Posted June 6, 2016

 

By Seshadri Ramkumar

 

LUBBOCK, Texas – Sustainable textile processing research has been undertaken way back in the 1980s and has led to significant cost savings in the textile industry.

 

Professor Fred L. Cook, who has recently retired from fulltime teaching at the Atlanta, Ga.-based Georgia Institute of Technology after four decades of distinguished career there, highlighted some of his key research accomplishments in energy savings and materials conservation in the 2015 Olney Medal address at this year’s international conference of the AATCC in Williamsburg, Va. There were more than 250 people in attendance at the international event.

 

The Olney Medal, established in 1944, is the highest research award in the field for lifetime work in textiles and polymer chemistry. Cook received the award for his four decades of research in sustainable textile processing.

 

While sustainability has become a new paradigm in manufacturing these days, Cook has looked into this aspect for enhancing the profitability of the textile industry back in the early 1980s. In 1982, Cook and his colleagues published their work on a single-step (desizing-scouring-bleaching) process for cotton blends. That work not only showed technical progress but also showcased Cook’s effort to translate the laboratory research from academia to practice.

 

Cook’s research has been a model for mission-linked research and industry collaborations, which were pioneering efforts some 30 years ago. Collaborations with industries such as Southern Mills and Shaw Industries have led to projects such as waterless dyeing of Nomex, efficient printing process for Nomex fabrics, acid dyeing of nylon carpets, etc.

 

Apart from his efforts in engaging with industries, another hallmark of his research has been to utilize technologies in other fields for the benefit of the textile sector. He and research student Kishor Gupta used a vacuum flash evaporation technique to recover and reuse PVA, a common sizing chemical used in the industry. This technique results in zero liquid discharge and is cost effective.

 

Cook has not only contributed to the research and development in the textiles field, but has also helped many to spread their wings in the field, including this scribe, who had the opportunity to first meet Cook on a boat ride in Switzerland some 20 years ago during an international event sponsored by the leading spinning machinery company Rieter Group. 

Dr. Fred Cook honor

Four decades of sustainable processing research recognized