This blog is written by Erin Johnson, (teacher in the RET program), Azin Saberi, and Jackie Herzberg (students in the young scholars program) and is part of their program activities.
Two young scholars and one English teacher have just completed their first week working with Dr. Veety, an ASSIST faculty member, along with the undergraduate and graduate students in Dr. Jur’s lab (Wilson College of Textiles).
During their week, the student-teacher team learned about one of the current research projects happening in the lab, that is the development of an electrocardiogram shirt. The challenge is to make the garment both aesthetically pleasing and comfortable. Dr. Jur and his students showed them the evolution of the design and the processes involved in making various prototypes. This includes multiple different printer and printing techniques such as learning first-hand how to use a screen print, a laser printer, and a heat press to both cut out the templates for the electrodes and to press the silver ink onto the template. Additionally, the heat print is used to also place the electrodes onto different types of fabric. Ultimately, Dr. Jur and his research team measure how well the electrode stayed in tact after several stretches of the material.