Theanne Schiros

Visiting Scholar

Theanne Schiros, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she guides students to rethink textiles through technology, biology and sustainable design, a Research Scientist at Columbia University, where she investigates 2-D nanomaterials for next generation, low power electronics, and explores biofabrication of materials for sustainable textiles and biomedical applications in the MRSEC. She is a co-founder and the Chief Science Officer at Werewool, a biotech company creating degradable textile fibers with DNA-programmed color and function. She directs Werewool’s cross-disciplinary research program across the disciplines of genetic engineering, materials science, and textile engineering. Dr. Schiros holds a PhD in Chemical Physics and has held fellowships at Stanford and Columbia University for the development and characterization of materials for sustainable energy systems, including photovoltaics and solar fuels. Schiros has served as a United Nations ECOWAS Fellow for Sustainable Energy Engineering, a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Fellow, and an Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) Fellow researching organic photovoltaics. She is a co-founder and the former scientific director for Algiknit, a start-up developing kelp-based bioyarn for sustainable textiles in a closed loop life cycle. Schiros' research has received international recognition, including the National Geographic Chasing Genius Award (Sustainable Planet) and Postcode Lottery Green Challenge Award for development of a kelp-based bioyarn (Algiknit), and the H&M Foundation Global Change Award 2020 (Werewool). Schiros is engaged in international sustainable development with organizations such as Engineers without Borders (Haiti), There is the Finca Morpho Permaculture collective (Costa Rica), and There is No Limit Foundation (West Africa), where she teaches natural dye workshops to a community of 300 women artisans utilizing local resources, plants and food waste.