Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA)
Michael Rein, PhD is a highly experienced individual who has worked in various roles within the field of materials engineering and science. Michael has held positions such as Team Leader, Director of Engineering, Senior Technical Program Manager, and Research Assistant in prestigious organizations like MIT and Advanced Functional Fabrics of America. With a strong educational background including a Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science from MIT, Michael has been instrumental in developing innovative technologies like the first optical communication system based on semiconducting diode fibers. Additionally, their expertise in designing and testing multifunctional fibers and fabrics has contributed to the production of active apparel, composites, and upholstery.
Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA)
Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), is a non-profit Institute headquartered in Cambridge, MA and is one of the newest members of the Manufacturing USA Institutes. AFFOA's mission is to rekindle the domestic textiles industry by leading a nationwide enterprise for advanced fiber & fabric technology development and manufacturing, enabling revolutionary system capabilities for national security and commercial markets. At the heart of this revolution is a simple premise: highly functional textile-systems necessitate sophisticated fiber-device components. To pursue this mission, AFFOA addresses the spectrum of manufacturing challenges associated with volume manufacturing of revolutionary fibers and textiles from design to end products. AFFOA facilitates the transition of these revolutionary fiber and textiles from the laboratory through pilot production, delivering the functionality of semiconductor devices and systems at fiber length, uniformity, and cost. AFFOA leads the convergence of semiconductor technology into fiber and textile production to commercialize textile products that see, hear, sense, communicate, store and convert energy, regulate temperature, monitor health, and change color while delivering the conventional qualities of textiles to benefit the commercial consumer and warfighter.