The Department of Textile Engineering was established
in September 1991. It is the only one of its kind in Kenya
offering training in textile engineering at degree level.
The manufacture of textiles is one of the world's leading
industries in terms of direct and indirect employment. In
Kenya it ranks first. Unlike many manufactured products,
textiles have a history as old as man. In the past few
years, rapid changes of textile technology have taken
place and it has become a capital-intensive, scientifically
advanced industry dependent for its success on the services
of scientific, technical, industrial, commercial and design
personnel. It provides a wide choice for both arts-based
and science-based students to follow a worthwhile career
in design, production and management, marketing, quality
control and research. The end product of a textile industry
is often a textile fabric. Such a product is not only an
article of fashion but also an engineering structure with
certain defined properties. These products cover almost
every aspect of our daily lives such as: clothing (nearly
everything one wears), homes (furnishings, bedding,
cleaning materials etc.), medical care (bandages, dressings,
artificial valves and arteries), industry (conveyor belts,
cable insulation, inflatable components, car components,
road and dam stabilization materials etc.), aerospace
(space suits, nose cones, parachutes etc.), environmental
control (smoke and oil filters, fire insulation etc.).
Textile Engineering deals with engineering problems which
occur in the process of manufacturing fibres, yarns and
fabrics. It also includes the steps necessary to make
fabrics useful, such as the manufacture and applications
of dyestuffs, chemical auxiliaries and finishing processes.