Dr. Plumlee's research interests focus on managing innovation in the demand driven business environment typical of the textile and apparel industry. More specifically, those interests include textile product design and development, impact of technology on the design and development process, as well as on the products that are developed.

The innovation system of the current and future textile and apparel industry can be envisioned by observing the diagram at right. Technology is radically altering the way companies design and develop product, but most is being used in isolated segments of the innovation process. An effective innovation process requires that these digital islands be linked to form an integrated system supporting effective innovation. To be competitive, that support system must allow the innovation process to effectively deliver product to meet customer demand. Whether a product concept originates with an identified customer need or with an internal technological innovation, many boundaries and constraints limit that efficient, effective innovation.

Dr. Plumlee's research focuses on ways in which technology can be used to overcome those boundaries and constraints that limit an effective innovation process.

Specific interest areas supporting this overall research program include:

• Modeling the apparel development process.

• Modeling avenues of consumer input into design and development.

• Emerging design processes that require integrated design of textile fabric and end product.

• Methods for acquiring consumer input for product development.

• Use of POS data in design and development.

• Integrating consumer evaluative criteria into the design and development process.

• Design of functional textile and apparel products for specific end use markets.

• Applications for design and product customization technologies (e.g. CAD, digital printing, body scanning).

Dr. Traci M. Plumlee joined the faculty of North Carolina State University as an Assistant Professor in Textile and Apparel Technology and Management in June 2000. This appointment followed 12 years of university experience at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Southern Illinois University. Prior to that, she held industry positions in apparel design and development. Dr. Plumlee holds degrees from North Carolina State University, Arizona State University, and Kansas State University. Her Doctoral work at NCSU, completed in May 1999, was supported in part by two national scholarships: The International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) Western Region Scholarship and the ITAA Bobbin Feather Fellowship.

Dr. Plumlee currently teaches TAM 218, Introduction to Apparel Technology, and two laboratory sections of the College's Introduction to Textile Technology course, TT105. She has taught undergraduate courses in textile products design, development and production management including design fundamentals, computer aided design, illustration and portfolio development, patternmaking, draping and sewn product production management.

Dr. Plumlee has completed several trade and academic presentations on topics related to both teaching and research. She had published in research and trade journals. Her research area is the textile product design and development process including the application of technology, virtual design and development, and managing innovation in a demand driven business environment. Dr. Plumlee serves as an Associate member of the NCSU Graduate Faculty and is a member the Computer Integrated Textile Design Association and ITAA. She is currently serving on the Board of ITAA as Chair of the Ad-Hoc Mentoring Committee. She also holds membership in several honor societies including Phi Kappa Phi.