New River nerds help Covid response

Jacob Martin, an engineering student at Virginia Tech, drops off a half dozen blue shield frames made on his 3D printer.

By Bill Kovarik

The call went out on April 29: Anyone with a 3-D printer in the New River Valley, please contact Prof. Alex Leonessa or students at Virginia Tech.

By Thursday May 7, over 1,500 plastic shield frames had been collected at a drop-off point at the engineering department. More were coming in by the hour, but at least 5,000 had been requested by NRV Carilion and Montgomery Lewis Gale hospitals, according to Jacob Martin, one of the engineering school student volunteers.

The frames are an essential part of the personal protective equipment used in treating COVID-19 in area hospitals. While it’s easy to cut a new transparent plastic shield for the front, a frame to hold the shield in place makes it far more protective and useful.

Arnav Garg, a Blacksburg High School student, said he became involved in the project through Tech’s covid response team. Garg is working with some of the engineering students on adaptations of 3D printable items for better ICU protection.

The frame designs are downloadable though the Virginia Tech website, and printable on 3-D units that take spools of plastic and turn them into useful and decorative objects.

Other voices:
“Virginia Tech Seeks Community Help,” April 30, Roanoke Times.