Dr. Amanda J. Thompson
Dr. Amanda Thompson received her Ph.D. in Human Ecology specializing in Textile Science from The Ohio State University in 2003. Her undergraduate is from Brigham Young University in Anthropology, with an emphasis in Archaeology. She joined The University of Alabama (UA) in 2003 in the Department of Clothing, Textiles and Interior Design. She is also a faculty member of the Materials Science Ph.D. Dr. Thompson focuses on textile and fiber science with particular emphasis in archaeological fiber identification/interpretation, fiber characterization, and textile and fiber processing and testing. In 2007 and 2008 she attended the Japan Curriculum Development Seminar (JCDS) program held in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima led by the Center for East Asian Studies at The University of Pennsylvania. The JCDS program along with the Sustainability in the Textile Supply Chain: Analysis throughout Cotton Production, Cotton Inc. (2013), the Athens Apparel and Textiles Higher Education Climate Change and Textile and Apparel Education workshop (2014), the Shirbori Network conference on sustainability and Shibori techniques (2018), and the International Textiles and Apparel Association and Regents University London Conference on Sustainability (2019), have added to her continued interest in sustainability. She is served as a Senior Personnel mentor in a Nation Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at UA involved in Innovative Engineering with Bamboo. Through this program she continues her efforts to link graduate students and undergraduates in research efforts relating to extraction of natural cellulose from bamboo as a sustainable fiber. She has worked with The Fashion Archive, located at The University of Alabama, on color research with archived fashion objects.
Research Interests/Bio: Fiber, archaeological textiles, Native American textiles, historic textiles, microscopy, textile testing, alternative fibers, color research, textile and apparel industry history.
Research Interests/Bio: Fiber, archaeological textiles, Native American textiles, historic textiles, microscopy, textile testing, alternative fibers, color research, textile and apparel industry history.