What makes fiber a unique engineered-to-the-extreme state of soft matter?
This online course from the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering introduces the key principles used to engineer and manufacture fibers and textiles. You will learn the fundamentals of polymer science, mechanical, thermal, and moisture transport engineering of fibrous media. You’ll get an overview of industrial and lab-scale textile manufacturing techniques and machinery, visual color science and engineering, and design of composite fibrous materials.
You will learn how to hierarchically design new materials and products that derive their cumulative properties from the fiber as the smallest engineering building block. You will also get a feeling for what it means to innovate in the industry that literally touches every single person on the planet at any given moment of time, amplifying the impact of any innovation compatible with its large-scale distributed industrial and supply infrastructure.
The course will guide you through several real-world examples of iconic commercialized textile-based technologies. The course will reinforce the learning process via peer-to-peer discussions, and will culminate with the practical exercise of crafting your own mock patent applications. Several mock applications created by MIT students taking the residential version of this class have been converted into filed utility patent applications.
