University of Kentucky alumni Stacy Klausing and Suzie Dabbain are leading personal protective equipment (PPE) testing projects and participating in technical committees at ArcWear, a division of Kinectrics, according to a May 18 announcement. Both graduates from the Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles program at the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment work with teams specializing in textiles, engineering, flash fire, and electrical arc testing to ensure PPE safety for clients.
The importance of their work lies in helping manufacturers meet rigorous performance standards that protect workers from hazards. Dabbain said, “We do head-to-toe testing, which includes helmets, gloves, right down to the boots you are wearing. What many probably don’t realize is the firefighter turnout gear or the clothes an electrician is wearing must meet rigorous performance standards. We are the behind-the-scenes team helping manufacturers understand these standards and why their products perform the way they do, which helps ensure that workers are protected and will be returning home to their loved ones safely at the end of each day.”
Klausing serves as senior project manager assisting global clients with PPE test plans covering business development, technical support, consulting on quality assurance issues and expanding arc flash testing services. She said: “I’m working with clients to help get their PPE tested, performing as expected and into the market. We perform research and development to help manufacturers understand what users want and how innovative products perform when tested. Workers with flame and electric arc hazards have important roles. The work we do here is all performed with the end goal of keeping these workers safe and comfortable and getting them back home to their families safely.”
Both Klausing and Dabbain gained early experience as graduate students in UK’s Textile Testing Lab under professor Elizabeth Easter’s direction. The lab supports industry-focused research for students through funding opportunities while evaluating new textile products’ performance on campus.
Easter said: “Having both Stacy and Suzie as MAT students in the lab and now seeing what they are doing to improve communities and keep people safe at ArcWear, a division of Kinectrics, is truly inspirational. There’s so much you can do with a MAT degree from the University of Kentucky, and Stacy and Suzie are great examples of alums who are doing just that.”
The Martin-Gatton College has more than 2,600 students enrolled; it receives over $48.7 million annually in external research funding; its programs reach about 4.8 million contacts; it advances social impacts by enhancing lives locally as well as globally via its graduates; it utilizes facilities such as Agriculture Science Center North in Lexington; it operates within UK’s land-grant system; it secures annual scholarships surpassing $1.2 million; all according to the official website.
Looking ahead for future graduates interested in this field or program expansion within Kentucky communities served by ArcWear’s Louisville location remains promising for both professionals like Klausing—who said: “We hope that with more knowledge…our industry…will continue to grow”—and current students considering similar career paths.
