Dr Stewart Collie
Position: Science Team Leader, Bioproduct and Fibre Technology research team, AgResearch group (part of the Bioeconomy Science Institute).
Field: Bioproduct and Fibre Technology
Stewart leads a small research team at AgResearch developing and characterising new materials including fibres, textiles, bioplastics and biocomposites from agricultural sources. This includes protective fabrics and composites reinforced with natural fibres like harakeke (New Zealand flax).
Dr Stewart Collie at work
Dr Stewart Collie demonstrates the flame resistance of the new fabric he is working on.
Stweart particularly enjoys designing the new textile structures – working out how to arrange the fibres and threads and which ones to use to get the required performance.
Making stab and flame-resistant fabric
New stab and flame-resistant fabric is made on a special type of machine. Dr Stewart Collie, Senior Scientist at AgResearch, explains how the machine creates the unique fabric structure.
Select here for transcript.
Stewart also led research looking into what happens to textile fibres once they enter freshwater systems and the sea. In 2020 the results were released confirming that wool fibres readily biodegrade in marine environments.
Career pathway
At school, Stewart studied all the science and mathematics he could, with physics and chemistry his preferences. He was planning to study engineering, but got a scholarship to study textile technology at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. He’d been interested in textiles and was reasonable at sewing too, but until he started university study, he had no intention of studying textiles at all.
I enjoy the fact that the textiles we develop get used in all sorts of different applications – we have to learn about other disciplines, such as medical, sports science and so on. This keeps it interesting!
Stewart came back to Christchurch to work for the Wool Research Organisation of NZ (WRONZ) and, after a few years, looked for an opportunity to do a PhD, which eventuated in 2001. He was enrolled at Massey University but mostly based at WRONZ and investigated ways of making textiles electrically conductive by depositing intrinsically conductive polymers onto them.
While doing his PhD, Stewart had the opportunity to work in the United Kingdom for 3 years, after which he returned to Christchurch. Stewart is one of relatively few in the Textiles section who’ve always been a textile specialist, right back to undergraduate level.
His current research interests are in sustainable wool processing/products, biodegradation of materials, and human-textile physiological interactions.
He is also a member of the Bioresource Processing Alliance's Science Leadership Group – this is a research initiative that is focused on value addition to Aotearoa New Zealand’s secondary bioresource streams and boosting circularity in the primary sector.
Personal interests
Stewart has developed an interest in gardening – especially how to maximise the food output of his own garden!
He also enjoys cycling, particularly mountain biking and likes to get out on to the local tracks (Port Hills, Bottle Lake).
This article is based on information current in 2010 and 2026.
Related content
These articles, New stab and flame-resistant fabric, Developing new stab and flame-resistant fabric and Wool fibre properties, give information about some of the innovative fabrics Stewart and his team have worked on.
Useful links
Read this 2025 opinion piece by Stewart Collie, Rising hopes for wool resurgence. Looking at how it may be hard to imagine now, but there was a time when the New Zealand economy boomed off the back of wool exports.
See Stewart's AgResearch profile.
