Conference Speakers

Marie O'Mahony

Consultant, O'Mahony Consultancy

Marie O’Mahony is an industry consultant, author and academic. O’Mahony Consultancy has an international client list that includes VF Corporation, the Mayo Clinic, NIKE and Arup Group. She is the author of six books on advanced and smart textiles, five published by Thames and Hudson with the most recent Advanced Textiles for Health and Wellbeing (2011). She is a Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Art (RCA), London and a Member of the Leadership Council of intelliWEAR, Canada as well as serving on a number of industry boards and advisory committees.

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Tuesday 10:35 am - 11:20 am
RISE 2018 - Keynote

Biomimicry + Nonwovens: Taking Great Ideas from Nature and Making Them a Commercial Reality

In the development of new fibers and fabrics the human imagination sometimes needs a helping hand. As the rate of technological advances continues to increase, alongside its accessibility, the challenge has become finding ways to put these new capabilities to work in a way that offers a competitive difference. Biomimicry is one approach that is attracting the attention of the textile industry. Biomimicry, or biomimetics, is the extraction of good design from nature. An early example in textiles is the Velcro hook and fasten system, and more recently MedTextra using the principles of hygroscophy to develop a self-moisturizing yarn. This presentation looks at case studies where nature has been the inspiration for a new material or systems development. We identify some of the routes, challenges, strategies and stakeholders that converge to take great ideas from nature and bring them to commercial reality. 

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