DOE Funds Research Into ‘Air Conditioned’ Clothing
ITHACA, N.Y.—the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded Cornell University fiber science and engineering researchers a $3 million grant to create new clothes that integrate microscale tubes to direct warm or cold air into undergarment fabrics that adjust to temperature changes. “This will have a transformative impact on the nation’s electricity usage, consumption of fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. It will also improve comfort and revolutionize lifestyle,” said Jintu Fan, chair of Cornell’s Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design. Fan, along with other faculty, will develop “thermoregulatory” clothing. Fan and colleagues will integrate advanced textile technology, electronics and thermal management technologies into functional energy-saving designs that are comfortable, wearable, washable and safe. They hope to create a clothing system that will sense the wearer’s skin temperature and activate a heated or cooled airflow around the person.
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