Promoting Cotton Research, Outreach and Entrepreneurship
December 28, 2023 Interest is building among students to find advanced applications for cotton.
During the holiday break for school and college students, it was a delight to welcome several students to our Nonwovens & Advanced Materials Laboratory at Texas Tech University on Dec. 28. Two Lubbock-area school students and one college freshman visited the laboratory for a firsthand look at cotton’s ability to absorb oil.
Nandanaa Anand from Lubbock High School, Aditya R. from Hutchinson Middle School in Lubbock, and Kumaren Anand, freshman from Rice University, arrived in the lab to learn about the advanced applications of textiles such as oil absorbent and filters.
Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar (left) aids visiting students experimenting with cotton. (Photo: S. Ramkumar)
The students did hands-on experiments with cotton as an oil absorbent. Discussions during the experiments revolved around the sustainability of cotton and its application in environmental protection. The students’ enthusiasm about commercializing research and creating start-ups is encouraging for the future of research.
Nandanaa Anand, who wants to be an entrepreneur, stated, “It is important for aspirants who want to build businesses to engage with laboratories that commercialize research.“
The students appreciated the fact that laboratories like Nonwovens & Advanced Materials welcome high school students to be part of short-term research projects. Kumaren Anand said he had to go to Houston to spend two months of his summer holiday after 10th grade to be involved with research in MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Mirza Khyum and Faizur Rahman, Ph.D. research students in the laboratory, participated in the research outreach efforts during the holiday break.
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