Visiting Scholar from Kenya Conducts Research on 3D Printing onto Textiles at HSBI

Bielefeld (hsbi). Nonsikelelo Sheron Mpofu fixes the pale piece of fabric to the metal sample holder. With routine movements, she smooths the creases and looks at the piece from all sides for one last time before placing the holder in the 3D printer. She closes the glass cover, selects the appropriate preset on the small touch screen and the device begins to hum. Inside the glass box, a rectangle of resin is forming on the fabric layer by layer.

The 3D printer is located in HSBI’s Textile Technologies lab, where Nonsikelelo Sheron Mpofu is currently investigating the modification of textile surfaces using 3D printing. Her research stay at the university is funded by an equal opportunities fellowship: in addition to working in the laboratory, Mpofu wants to conduct research on how the proportion of women in science programmes can be increased.

Potato peel extracts meet cotton fabrics

Originally from Zimbabwe, Nonsikelelo Sheron Mpofu recently completed her doctorate in materials and textile engineering at Moi University in Kenya. Her doctoral thesis focused on multifunctional cotton fabrics: among other things, she investigated how the antibacterial properties of cotton fabrics can be improved by adding potato peel extracts.  She has also done a lot of research on adhesion of 3D-printed elements to textile subtrates, which is her main research interest.

However, she was limited in most of her work due to a lack of access to appropriate 3D printing and sample analysis equipment. Mpofu now wants to expand her research with the help of the Textile Technologies lab’s equipment and through the exchange with the members of the “MTex³” working group at HSBI. She will be working in the laboratory of textile researcher Prof. Dr. Dr. Andrea Ehrmann at HSBI’s Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics until September.

Working at HSBI – “a dream come true”

She became aware of the HSBI fellowship for her research stay through the Organisation of Women in Science for the Developing World. However, she already knew the working group’s research well. “I had already written to Andrea Ehrmann a few years ago because I was interested in one of her scientific articles. Professor Ehrmann and her working group are something like my superheroes because I am so impressed by their research,” says Nonsikelelo Sheron Mpofu and laughs. The opportunity to conduct research at HSBI is therefore “a dream come true” for her.

“Modifying” fabric through 3D printing  

One of the research areas of the MTex³ working group’s scientists is the integration of electronic components in textiles, conductive coatings or solar cells made of fabric – Mpofu’s research results now make an important contribution to this. “Simply put, my research is about improving the properties of textile fabrics through special coatings,” she explains. “This allows the fabric to be adapted for other uses such as medical textiles or outdoor clothing.”

One way to do this is to 3D print polymers onto textiles, “transferring” their properties, such as conductivity or an antibacterial effect, to the fabric. The challenge in this is to achieve adhesion of the polymer to the textile substrate. In order to improve adhesion, Mpofu is currently conducting series of experiments with varying types of fabrics and compositions of the polymer. A tensile tester then measures how much force is required to separate textile and polymer. The more pressure the connection can withstand, the better.

HSBI’s Welcome Center provides assistance for visiting scholars

During the organisation of her research stay in Bielefeld, the visiting scholar was assisted by HSBI’s Welcome Center, whose team continues to provide advice now that she has arrived. The center provides visiting scholars with support and advice in all organisational matters – from visa to health insurance or the search for accommodation. Mpofu gratefully accepts their help, as she is staying in Germany for the first time and has had to overcome some bureaucratic hurdles.

On her train journey from the airport to Bielefeld’s main station, she was surprised when strangers helped her with her suitcases. “All my life, I had been told how unfriendly and unapproachable the Germans are. But most people are extremely warm and helpful,” she says. “I made similar experiences at HSBI: from day one, I felt at home here. My colleagues made it so easy for me to fit in; and on my second day, I was already in the lab and working as if I had been at HSBI for many years.” What else surprised her? “The Deutschlandticket! I would like to visit even more cities if I have the time. And I like it that Germans sort and recycle their waste – that is really cool,” she says.

More women in STEM programmes

Nonsikelelo Sheron Mpofu’s research stay is funded through the New Horizons Fellowship provided by HSBI’s Central Gender and Diversity Officer. The fellowship is awarded once a year to scholars from the Global South who conduct research on equal opportunities. In Mpofu’s case, it is research on how more women can gain access to STEM programmes (STEM being short for science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Being a woman in science herself, she knows how difficult such a career is: “Female students often feel compelled to make an extra effort to prove themselves equal to their male peers,” Mpofu says. In her opinion, concerns about possible discrimination in the workplace also prevent women from specialising in these subject areas.

She feels it is important to change this for several reasons: “Different perspectives enrich scientific research and innovation, but they are also important for social progress in general. By increasing the number of women in STEM subjects, we can reduce prejudices and stereotypical thinking and inspire future generations of scientists and engineers.” Mpofu herself was the first female chair of the Association of International Students and the first female representative for postgraduate  students in the School of Engineering at Moi University in Kenya.

Scholarships, funding programmes and, above all, awareness

She also has her own ideas for bringing more women into STEM programmes: mentoring programmes that bring together female students and successful women in STEM subjects in order to provide them with orientation, support and role models, accompanied by educational campaigns at schools. “I have observed that in Germany, programmes are already being offered in schools in order to encourage everyone, both girls and boys, to take STEM courses. This is a good idea, and I want to learn more about it during my stay so that we can implement it in our schools.”

In addition to special grants for women, she also advocates culture-sensitive support programmes and awareness campaigns that prepare both women for jobs dominated by men and male colleagues for collaborating with women in the workplace. “In some cultures, the notion persists that certain professions, especially those in STEM, are unsuitable for women,” says Mpofu. The scientist herself is the best example that this is not the case. (she)