'s clients.

Prior to joining Material ConneXion®, Dr. Dent held a number of research positions both in industry and academia. At Rolls Royce PLC, Dr. Dent specialized in turbine blades for the present generation of jet engines. He has completed postdoctoral research at Cambridge University and at the Center for Thermal Spray Research, SUNY, Stony Brook, NY. Other research projects, during this period, included work for the US Navy, DARPA, NASA, and the British Ministry of Defense.

Having co-authored the book 'Material ConneXion®: A Global Resource Of New And Innovative Materials For Architects, Artists And Designers' with George M. Beylerian, their second will be published by Thames and Hudson later in 2007.

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Lecture Evening 2

Textiles Speaker
Matilda McQuaid

As deputy curatorial director and head of the Textiles department at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Matilda McQuaid proposes and organizes national and international exhibitions and publications and oversees one of the premier textile collections in the world-including more than 30,000 textiles produced over 2,000 years, beginning with the Han Dynasty of China.

Since joining Cooper-Hewitt in 2001 as the exhibitions curator and head of the Textiles department, McQuaid has curated a number of critically acclaimed exhibitions including Josef + Anni Albers: Designs for Living (2004) and Extreme Textiles: Designing for High Performance (2005). Currently, McQuaid is playing a lead role in the creation of the new Online National Design Museum, and will be leading an exhibition on contemporary Chinese architecture scheduled for 2008.

McQuaid came to Cooper-Hewitt after a 15-year tenure at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where she began as a curatorial assistant in 1987 and eventually became associate curator in 1995. At MoMA, she curated more than 30 exhibitions, including Shigeru Ban: A Paper Arch, Structure and Surface: Contemporary Japanese Textiles, and Lilly Reich: Designer and Architect.

She is an accomplished author and editor on art, architecture, and design, with many books and articles to her credit, including Shigeru Ban Architect (Phaidon Press, 2003); Envisioning Architecture: Drawings from the Museum of Modern Art (The Museum of Modern Art, 2002); Structure and Surface: Contemporary Japanese Textiles (The Museum of Modern Art, 1998); Architecture: A Place for Women (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989); and, Extreme Textiles: Designing for High Performance (Princeton Architectural Press, 2005).

McQuaid holds a master's degree in architectural history from the University of Virginia and a bachelor's degree in art history from Bowdoin College.

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Lexture Evening 3

Textiles Speaker
Dr. Sam Hudson

Dr. Hudson is a polymer chemist with an interest in the conversion of biopolymeric materials, such as chitin, chitosan, amylose and silk like proteins, into useful fibers and films. These studies may involve chemical derivatization reactions, and the characterization of the reaction products. Dr. Hudson received his B.Sci. in Textile Chemistry, his B.Sci. in Chemistry, and his Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science from North Carolina State University. Professor Hudson lectures upon the polymer chemical aspects of textile chemistry, in particular the formation of fibers. He is currently developing these biopolymeric materials into textiles that can be used for surgical and therapeutic purposes.

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Lecture Evening 4

Textiles Speaker
Dr. Shanaka L
DeSilva

Dr. Shanaka L DeSilva was formerly Chair of University of North Dakota, Department of Space Studies, Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-North Dakota Space Grant Consortium, and principal investigator on the space suit project. He is currently a Professor of Volcanology and Remote Sensing in the Department of Geosciences at Oregon State University.

Shan's research focuses on understanding volcanism on the Earth and throughout the Solar System. Specific problems addressed by Shan and his students include the evolution of magma bodies, the morphological and chemical evolution of large stratovolcanoes, the nature of explosive eruptions, formation of large calderas, the effect of volcanoes on climate, and the use of satellite data, GIS, and GPS in volcanology. His broad interests in terrestrial volcanism and remote sensing are being used to address aspects of planetary surface processes as well.

In his work on the Planetary Space Suit project, Dr. DeSilva worked with the Planetary Space Suit Design Team, and collaborating institutions such as the University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University, Turtle Mountain Community College, Dickinson State University, and North Dakota State College of Science. This collaboration led to the development of textiles with sensory capabilities, and the resistance to extreme weather conditions.

Viper Research Group

spacegrant.oregonstate.edu

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Lecture Evening 5

Textiles Speaker
Natalia Allen

Natalia Allen is a surfer, tri-athlete and linguist. She graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2004 after a brief concentration in oncology. During university, Natalia paralleled design studies with scholar courses in Political Theory at The New School for Social Research. Her work has received a score of distinctions including the Calvin Klein, Nylon Magazine and Ducati Design Awards, also the coveted Designer of the Year Award, a title she shares with Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, and Badgley Mischka.

She has exhibited and lectured at international conferences such as The E-Culture Fair-Amsterdam, 2 Appliance Design-Bristol, Wearable Futures-Wales and Museum Night-Europe. Women's Wear Daily, New York Magazine, The BBC, Trace Magazine and US News and World Report were among the first to cover her unique story.

In 2005, Natalia founded an influential [self-titled] consultancy, where she specializes in the emerging areas of design and marketing for global clients, such as Quiksilver, Donna Karan-LVMH and Philips. Her creative designs and network are considered an essential catalyst between companies with a shared interest in the future of fashion.

The Museum of the City of New York recently commissioned her fashion for exhibition, on view now through February 2007. In November, Natalia lectured to students and professionals on the Relevancy of Technology in Design at Parsons. She is also being featured in a series on Innovators for the Sundance Film Channel.

www.nataliaallen.com