Atlas Material Testing Technology LLC, Chicago, has donated a Ci3000 Xenon Fade-Ometer to Raleigh,
N.C.-based North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles. The equipment will be used to
test the fastness of dyes and fabrics to sunlight.
Current projects include the evaluation of light stability of new dyes synthesized by Harold
Freeman, Ph.D., associate dean for research and Ciba Professor of Dyestuff Chemistry. The dyes
would be used in automotive interior fabrics and carpets.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration-sponsored research conducted by Gary Mock,
Ph.D.; Abdelfattah Seyam, Ph.D.; Tom Theyson, Ph.D.; and graduate student Amit Gupta is aimed at
retaining the inherent strength in cables made from poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole) (PBO) and
used to hold high-altitude experimental balloons together in the stratosphere. PBO fibers are
subject to ultraviolet-induced degradation when exposed to long periods of sunlight.
July/August 2005
