​

We’re happy to share the program for ITS Symposium 2026. Check out the information below to see what’s planned so far. Feel free to reach out with any questions!​​​

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Program

​

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

​

7:45 - 08:00 am MT        09:45 - 10:00 am EST

Greetings & Land Acknowledgements

Welcome words: Montréal, Edmonton, Raleigh

 

Opening Talk

 

08:00 - 08:30 am MT     10:00 - 10:30 am EST

Regulatory Changes for the Textile Industry. Rajath Kumar, Vice President - Global Softlines, Intertek, USA.

​

Comfort & Protection

​

08:30 - 09:00 am MT     10:30 - 11:00 am EST

Pressure Effects on Thermal Resistance in Nonwoven Sleeping Bag Textiles. Dr. Stéphane Hallé, Professor, École de technologie supérieure, QC.

​

09:00 - 09:30 am MT     11:00 - 11:30 am EST

Beyond PFAS: Sustainable Nanofiber Membranes for Protective Textile Applications. Dr. Zahra Abdali, Chief Technology Officer, PlasmaGear, QC.

 

3- min Poster Presentations

 

09:30 - 10:00 am MT    11:30 - 12:00 pm EST

​

Poster Session in Edmonton/Lunch break in Montréal and Raleigh

 

10:00 - 11:00 am MT    12:00 - 01:00 pm EST

​

Inclusive & Accessible Fashion

​

11:00 - 11:30 am MT     01:00 - 01:30 pm EST

Collaboration, Creativity, and Care in Fashion Education. Caron Phinney, Assistant Professor, Toronto Metropolitan University, ON.

​

11:30 - 12:00 pm MT     01:30 - 02:00 pm EST

FashionAble: Innovation in Accessible, Adaptive, & Universal Fashion Design. Chloë Angus, Fashion Designer & Creative Director, Chloë Angus Design, BC.

​

Lunch break in Edmonton / Poster Session in Montréal and Raleigh

 

12:00 - 01:00 pm MT    02:00 - 03:00 pm EST

​

Student Research Corner

​

01:00 - 01:15 pm MT     03:00 - 03:15 pm EST: 

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

01:15 - 01:30 pm MT     03:15 - 03:30 pm EST

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

01:30 - 01:45 pm MT     03:30 - 03:45 pm EST

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

01:45 - 02:00 pm MT     03:45 - 04:00 pm EST

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

69th Annual General Meeting

 

02:00 - 03:30 pm MT     04:00 - 05:30 pm EST

Annual General Meeting of the Institute of Textile Science (ITS)

​

Reception

 

06:00 pm MT     06:00 pm EST

 

Edmonton Location: TBD

Montréal, Location: TBD

Raleigh, Location: TBD​

​​​​

​

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

​

Sustainability

​

08:00 - 08:30 am MT    10:00 - 10:30 am EST

Made-in-Canada lyocell fibre from hemp and recycled fabrics. Dr. Patricia Dolez, Professor, University of Alberta, AB.

​

08:30 - 09:00 am MT    10:30 - 11:00 am EST

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

Student Research Corner

​

09:00 - 09:15 am MT     11:00 - 11:15 am EST: 

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

09:15 - 09:30 am MT     11:15 - 11:30 am EST

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

09:30 - 09:45 am MT     11:30 - 11:45 am EST

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

09:45 - 10:00 am MT     11:45 - 12:00 pm EST

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

Poster Session in Edmonton/Lunch Break in Montréal and Raleigh 

 

10:00 - 11:00 am MT    12:00 - 01:00 pm EST

​

Textile manufacturing

​

11:00 - 11:30 am MT    01:00 - 01:30 pm EST

Improve recycled yarns by a control loop for rotor spinning. Pierre Lanfer, Research Assistant, Staple Fibre Technologies, Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University, Germany.

​

11:30 - 12:00 pm MT    01:30 - 02:00 pm EST

Weaving the future: sustainable fiber innovation does not need to be an oxymoron. Dr. Svetlana V Boriskina, Director, META Research Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.

​

Lunch Break in Edmonton / Poster Session in Montréal and Raleigh

 

12:00 - 01:00 pm MT    02:00 - 03:00 pm EST

​

E-Textiles

​

01:00 - 01:30 pm MT    03:00 - 03:30 pm EST

Textile-based soft robotics. Dr. Xiaomeng Fang, Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University, USA.

​

01:30 - 02:00 pm MT    03:30 - 04:00 pm EST

Accelerating Advanced Textile Product Development & Manufacturing Readiness: AFFOA’s Role in Scaling E-Textile Systems. Dr. Guan Wang, Technology Manager, AFFOA, US.

​

Student Research Corner

​

02:00 - 02:15 pm MT     04:00 - 04:15 pm EST: 

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

02:15 - 02:30 pm MT     04:15 - 04:30 pm EST

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

02:30 - 02:45 pm MT     04:30 - 04:45 pm EST

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​

02:45 - 03:00 pm MT     04:45 - 05:00 pm EST

Topic and Speaker: TBD

​​

​

Closing Remarks

​

03:00 pm MT    05:00 pm EST

Sogol Asghari, President, Institute of Textile Science.​​

​

Lab Tour

 

03:30 - 04:30 pm MT

Tour of the PCERF lab (https://pcerf.ualberta.ca/) for attendees in Edmonton​​​

​