My Greatest Accomplishment: I am most proud of the three patent-pending technologies that were invented by my team and I, within a year of me joining the workforce. The patents are on ingenious inventions in e-textiles (wearables) and technical textiles, for a research project funded by the U.S. Navy. I also sit on the board of the Integrated Physics and Chemistry Association, which is formulating e-textile testing standards in the United States and Europe. Apart from e-textiles, performance textiles or technical textiles are a key component of what I do. I have given presentations on my work at SIGGRAPH and Industrial Fabrics Association International, among other conferences, and have led and been a part of multiple panels. I am highly involved in multiple industry organizations, some to name are RITIN and AATCC.
How Drexel Helped: Drexel’s greatest strength is its interdisciplinary community. At Drexel, I became a linguist. I was conversing with the designers, the engineers, the consumer and the sponsor — all in their own language, and I merged these disciplines into my research. Drexel is a huge school with various majors, and industry experts. I learned to tap into these resources, reach out and make connections, just like in the real world.
Where I’ll Be in Five Years: By 2025, I aspire to be a subject-matter expert on technical textiles.
“If I live to be 100, the change I’d most like to see in the world is…
a healthy and green planet earth with systems in place for future generations to live and breathe clean air, no more gender-gap, medicare for all, free education and world peace.”
— Anjali Khemani