The Assistant Researcher and member of the High-Performance Engineered Textiles research team at 2C2T, was the top-ranked candidate in the 2024 edition of the ‘Short-Term Research Internships at the University of Texas at Austin’ initiative.

The researcher will now have the opportunity to develop one of her projects — ‘Extraction of polymer and proteins from textile wastes and their application as reinforcing agents in nanofibres and nanomaterial-containing composites’ — in collaboration with the research team led by Professor Jonathan Y. Chen, at the Renewable Fiber and Composite Laboratory in the School of Human Ecology at UT Austin.

“The project proposes using cotton and wool textile waste to recover polymers and proteins through cost-effective, closed-loop processes. The aim is to streamline raw material recovery from waste and explore innovative applications in the biomedical and protective equipment sectors. Discussing the project’s results and implications on a global scale with Professor Chen’s team will be a valuable opportunity,” explains Helena Felgueiras.

The initiative provides a 2 to 3-month immersion period at the University of Texas, in Austin, United States, and is funded by FCT. The winners are evaluated based on their scientific curriculum and research activities in one of the Programme’s areas: Advanced Computing; Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies; Space-Earth Interactions.