In profile: Olga Troynikov

Associate Professor Troynikov held senior industry positions in technical and research management, as well as in new product design and development, before arriving at the University in 2001.

The products Associate Professor Troynikov designed were retailed at renowned brands such as Marks & Spencer, H&M, Adidas and Puma.

“Having seen both the business and academic worlds, I have a real understanding of what both of their needs and processes are, and how each can benefit and support each other,” she said.

Associate Profeessor Troynikov is the Performance and Sport Apparel Research Leader at the School of Fashion and Textiles, as well as a research leader in the Body: centric LAB at the Centre for Advanced Materials and Performance Textiles.

Her long-standing research themes and interests are in human ecology and human performance, clothing science and design, and she holds a substantial body of research in the discipline, recognised nationally and internationally.

“The broad research of the group I lead centres on the physical, physiological and psychological interface between humans, textile materials and apparel systems when worn against the human body, and environments,” she said.

“We seek to advance the understanding of how apparel and textiles perform when worn and used by people under various, often very challenging conditions.”

As a clothing scientist, Associate Professor Troynikov has extensive knowledge and experience in materials, garments and their performance attributes.

And as a human ecologist, she examines wide aspects of the interactions between human subjects and their clothing and textile materials, which include physiological and psychological comfort, cognitive behaviour, as well as consumer attitudes.

Many aspects of Associate Professor Troynikov’s research is undertaken in collaboration with national and international institutions such as RWTH Aachen University, Germany, Technical University of Munich, the University of Sheffield, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology and others.

She is a recognised industry collaborator and said it was exciting to see her work having a real impact in industry.

Her research is also carried out in collaboration with a number of international companies and organisations such as 2XU, Chevron, Australian Wool Innovation and Zhik.

“Applied innovative solutions always excite me and it is absolutely rewarding to see the outcomes of my research benefiting professional athletes, fitness enthusiasts, or users of functional textile systems we have developed such as bedding and protective clothing,” she said.

“I love my work because the results and impacts on people and businesses are visible.”

Associate Professor Troynikov is a senior supervisor of a number of PhD candidates who conduct research into frontier technologies, materials and design innovative products and solutions to improve human performance and productivity, health and wellbeing.

A number of Olga’s past students hold research and product innovation positions at Australian and international companies such as 2XU, Adidas USA, Decathlon and others.

Associate Professor Troynikov recently investigated thermal stress generated by protective fire fighting clothing and materials.

Led by Associate Professor Troynikov, and in collaboration with Australian Defence Apparel, researchers used 3D body scanning and heat measurement as well as a thermal sweating manikin in a climate chamber to test the garments, materials and design.

The research recommended improvements in the fit and construction of fire fighters jackets for females, which would significantly improve the thermal comfort and ergonomic attributes of the overall fire fighters’ clothing system.

In 2015, she will collaborate with the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and Professor Franz Fuss to lead two projects: Smart Compression for venous Ulcers and Development of Smart Insoles for Diabetic Patients.

The research is being undertaken in collaboration between Wound Management Innovation CRC and the RMIT Platform Technologies Research Institute.