鶹Ƶ

鶹Ƶ

Newsroom

A photo of the face shields being created at USF's Mini-Circuits Design for X Laboratory

USF Medical Engineers to Mass Produce Face Shields for Protection Against Coronavirus

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 鶹Ƶ is working collaboratively across several disciplines to help develop and produce alternative products to meet those demands.

In the USF College of Engineering’s , senior research engineer Michael Celestin, PhD, developed an assembly line to produce face shields for medical personnel at , USF’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.

face shield created at USF

"USF 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 USF 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 USF College of Engineering is helping to fill the gap with their innovative design and production approach to help protect our frontline providers,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president of USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine.

The is also tirelessly working to help solve the shortage of personal protective equipment and is collaborating with the and the USF College of Engineering on several projects, including the development of and masks, among others.


“The 鶹Ƶ has the knowledge and resources to make a difference,” said Howard Kaplan, advanced technologies manager in the AVC. “By working with so many different departments, the AVC is able to link and coordinate efforts across campus.”

USF continues to closely monitor the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The health and safety of our students, faculty and staff is our highest priority. For the latest update regarding remote instruction and university operations, please visit /coronavirus/

Return to article listing

News Archive

Learn more about USF's journey to Preeminence by viewing Newsroom articles from past years.

USF in the News

December 11, 2024

December 10, 2024

December 9, 2024

December 7, 2024

More USF in the News