Friday, February 23, 2018
A Curriculum Program Grant from Cotton Incorporated has been awarded to Dr. Sunidhi Mehta, an assistant professor in UMES’ Department of Human Ecology. It will support research aimed at providing in-depth information to fashion merchandising students about cotton as a sustainable and green textile material.
Mehta’s project, “Cotton: King of Sustainable Fashion,” will provide innovative and experiential learning activities for her students. Field trips, seminars and webinars by experts from across the globe, student poster competitions and a garment recycling project will all be a part of the offerings.
Mehta joined the UMES faculty in August 2017, having taught at the university level for four years. She holds a doctorate in textile science from Punjab Agricultural University in India and two master’s degrees. Her research interests include textile nano-finishes, sustainable textiles, and functional textiles and their psychophysiological analysis.
Her project will increase the UMES human ecology department’s capacity to develop a stronger fashion merchandising curriculum while enlarging the textiles component that focuses on cotton sustainability and cotton fiber knowledge. It will also strengthen the department’s relationship with industry partners, which in return will provide more internship and job opportunities to the students.
Colleagues Grace Namwamba, chair of the Department of Human Ecology; Lombuso Khoza, acting director for the Center for International Education; and Bridgett Clinton-Scott, assistant professor in the Department of Human Ecology are Mehta’s co-principal investigators on the grant.
For more information about the “Cotton: King of Sustainable Fashion” project, contact Mehta at (410) 651-7817.
Cotton Incorporated, funded by U.S. growers of upland cotton and importers of cotton and cotton textile products, is the research and marketing company representing upland cotton. It does not disclose the value of grants it awards.
