Dr. Timothy G. Clapp
Dr. Tim Clapp is the director of the Zeis Center for Textiles Extension Education and serves as a professor in the Textile & Apparel Technology & Management Department in the College of Textiles at North Carolina State University. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1976. He worked four years as a process engineer for Union Carbide Corporation before returning to NC State University, where he received a Masters and a Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in machine design. Since graduation in 1985, Dr. Clapp has been conducting research and teaching in the Textile Engineering Program at NC State University.
Dr. Clapp serves as a Master Black Belt instructor for the Six Sigma team in addition to teaching a multitude of undergraduate and graduate level courses that include topics from new product development to Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) and quality improvement methods. Dr. Clapp emphasizes a holistic approach to education by fostering skills in writing and bridging the academic environment to real-world experience.
Dr. Clapp's rare mixture of academic and industry exposure gives him valuable perspective in the classroom, allowing him to effectively convey theories and concepts and then relate those concepts to specific, relevant examples for his students.
His current research interests include integrating Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) in the engineering curriculum, the design of affordable technology for automating apparel manufacturing, the development of sensor systems to monitor fabric joining (seaming) quality on-line, and design processing equipment to automate textile, apparel, and hosiery manufacturing.
College of Textiles 2437, Box 8301
NCSU Campus
Raleigh, NC 27695
Phone: 919-515-6566
Fax: 919-515-6532
EMail: timothy_clapp@ncsu.edu