Sundaresan Jayaraman

Dr. Sundaresan Jayaraman is a Professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Founding Director of the Kolon Center for Lifestyle Innovation. His research focuses on converging textiles with computing, notably pioneering the concept of 'Fabric is the Computer.' Key contributions include the Smart Shirt (Wearable Motherboard™), featured in LIFE Magazine and archived at the Smithsonian. He has secured $16M+ in research funding from NSF, DARPA, and industry. His work spans smart textiles, respiratory protection systems, and computer-aided manufacturing. Awards include the 1989 Presidential Young Investigator Award and the 2018 Textile Institute Research Publication Award. He holds ten U.S. patents and serves on editorial and advisory boards for journals like the Journal of the Textile Institute. Professional roles include leadership in National Academies committees on manufacturing and personal protective equipment.

Education & Early Career: Dr. Jayaraman’s career began at Software Arts, Inc. (developers of VisiCalc) and Lotus Development Corporation, where he contributed to early spreadsheet and equation-solving software. His PhD research led to TK!Solver, a pioneering equation-solving program.

Research Interests: His work bridges engineering and healthcare through smart textiles, wearable biomedical systems, and advanced manufacturing. Current projects address respiratory protection systems, wearable sensor networks, and personalized healthcare technologies. He emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration to address societal challenges in health, security, and quality of life.

Publications & Impact: Over 100 refereed papers and book chapters highlight his contributions to textile informatics, healthcare wearables, and manufacturing automation. Recent articles focus on next-generation respiratory protection devices and continuous fit monitoring systems. Past innovations include the Wearable Motherboard™ and sensor-integrated garments for vital signs monitoring.

Awards & Recognition: In addition to his NSF and Textile Institute honors, he received the Georgia Technology Research Leader Award (2000) and Distinguished Alumni Award from A.C. College of Technology (2019). He is a Fellow of the Textile Institute and founding member of IEEE Technical Committees on Biomedical Wearables.

Labs & Teams: Leads the Kolon Center for Lifestyle Innovation and collaborates with industry partners on textile-based computing solutions. His lab’s work on 3D-printed respiratory devices and smart garments exemplifies cutting-edge translational research.