Researchers at Teijin Aramid, based in the Netherlands, and at Rice University in the USA, have been awarded with the honorary 'Paul Schlack Man-Made Fibers Prize' for corporate-academic partnerships in fibre research. Their new 'super fibres' are now driving innovation in aerospace, healthcare, automotive, and smart clothing.
The honorary Paul Schlack prize was granted by the European Man-made Fibers Association to Marcin Otto, business development manager at Teijin Aramid and Matteo Pasquali from Rice University Texas, for the development of a new generation of super fibres using carbon nanotubes (CNT).
The new super fibres combine high thermal and electrical conductivity, as seen in metals, with the flexibility, robust handling and strength of textile fibres.
'The introduction of carbon nanotube fibres marked the beginning of a series of innovations in various industries,' explained Marcin Otto, business development manager at Teijin Aramid.
'For example, CNT fibres can be lifesaving for heart patients: one string of CNT fibre in the cardiac muscle suffices to transmit vital electrical pulses to the heart. Or, by replacing copper in data cables and light power cables by CNT fibres, it is possible to make satellites, aircraft and high end cars lighter and more robust at the same time.'
Since 1971, the Paul Schlack foundation annually grants one monetary prize to an individual young researcher for outstanding research in the field of fibre research, and an honorary prize to the leader(s) of excellent academic and corporate research partnerships to promote research at universities and research institutes.
