UL Teams Up With Local Businesses To Make Face Masks

Students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette along with faculty members and local businesses teamed up to help make face masks for workers that are part of the Lafayette General Health System.

The health group knew that UL-Lafayette could help to create the much needed PPE(Personal Protective Equipment), and university officials have announced they made almost 800 frames along with close to 4,000 shields.

As part of the combined project, equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters were used by volunteers to put everything together.

Whether it was faculty or students, they volunteered to take shifts working in isolation at the University. Others were able to contribute to the creation of the PPE while working remotely from home.

This kind of group effort is the glue that binds our community together. When someone is in need, the people of Acadiana respond to those needs.

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Jaimie Hebert, says one of the many functions of the University to help out local residents,

Health care professionals are working tirelessly to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. We feel it is our obligation to assist them while they are giving so selflessly of themselves to help ensure the well-being of others.

It was a "all hand on deck" situation, where people from all across the campus came together to contribute their time, talent, knowledge and equipment.

Several businesses came together to help with the creation of the masks, and they are as follows:

• Noble Plastics
• Pixus Digital Printing
• Pelican Engineering

Instructors that took part in the project were:

• Yasmeen Qudsi
• Dr. Kumer Das
• Dr. Alan Barhorst
• Michael McClure

In addition to all the students that volunteered, a doctoral student named Peter Schexnayder ended up creating some extenders for the face masks for those medical professionals who need to take pressure off of their ears which is where most masks attach to stay in place.