Is It Ethical? Top Soil
Faculty studied the effect of muslin compost on the growth of dye plants
As part of its commitment to academic excellence, FIT is cultivating an environment conducive to rigorous scholarship. Faculty and students are launching research studies in growing numbers. Eight years ago, in response to faculty demand, the college established an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to make sure each of these projects meets appropriate ethical standards. Now everyone in the FIT community who plans to conduct research involving human subjects is required to submit a proposal to the IRB. This committee of seven must include at least one scientist, one non-scientist, and one person from outside the college. They annually review between 10 and 20 faculty and student projects from across the disciplines. The goal of any IRB, says Daniel Benkendorf, chair of the committee and associate professor of psychology, is to protect research subjects. “They need to be giving informed consent,” he says. IRBs were first instituted in the late 1970s to prevent ethical abuses. In the notorious Tuskegee Syphilis Study, for example, scientists required that AfricanAmerican male participants with the disease go untreated, without their knowledge, even after penicillin was developed. “The IRB promotes Recent projects reviewed by FIT’s a culture at FIT where IRB include a study by a Japanese research is respected undergarment manufacturer in and supported.” which subjects on campus wore — Daniel Benkendorf shapewear for several weeks to see whether the garment lengthened the wearer’s stride. (It didn’t.) A student researched the ways in which biophilic interior design (which mimics the intricate beauty of nature) affects people. Shireen Musa, assistant professor, International Trade and Marketing, recently studied fairtrade fashion consumption. Associate Professor Brian Fallon, director of FIT’s Writing Studio, studied how German university language and writing centers have coped with the influx of refugees since Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the country’s borders in 2015. And Brenda Cowan, associate professor, Exhibition and Experience Design MA, looked at the effects museum objects have on the people who donate them and on museum visitors. (See story, following page.) Studies that don’t involve human subjects—such as Ajoy Sarkar’s study of natural dyes, detailed on this page—don’t require IRB approval. Benkendorf says that of all proposals submitted, “Maybe 5 to 10 percent need serious revision because important questions haven’t been answered.” More often, their role is in assisting scholars in improving methodology. “The function of the IRB is to promote a culture at FIT where research is respected and supported.” —Alex Joseph MA ’15
Smiljana Peros
How FIT’s Institutional Review Board promotes responsible research
Sarkar and Silberman found that fertilizer made from muslin compost nearly doubled the yield of coreopsis plants.
Textile Development and Marketing Chair and Professor Jeffrey Silberman and Associate Professor Ajoy Sarkar received a $15,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to study how muslin compost affects the growth of dye plants, as well as the richness, absorption, and colorfastness of the resulting pigment. Over eight weeks this past spring, two sets of coreopsis and indigo—one planted in regular topsoil and one in topsoil mixed with 10 percent muslin compost— were grown in a TDM lab. The compost-enhanced coreopsis yielded nearly twice as many flowers as those in plain topsoil, and the indigo grew taller and fuller. An initial extraction from the coreopsis revealed that the compost made the dye markedly deeper and brighter. This research is an outgrowth of FIT’s commitment to sustainability. The fashion and textile industries produce enormous amounts of textile waste, much of it ending up in landfills each year. Breaking down muslin into compost, which can then be used to improve soil and potentially increase plant yields, could be part of the solution. —Alexandra Mann
hue.fitnyc.edu
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