The United States Congress has appropriated $13 million to support the National Textile Center (NTC).
The funding is for research designed to make the U.S. textile industry more competitive globally. This is the highest level of funding the NTC has ever received, and it represents a 30% increase over Fiscal Year 2005.
Senator Richard Shelby (Republican - Alabama, chairman of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee, noted that Congress considers increased funding for textile research a priority. "The National Textile Center ... trains textile industry engineers and scientists, and conducts state-of-the-art research projects. These activities are essential for the U.S. textile industry to maintain its global competitiveness."
Funds are provided to the NTC through a U.S. Department of Commerce grant. In the past four years, the grant had remained at $10 million annually. With its additional allocation of $3 million for FY2006, the NTC will be able to fund approximately 15 to 20 new fibre/textile research projects as well as continuing 46 current projects. Many of these projects are related to homeland security, biotechnology, electronics, and other key technologies. A portion of the grant will also be used to fund fibre/textile educational programs, such as internships and fellowships.
"We understand this substantial increase in our allocation to reflect Congressional confidence in the research and education activities we are carrying out in support of our industry," said NTC executive director Dr. Martin "Marty" Jacobs. "It also is a sign of Congressional support for the continuing viability of the U.S. fibre-textile industry. We are extremely grateful for this support and will continue to do all we can to justify it."
The NTC is a research consortium of eight U.S. universities: Auburn, Clemson, Cornell, Georgia Tech, Philadelphia, North Carolina State, University of California Davis and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Research programs support the entire fibre-textile sector, from fibres through retailing.
Since its founding in 1990, the NTC has produced more than $300 million in new economic development, six start-up companies, 11 industry-funded technology transfer programs, and over 70 patents and applications, copyrights and notices of invention. It has completed over 150 research projects, educated more than 1600 students, and generated in excess of 2,000 publications and presentations.
