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Columns::November 12, 2001
Board of regents, UGA will not appeal admissions decision
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AJC editorial page editor will deliver McGill Lecture
Noted scientist presents fall Charter Lecture
Teaching teachers
What kind of world do we want in 2020?
Two campus-wide forums examine ideas for proposed campus memorial
UGA reiterates its freedom-of-expression policy
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Campus News
Textiles professor researches ways that particles are transmitted through fabrics
By Denise Horton
dhorton@uga.edu
Your morning coffee spills onto your shirt. The spot quickly spreads and you’re left frantically trying to clean and dry your
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| One of Karen Leonas’s current research projects involves exploring the use of anti-bacterial products on surgical face masks. She also is investigating the use of anti-microbial and anti-fungal treatments on carpets used in schools. Photo by Peter Frey |
clothing before the faculty meeting at 9.
For most of us, this scenario focuses on frustration. For Karen Leonas, it’s an opportunity to explain her research.
“People forget that fabrics are three-dimensional,” she says. “There are void and non-void areas. I’m interested in the mechanism for the transmission of particles through fabrics.”
Coffee, however, is not one of the liquids Leonas includes in her studies. Blood, and the micro-organisms it can contain, are more likely to be the focus of her work.
“For my dissertation, I looked at the protective apparel worn by agricultural workers and how effective it was at preventing penetration by pesticides,” she says. “Then I moved into the effectiveness of surgical gowns and drapes as barriers.”
Currently, Leonas is exploring the use of anti-bacterial products on surgical face masks as a way of preventing the transmission of disease to health-care workers.
“Our first step was to look at how easily a liquid, such as blood from a spurting artery, can get through a face mask,” she says. “In our study of 10 face masks, 70 percent of them failed completely. Now, we’re looking at why they failed, particularly the effect of the surface tension of the liquid involved in moving through the fabric.”
Leonas also is exploring the effectiveness of anti-microbial treatments on non-woven, disposable fabric used in medical settings and the use of anti-microbial and anti-fungal treatments on carpets used in schools.
The results showed the treatment was successful in some cases, particularly in a carpet that included treatment of both the pile and the backing. Leonas and her graduate students now are exploring the possibility of having both anti-fungal and anti-bacterial treatments applied to the carpet.
Although Leonas’s research doesn’t address the immediate issues raised by biological and chemical terrorism, she knows that her findings are useful to the military, in developing protective clothing.
“One of our findings in the work with a particular class of pesticide showed that the problem wasn’t the chemical getting through the protective clothing, it was the carrier--the oil or water that was used to dilute the chemical,” she says. “By finding a way to prevent the liquid from flowing through, the workers weren’t harmed.”
Leonas teaches graduate courses in the theory and process of finishes and the physics of textiles and fabrics. She also teaches undergraduate courses on materials for interiors and textiles, has twice served as the FACS faculty leader for the College’s London study-abroad program and has led a group of TMI students in a study-abroad course in Oaxaca, Mexico. That’s a lot of teaching for someone who thought she would return to an industry position after finishing graduate school.
“I had no intention of going into academia,” she says. “I was never going to teach.”
She managed to avoid teaching for much of her graduate career, but finally was forced into the classroom.
“I did teach--and I loved it,” she says. “I enjoy the interaction with the students--seeing the lightbulbs go off when they understand a concept, seeing them grow and develop and reach their goals.” |
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