C&EN talks with Paola D’Angelo, military fabric innovator

Paola D’Angelo’s mission is to help U.S. soldiers accomplish theirs. At the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center, the bioengineer develops high-tech fabrics for combat clothing to keep soldiers safe and comfortable and to help them be more effective in the field. As part of a previous project to make a fabric capable of sensing biological and chemical weapons, she developed a polymer-gel-based coating that can sense anthrax spores. She spoke with Prachi Patel about her latest project on a heating textile that keeps soldiers’ extremities warm and absorbs sweat—and what it’s like working as a civilian researcher for the Army. What brought you to the U.S. Army’s Natick center? My dad was a colonel in the Colombian army. Many of his friends and my friends’ parents were in the military. When I moved to the U.S., I considered joining the Army. That plan fell apart, but