Bringing together the best of both industry and academia is a hallmark of The Nonwovens Institute (NWI).  Located in the heart of the vibrant Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NWI is an innovative global partnership between industrial practitioners in both the Private and Public sectors and academia resulting in unique opportunities for graduate students across a variety of technical disciplines at the university.  

As noted by Dr. Constantine Megaridis located at The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and one of NWI’s extended academic colleagues who led the Institute’s 2020 5-year Review, “Students commented upon the strength of the faculty associated with NWI and the linkage between industrial members of The Institute and their research work.”  Students highlighted that “NWI offers us an opportunity to work with ‘real world’ experts and technical leaders to a far greater degree than our peers.”

The opportunity for these students to present their work uniquely prepares them for future careers

One of the most important functions of NWI’s Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) is the review of graduate student projects at its bi-annual meetings.  Here, technical experts from across the industry listen to and provide feedback upon student presentations regarding their research as well as learn themselves from the students’ work.  “The opportunity for these students to present their work before a group of true academic and industry experts uniquely prepares them for future careers,” said Dr. Raoul Farer, NWI’s Executive Director and Professor of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science at The Wilson College of Textiles.

“The overall caliber of the student presentations was truly exceptional…”

In November 2025, 19 students presented their work to the IAB after which, the Board recognized three students  for their outstanding work and the NWI Student Researcher Group named its “Student Choice Award.”    

“The overall caliber of the student presentations was truly exceptional,” said Bryan Haynes, Ph.D., Senior Technical Director for Applied Science & Technology R&D – Nonwovens at Kimberly-Clark Corporation and chair of the Industrial Advisory Board Executive Committee and Strategic Scientific Advisory Board.  

 “That depth of quality across the board made it extremely challenging to select only a few students for these awards as many were deserving of recognition.”   These four students were recently recognized at the Spring 2026 IAB meeting.

Best Technical Award: Shyam Atri

“Computational-Experimental Study on Particle Removal via Electrically Charged Multilayer Nonwovens.”  This award recognizes the technical excellence of the student’s work which is at the heart of the activities of each student at NC State.  

Shyam received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2015 from The People’s Education Society Institute of Technology in Bengaluru (Bangalore), Karnataka State, India and his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (Computational Mechanics) from The University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles in 2017.  During his study at USC, he joined ANSYS, Inc. in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA as a software engineering intern before accepting a full time position as a Continuous Improvement Engineer with The Huf Group in Greeneville, Tennessee, USA.  Shyam would start his pursuit of his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at NC State in 2021 with the guidance of Dr. Hooman Tafreshi (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) and Dr. Behnam Pourdeyhimi (Wilson College of Textiles). He has received guidance from NWI members Dr. Martin Lehmann (Mann+Hummel), Dr. Nagendra Anantharamaiah (Hollingsworth & Vose), Dr. Perry Potnis (Owens & Minor) and Dr. John Algers (Procter & Gamble).  

Shyam was a student of the Porous Media and Multiphase flow laboratory of NC State’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Shyam has presented is work in numerous conferences namely as a guest speaker in RISE® Conference held in 2023 where he spoke about his work on “Macroscale Simulation of N95 Respirators” and at the Spring 2025 IAB meeting where was also recognized with the “Best Technical Paper” award.  He presented a poster about his work at RISE® in 2023, and 2024, and at IDEA in 2025 and received the 2025 “Leon Memorial Scholarship” within NC State’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department. Shyam graduated with his Ph.D. in May 2026 and will soon return to Huf Automotive as Operations Engineering Manager.

See more about Shyam’s work: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CdiYLfR98ugpzgcMA-PrkWbFP5MgXdGw/view?usp=sharing

Connect with Shyam on LinkedIn.com at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shyam-prasad-v-atri/

Best Presentation Award: Narjess Hajilou

“Multiscale Analytical and Modeling for PLA Biodegradation in Soil”  The award recognizes the student’s ability to clearly communicate the progress and value of their work to the membership.  Such an ability is crucial in both future academic or commercial career paths.

Narjess received her Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Materials Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology – Tehran Polytechnic in Tehran, Iran, in 2017, and her Master of Science degree in Materials Engineering from Materials and Energy Research Center in 2022.  Following graduation, she was an Inspection Engineer at the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran.  Since 2024, Narjess has been a doctoral candidate in the field of Biomedical/Medical Engineering at the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC) while also being both a Research Assistant affiliated with NWI and a Lab Manager for UIC’s In-Situ Nanomedicine Laboratory (ISNL).  She anticipates receiving her Ph.D. in December 2028.  

Narjess is a student of Dr. Tolou Shokuhfar of The University of Illinois, Chicago’s department of Biomedical Engineering and Dr. Alexander L. Yarin of The University of Illinois, Chicago’s department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. She is industrially advised by Dr. Matt O’Sickey (INDA), Dr. Francis Porbeni (Owens & Minor), Dr. Bryan D. Haynes (Kimberly Clark), Mr. Rene Martinez (Indorama Ventures) and Mr. Rick Fowler (Youngone Corporation) as well as others associated with The Nonwovens Institute during her studies.

Narjess has presented her research in both oral and poster formats at the NWI Industrial Advisory Board Meetings in Raleigh, NC, during 2024 and 2025.

“It was a great experience partnering with North Carolina State and NWI on this project focused on Biodegradation of PLA in Soil,” said Dr. Shokuhfar “Through this collaboration, we combined our complementary expertise and advanced our understanding of material behavior to support future development of biodegradable bio-based polymers.”  https://thenonwovensinstitute.com/people/tolou-shokuhfar-ph-d/

See more about Narjess’s work:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/15SB_Oi0g44J_2aYl2G9LN1zO_ykhJ2O3/view?usp=sharing 

Connect with Narjess on LinkedIn.com at:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/narjess-hajilou-256506287/

Best Overall Award:  Anicah Smith O’Brien

“Effect of Surface Coatings on Biodegradability and Functional Properties of Model Pure and Blended Biopolymer Substrates”. The award recognizes both the technical accomplishment embodied in the student’s work and their ability to communicate in a meaningful way to the audience and truly represents the quality of our student population who will become future industry leaders.   

Anicah received her Bachelor’s of Chemical Engineering Degree from the University of Kentucky in Lexington in 2022 where she was also an Undergraduate Student Researcher in the Department of Chemical and materials Engineering.  She started her doctoral studies in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State in 2022 and anticipates graduation in December 2026.  She is a student of Professors Morton Barlaz (Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering) and Saad Khan (Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering).  Her work is further supported by industrial guidance from Dr. Abhay Joijode (Magnera Corporation), Dr. Sathanjheri Ravishankar (Saint-Gobain), Dr. DeeAnn Nelson (NWI Member Emeritus, formerly Avgol Nonwovens), Dr. Bryan Haynes (Kimberly Clark), Dr. Matt O’Sickey (INDA), and Dr. Hooman Amid (Saint-Gobain). 

Anicah has presented her research at several professional conferences in both oral and poster formats, including the IDEA Show in Miami Beach, FL (2025); NWI Industrial Advisory Board Meetings in Raleigh, NC (2023-2025); the Schoenborn Research Symposium in Raleigh (2023-2025); RISE® in Raleigh (2024); and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA (2024).   She also received the “Best Overall Paper” award at the Spring 2025 IAB meeting and numerous other “Best Paper” awards at IAB during her experiences at NWI.

See more about Anicah’s work:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tX30nXXciSVmV6k-GWRJfTQjgZEdOtlk/view?usp=sharing

Connect with Anicah on LinkedIn.com at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anicahsmith/

Students’ Choice Award:  Morgan Gilbert

“Charge Characterization in Fibers.”  This award recognizes not only the student’s technical and presentation skills but their contribution to the success of their peers through support and mentorship.

Morgan received her Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Merchandising and Spanish from Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania, USA and began a career with global retailer H&M in 2019. In July 2021, she came to North Carolina State University to pursue a Master’s of Science degree in Textiles through the Wilson College of Textiles and in affiliation with NWI. After completing her Master’s degree and earning a Graduate Certificate in Nonwoven Science and Technology in 2023, Morgan began her doctoral studies and will graduate  in late 2027 with a Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science. She is a student of Professor Behnam Pourdeyhimi of the NC State Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry, and Science and has received industrial guidance from Dr. Martin Lehmann and Dr. Erin Roberts , of MANN+HUMMEL.

Morgan has been the co-leader of the NWI Student Researcher Group for the past three years (2023-26).  The Student Researcher Group meets weekly throughout the academic year offering students the opportunity to share their research and technical experience.  She has also completed engineering internships with VenTara/Hi-Tech Fabrics in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina and with MANN+HUMMEL in Raleigh.

Morgan has presented her research at the 2026 Textile Research Symposium (Raleigh, NC, 2026), the IDEA® Conference (Miami, FL, 2025), and the RISE® Conference (Raleigh, NC, 2023 and 2025). She has also been a consistent participant in the Nonwovens Institute’s Industrial Advisory Board Meetings each semester since 2022.

Connect with Morgan on LinkedIn.com at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-gilbert-/

NWI, its Leadership, Faculty, Staff and Membership congratulate each of these outstanding students and wishes them well in their future endeavors.  

As long-time practitioners,
we are energized by interacting with the next generation

Membership representatives have agreed that the Student Presentations ranked highly as the “most helpful/informative” aspect of the semi-annual IAB meetings.  “As long-time practitioners, we are also energized by interacting with the next generation,” added Dr. DeeAnn (“Dee”) Nelson, Member Emeritus of the Institute.

Based at the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University, The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) is a consortium of stakeholders spanning the breadth of the nonwovens value chain. Operating on an “Open Innovation” platform and covering the full Technology Readiness Level (TRL) range, NWI engages industry, government and academia to enable next-generation nonwoven solutions to mission-critical challenges. thenonwovensinstitute.com   NWI supports Master’s- and Ph.D.-level students pursuing advanced studies in fiber and polymer science, chemical and bimolecular engineering, wood and paper science, textile engineering, color chemistry and other disciplines.  https://thenonwovensinstitute.com/for-students/

North Carolina State University is a pre-eminent teaching and research enterprise that excels across disciplines and contributes more than $6.5 billion annually to North Carolina’s economy. More than 37,000 undergraduate and graduate students learn by doing — pursuing original research, starting new companies, forging connections with top employers, and serving local and global communities. NC State’s 9,000 faculty and staff are world leaders in their fields, bridging the divide between academic disciplines and training high-caliber students to meet tomorrow’s challenges. Together, they build powerful partnerships with government, industry, nonprofits and academia to remake our world for the better. www.ncsu.edu