Life Mission: Make garments to inspire others to see their beauty & power within.
August 2019 - June 2020
Graduate Research Assistant
As a research assistant, I prioritize my time between two projects, refining my skills in time management and producibility. I understand the research process and have developed a curious eye that assists in my creative thinking process.
Exosuit
Dr. Huantain Cao, Dr. Fabrizio Sergi, Steve Buchanan, Cheyenne Smith, and myself. The Exosuit is a cable-driven exoskeleton garment for the upper extremity. The purpose of the research is to develop a functional fashion garment providing movement for the upper extremity. Through collaboration, Dr. Sergi and Steve focused on the bioengineering of the wires, 3D-printed anchors, and motors. Dr. Cao and I focused on the garment, material used, stitches that would be best, and where the wires would work best. Together we worked out the kinks and brainstormed ideas together. Working as a team, we developed a prototype that could positively impact people.
Compression Sports Bra
Researchers: Dr. Adriana Gorea Dr. Huantain Cao, Dr. Martha Hall, and myself. Through the inspiration of biomimicry, when the environment is dry, the plant's tissue becomes soft. When the environment receives moisture, the tissue becomes more rigid and supportive. The change in moisture and support is the thought process of the sports bra.
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The sports bras are designed with moisture-responsive superfine wool fibers. The bras have little round islands similar to plants that will respond to sweat moisture and crinkle to provide supportive compression. To evaluate the bra's performance, a series of tests will be conducted. The first test is on the fabric sample themselves through the air probability machine. The samples were tested dry, wet, then dry again.
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*Then on human subjects. The 20 participants will be college athletes. The process is the participant is 3D body scanned without a bra, then with a bra, they will run on a treadmill until they start to sweat, 3D body scanned, rest for 30 min, and 3D body scanned for the last time. The process is repeated to complete both the controlled and manipulated bra.
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*COVID-19 caused the research to pause and Dr. Gorea will continue when it is safe to do so.
