NATICK, Mass. -- Imagine a world without dirty clothes. Quoc
Truong, physical scientist at Natick Soldier Research,
Development and Engineering Center, wants to make that a
reality. "As a single father of four, I fully understand the
rationale for self-cleaning clothing, especially when I look
back to the time when my children were younger," Truong said.
"So, when former Army General John Caldwell challenged me to
come up with clothing that our Soldiers won't have to wash, I
thought that was a great and stimulating challenge." Soldiers
cannot avoid getting their uniforms dirty while carrying out
their missions, especially on the battlefield. Laundering
clothes is time-consuming, adds to the logistics burden on the
force, and is not always available to forward-deployed Soldiers,
who may come into contact with mud, dirt, water, and an
assortment of contaminants such as petroleum, oils, and
chemicals. The fabric Truong helped create has a special
durable, super-repellent coating with "dual micro- and nano-size
a