As the number of coronavirus cases continues to grow, hospitals around the country are running out of face masks, shields and other personal protective equipment used to safeguard healthcare workers. The ±«Óătv is working collaboratively across several disciplines to help develop and produce alternative products to meet those demands.
In the ±«Óătv College of Engineering’s , senior research engineer Michael Celestin, PhD, developed an assembly line to produce face shields for medical personnel at , ±«Óătv’s primary teaching hospital and the faculty practice. Celestin’s team is using materials such as mylar, elastic and foam to produce one face shield per minute. They’ve donated 100 of them and hope to manufacture 10,000 face shields over the next month.
"±«Óătv Engineering is totally committed to supporting our medical front line workers and local community,” said Celestin. “As we come together and find new local manufacturing solutions, build new interdisciplinary ties, and are pressed to innovate with available resources, it's clear that we will emerge stronger than before."
“This is the first time we’ve had a medical emergency that’s required engineers to partner with the Morsani College of Medicine in an effective and fast way,” said Robert H. Bishop, PhD, PE, dean of the ±«Óătv College of Engineering. “We are facing a real-world crisis where we need to deliver and that’s exacting what we are doing.”
“We face a national shortage of personal protective equipment and our ±«Óătv College of Engineering is helping to fill the gap with