Dr. Cindy Cordoba, Assistant Professor, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Agricultural workers face extreme heat exposure, increasing the risk of heat stress and reducing productivity. This session explores the development of thermoregulating textiles designed to enhance worker safety while incorporating circular design strategies. The presentation will highlight material selection, modular design for extended use, and system-based approaches to improve heat resilience in agricultural workwear. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of circular strategies applied to functional apparel and their role in advancing sustainable worker protection solutions for extreme heat environments.

Dr. Alexander Laubach, Head of Business Development for Medical Technologies & Biocompatibility, Hohenstein Laboratories

What’s the difference between a healthcare product and a medical device? How are they regulated and what claims can you make? Compliance with the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and the U.S. FDA requirements for medical devices can be complicated – and avoiding medical claims on consumer products is just as important. We’ll discuss the requirements for both, focusing especially on biological safety and performance.

Robert Jones, Pressure Garment Engineer, Space Suit and Crew Survival Systems Branch, NASA Johnson Space Center

NASA’s development of next-generation Lunar space suit fabrics focusing on optical properties and lunar dust resistance.

Learning Objectives:

• educate industry on space suit technology
• explain technological challenges associated with space suit textile development
• identify material characteristics most important when designing suit materials

Morgan Campbell, Soft Goods Developer, David Clark Company

At the intersection of Design and Engineering sits Innovation: more than 50 years after the last human set foot on the Moon, a new era of space exploration, the Artemis Expeditions, carry the legacy of Apollo and the spirit of Gemini. A new group of astronauts, engineers, designers, and technicians is working to return humanity to the Moon, exploring more of its surface than ever before. These next steps will be taken wearing a pair of Axiom Space’s  Lunar Boots.

What does one wear while exploring the dark side of the Moon? What materials are best suited to an entirely alien environment? This presentation will explore the unique demands of lunar exploration from micrometeoroids to moon dust and the fabrics that make the mission possible.

The Lunar Boot Environmental Protection Garment (EPG) is responsible for shielding and insulating the astronaut’s feet as they traverse a surface which, in some areas, has never been touched by the Sun. Beginning with the protective outer layer which provides strength, puncture resistance, and dust resistance; followed by five layers of insulating Mylar; and a lining layer that provides strength, stability, and puncture resistance; the EPG is designed to keep the astronaut comfortable and safe without compromising functionality whilst conducting Moonwalks. Each material was selected to solve a specific set of problems, culminating in a piece of soft equipment capable of withstanding an environment unlike anything found on Earth.