FACULTY RESEARCH ACTIVITY 2014

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14Kansei EngineeringSearching for the future potential of high-polymer materials: The 21st century as the age of soft materialsDivision of Textile and Kansei EngineeringIt is likely that soft materials such as high-polymer materials will continue to increase in importance in manufacturing. High-polymer materials exhibit diverse properties because the shapes of their molecules change in diverse ways. Further, they are not harmful to the body and have significant potential for use in not only industrial, but also biomedical, applications. Masato TakahashiAssociate ProfessorAssociate Professor Takahashi took his current position in 1991 after earning his Doctorate of Engineering in 1986 and attending Tokyo Metropolitan University. His principal area of research centers on controlling the structure of high-polymer materials (including forming and controlling the structure of natural polysaccharides, controlling the structure of polymer blends, and forming and controlling the structure of amphiphilic polymers).Kansei EngineeringMore than appearance: Commercializing comfortable socks on the basis of dataDivision of Textile and Kansei EngineeringWhether the socks that consumers choose for vague reasons end up being comfortable or uncomfortable to wear changes the amount of fatigue that they experience. My work involves quantifying that degree of comfort, and my team has used the results of that research to create an actual product: socks that prevent fatigue by asymmetrically adjusting their elasticity. I am also working with shoe and stocking companies to develop new products.Satoshi HosoyaProfessorAssociate Professor Hosoya took his current position in 2006 after serving in the Faculty of Textile Science and Technology at Shinshu University as an assistant professor. His principal areas of research include kansei engineering, human engineering, and sports engineering. He conducts joint research with numerous companies and has commercialized many products.It may be possible to create materials with a variety of properties by controlling the polymer-blend structures such as sea-island structures (left) and bicontinuous structures (right).Gels such as carrageenan gel (left) and calcium alginate gel (right) may be used as vulnerary covering materials in biomedical science.I hope to contribute to the future development of high polymer materials through research into topics such as environmentally friendly polymers like polysaccharides that can be obtained from living things and new polymer-blend materials created by combining other high-polymer materials.Outlook for researchGraduates work at chemical-related companies, which have a high level of need for students who have studied high-polymer materials.Outlook for students after graduationKansei engineering brings added value to products. Its techniques are already employed in a vast array of familiar, everyday objects such as the buttons on cell phones as well as in clothing items, and there are still many domains awaiting its application.Outlook for researchThe paths taken by graduates are diverse. In addition to the apparel industry, many students get jobs with various manufacturers, while others enter the nance and advertising industries.Outlook for students after graduationResearchers measure the changes in clothing pressure from socks using a treadmill. Comfort is quantied by measuring changes in pressure by placing pressure sensors on the feet, yielding data for later analysis.Cag type1CaAlg gelThe socks shown above are a conventional design, while the socks shown below were commercialized by my team to better t the shape of the foot.Researchers have attached an electrocardiogram to the subject’s body to analyze stress while wearing underwear.

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