Fiber And Filament Extrusion Fundamentals

INSTRUCTORS

Benoit Maze, Ph.D., Director of Education and Administration, The Nonwovens Institute (NWI)

Dr. Maze has been with the institute since 2003 in various research positions, from modeling to product development.

Amy Minton, Physical Testing Lab Manager, The Nonwovens Institute (NWI)

Ms. Minton received her B.S. degree in Textile Technology from NCSU. Ms. Minton has managed the Analytical and Physical testing labs for NWI since 2000.

Behnam Pourdeyhimi, Ph.D., William A. Klopman Distinguished Professor of Textile Materials and Associate Dean for Industry Research and Extension, North Carolina State University, and Executive Director, The Nonwovens Institute (NWI)

Professor Pourdeyhimi received his Ph.D. from Leeds University in 1982. He has taught textile and fiber science, technology and engineering as well as microscopy and image analysis applications to textiles, nonwovens and materials problems both at undergraduate and graduate levels. His research experience covers such areas as image and structural analysis of nonwoven fibrous webs, textile applications in sports, bioengineering and materials, instrumentation and test method development, among others. Pourdeyhimi’s research interests are in the area of nonwovens, materials, biomaterials, modeling performance, special textile structures, and image analysis. His expertise is recognized by major corporations and leading research bodies around the world. He is a consultant to over 30 bodies and major corporations.

Mehmet Dasdemir, Ph.D., Director of Product Development, The Nonwovens Institute (NWI)

In his new role, Dr. Dasdemir is leading the management of NWI's sponsored product development projects portfolio. He is focused on working with NWI's industry partners on the development of new nonwoven products and applications, including scale-up using NWI's extensive pilot facilities. This is an area where NWI brings high value to the nonwovens industry – i.e., in providing an environment where early-stage product designs can benefit from the Institute's decades of nonwovens application knowledge, along with in-house fabrication and testing capability, to enable proof-of-concept in an extremely cost-effective manner. He is also serving as an internal and external advocate for products developed at NWI.

Dr. Dasdemir has strong roots at NWI and NC State, as he received his Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science from NC State University in 2011. During his doctoral studies, Dr. Dasdemir participated in NWI's industry-identified fundamental research program, investigating polymer interfaces in biocomponent fibers and nonwovens. He then served as a Professor at Gaziantep University in Turkey, where he conducted, published, and presented research studies related to polymers, fibers, nonwovens, composites, and nanotechnology. Dr. Dasdemir has also worked as a consultant and R&D coordinator at several fiber, filament, and nonwoven production companies in Turkey. In addition, he has designed, prepared, and managed several industrial and academic research, product, and application development projects.

Hechmi Hamouda, Ph.D., Professor of Textile Engineering, North Carolina State University

Professor Hamouda joined the Faculty at NC State in March 1985. He has taught the mechanics of fibrous and biological structures and engineering thermodynamics, at the undergraduate and graduate levels for the past 30 years including Director of the Textile Engineering Program. He is an expert in the areas of thermal and fluid sciences applications to fibrous materials, specifically filtration, thermal insulation, sound absorption, heat treatments, thermal evaluation and testing of fire protective materials and waste elimination/reduction. Other areas include mechanics and formation of fibrous structures, instrumentation and control systems, and textile applications in biomedical engineering.

Eric Lawrence, Lab Manager, The Nonwovens Institute (NWI)

Eric joined NWI in 2013 and is responsible for the Institute's Fiber & Polymer Science and Staple labs. Eric has expertise in how fibers and polymers perform in nonwoven applications.