Sungmee Park

Research Associate

School of Polymer, Textile & Fiber Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0295

Tel: 404/894-2494 :: Fax: 404/894-8780

sungmee.park@gatech.edu

http://www.smartshirt.gatech.edu

 

 

Ms. Sungmee Park is a Research Associate in the School of Polymer, Textile & Fiber Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Ms. Park received an MS degree from Georgia Tech in 1995 for her work on the comfort properties of fabrics. In 1993, she received an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. She holds a BS degree in Textiles & Clothing from Songsim University (The Catholic University of Korea) in Seoul, South Korea.

 

At Georgia Tech, Ms. Park has been working in the areas of Smart Textiles, Computer-Aided Design, and Information Modeling of the Textile/Apparel Supply Chain. Ms. Park’s most significant contribution has been to the realization of the world's first Wearable Motherboard– also known as the “Smart Shirt” (www.smartshirt.gatech.edu).The creation of this wearable information infrastructure has opened up entirely new frontiers in personalized information processing, healthcare and telemedicine, and space exploration, to name a few. The significant impact of this research on medicine was further reinforced in a Special Issue of LIFE Magazine (Fall 1998) entitled Medical Miracles for the Next Millennium. In this issue, the Smart Shirt or Wearable Motherboard was featured as one of the “21 Breakthroughs that Could Change Your Life in the 21st Century.” The last such Special Issue on Medicine was published by LIFE back in December 1967 after the first heart transplant. This research was also named as one of “Best Inventions of the Year 2001” in TIME Magazine (November 19, 2001) and one of “10 Inventions That Will Change the World” in NEWSWEEK Magazine (June 30/July 7, 2003). The first Smart Shirt is currently on public display at the Smithsonian Lemelson Center for the Study of Innovation and Invention in Washington, DC.

 

In another project with the Atlanta Ballet, Ms. Park designed and developed a fabric that was premiered in productions of the Ballet. According to one of the ballerinas who had worn the costume made from the fabric, “It was the best costume I have ever worn; I felt like I had nothing on me when I was dancing.” Indeed, if the human skin is considered to be the ultimate garment for the body, this compliment testifies to the unique quality of the fabric.

 

Ms. Park is a co-inventor on 7 patents and co-author on numerous publications in refereed journals, conference proceedings and invited presentations. She has also advised undergraduate and graduate students on their research in the Textile Information Systems Research Lab.

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