Thanks to new technology under development in Gearing Hall by Jonathan Chen, professor of textiles and apparel, it may soon be possible to charge medical equipment from a tent or plug your cell phone into your backpack. Chen recently patented a supercapacitor (i.e., a power-storing device that acts as an alternative to a rechargeable battery) constructed from fabric.
Registered nurse Angie Cook lives near Dallas, but she is attending The University of Texas at Austin – from a desk at home.
Cook is one of the students accepted to the Department of Nutritional Sciences' new online master's program, the first accredited online degree from the College of Natural Sciences.
Just as a pebble dropped in a lake sends rings of water far from the point of impact, parenting can create a ripple effect. By interacting with their children in certain ways, parents can set in motion later outcomes that are sometimes surprising.
Our picture of the classic bullies and their victims – the pale wallflower perched on a gym bench at a school dance or a gangly bookworm hovering at the edge of a basketball game – is due for an update. According to Stephen Russell, chair of The University of Texas at Austin's Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, "Leave It to Beaver-style bullying" isn't the main problem for today's kids. Instead, most social isolation is linked to characteristics like race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
Last May, Peggy Blum attended the Copenhagen Fashion Summit where she was selected to deliver a micropresentation on sustainability in learning and teaching at the Educator's Summit. Her presentation focused on a curriculum-based project for TXA 361, the consumer behavior class focusing on community engagement and fashion sustainability.
Children born to overweight or obese women face long-term neurological impairment—specifically in verbal ability—according to research recently published online in Maternal and Child Nutrition.
Apparel Design Program students and alumni take on internships in the summer, and Phoebe Hambright is no exception. Hambright recently graduated from UT Austin, and her designs were included in the spring fashion show, Synthesis. She also cycled 4,000 miles a few summers ago to raise money as part of Texas 4000. This summer, she is working for Brandon Maxwell where—yes—she's had some interesting errands to run.
When UT Austin undergraduates intern as design students under the guidance of faculty member Eve Nicols, they tend to go far. Becky Phung is working this summer with The Greg Norman Collection in New York City. Let's check in to see what she learned:
Despite increased acceptance of same-sex marriage and workplace equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people, many LGB youth continue to have higher-than-heterosexual rates of binge drinking, according to a new paper published today in Addiction.
Some undergraduates go the extra mile, and Tré (Miles) is one of them. He is spending the summer as a wholesale intern for Creatures of Comfort, a clothing store in New York City. This is in addition to his degree-required internship, which will be with Michael Kors this Fall.
When children avoid school to avoid bullying, many states can lose tens of millions of dollars in funding, and California alone loses an estimated $276 million each year because children feel unsafe.
New research from The University of Texas at Austin published in School Psychology Quarterlyhighlights the hidden cost to communities in states that use daily attendance numbers to calculate public school funding. When children are afraid to go to school because classmates target them because of bias against their race, gender, religion, disability or sexual orientation, schools lose tens of millions of dollars each year linked to this absenteeism.
"Bullying is a big social problem that not only creates an unhealthy climate for individuals but also undermines schools and communities," says Stephen Russell, professor and chair of human development and family sciences at UT Austin. "We are interested in the economics of bullying and how it can affect a whole school system."
We caught up with undergraduate Katherine Kykta who is working towards a degree in Merchandising and Consumer Sciences with a minor in Business and Digital Arts and Media. She expects to graduate in Spring 2018 and has a summer internship as a Men's Wholesale Merchandising Intern at Nautica. She secured this summer internship through the Fashion Scholarship Fund, an internship that is in addition to the one she will complete next spring as part of her degree.
Professor and chair of the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences Stephen Russell has received the prestigious Distinguished Book Award from Division 44—the American Psychological Association's Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues.
This is the seventh summer for UT in NYC, a highly successful and innovative class for upper-division Textiles and Apparel students. UT in NYC is the ultimate entree into the fashion world: crisscrossing Manhattan and guided by the iconic Iris Apfel, students learn from the fashion leaders as they visit their boardrooms, workrooms, showrooms and curatorial spaces.
Before Elmo and Cookie Monster come alive on the small screen, childhood experts like Jennifer Kotler Clarke, Vice President of Content Research & Evaluation at Sesame Workshop, conduct experiments and review data to ensure these and other Sesame Street Muppets have the intended impact on children, parents and educators all over the world.
Undergraduates Jackie Bruni and Annabelle Line spent their last semester at The University of Texas at Austin as interns at The University Co-Op doing visual merchandising and buying, respectively. This was a very successful partnering; the Co-Op recently responded to an Instagram post by the Division of Textiles and Apparel: "We definitely miss Jackie and Annabelle! They were an awesome addition to our team!"
Mothers have been celebrated and honored in the US for the last century on a national Mother's Day. But we all also know that families—and perhaps especially mothers—are under increasing pressure, financial, social and otherwise. Supporting mothers is critical for moms, kids, businesses and communities, and research from the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at UT Austin is pointing to what can be done.
Marilu Sanchez receiving the Outstanding Student Award from Texas Parents Association from Rec Sports' Chris Burnett
While studying for her degree in Human Development and Family Science (HDFS), Marilu Sanchez—one of the world-changing CNS students graduating this month—dedicated herself to helping others.
Students interested in internships in Gearing Hall
Every year, students in the Merchandising and Consumer Sciences Program immerse themselves in a variety of fashion and retail businesses to learn beyond the classroom. These internships are required for their degree at The University of Texas at Austin.
Graduating senior and winner of Best Collection 2017, Veronica Lozano. Image: Vivian Abagiu
After gowns, sportswear and collections had their moment on the catwalk during the UT Fashion Show Synthesis, apparel design students received awards in a number of categories. The awards are named after Dr. Ardis Rewerts, founder of the Apparel Design Program at UT.