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As the world battles COVID-19 and all of the levels of health and economic uncertainty that entails, it can be difficult to find ways of helping out on an individual basis (beyond staying home, that is).

But, as hospitals and other front-line operations find themselves in need of hard-to-find personal protective equipment (PPE), UMBC makers from all types of work backgrounds are pitching in the best way they know how. Whether sewing up a storm or finding creative uses for kitty litter boxes, these are just a few stories of how Retriever Nation is using special engineering and craft skills, tools, and grit to help in the fight against COVID-19.

(Share your own stories of Retriever Resilience by using #UMBCTogether on social media!)

Lending a Technical Hand

At Potomac Photonics, an alumni-owned fabrication operation located in the bwtech@UMBC business park, a typical day might involve anything from piercing 10,000 tiny holes in a single sheet of steel to the microfabrication of complex parts for equipment and biotech applications. When COVID-19 struck, and the nationwide dearth of PPE in hospitals became front page news, owner Mike Adelstein ’96, biochemistry and molecular biology, jumped into action.

His shop produced several thousand protective face shields in the first few weeks of the pandemic, shipping to hospitals in Maryland, New York, and Florida. And the microfluidic chips they’re working on with another client will be used for testing related to finding a vaccine or cure.

“The entire Potomac Photonics family feels a deep sense of obligation and pride when it comes to helping others. Whether we are working on products related to COVID-19 or early detection of cancer, one of the recurring themes that you will hear from our staff is how rewarding it is to be involved in the manufacturing of parts used to save lives,” says Adelstein. 

“We have an extremely diverse company with people from many different backgrounds and education levels. However, we are all united in our desire to make a difference by working together and coming up with innovative manufacturing solutions that enable our customers [to get] their complex products to the market.” 

Meanwhile, in Corey Fleischer’s own home workshop, he and his kids are producing low-cost protective face shields for healthcare workers in need. Using an elastic band, a clear binder sleeve, and a 3-D printed frame, they’re printing parts on three machines “around the clock,” he says.

You might recognize Fleischer ’05, ’08 M.S. mechanical engineering, from his win on the Discovery Channel’s Big Brain Theory a few years back. As a mechanical engineer by trade, he owns a lot of exciting tools for playing around with designs at home, as well.

“My father in-law, Joe, works at a retirement center and the healthcare workers weren’t allowed to help the residents without wearing a face shield. Every store and online vendor was sold out so he reached out to me,” Fleischer says. “[My son] Aidan and I sketched out some concepts that would provide a solution with items we could find at Walmart. We decided to make face shields out of 3-ring binder sleeves.”

Three designs and six hours after the phone call, they had 10 masks ready. Since then, Fleischer and his kids Aidan, Kaleb, and Camden have made around 100 more masks for two local retirement homes, and two hospitals. 

“I would encourage anyone with fabrication resources to help out if they can,” says Fleischer, who has made his design available for other 3-D printer enthusiasts to use. “There’s a lot of how-to information on the internet for making face shields and face masks. And lots of workers on the front line need them.”

Sewing as Fast as They Can

As some folks are programming their 3-D printers, others are breaking out their trusty sewing machines to construct fabric masks for hospitals, nursing homes, friends, and family. And for senior political science major and Sondheim Scholar Marly Milic, the act of sewing masks is not only a way of giving back, but a way of connecting with a loved one.

“I can sew by hand and have a little experience on the machine from when my Ma taught me when I was younger,” said Milic. “Once we saw that hospitals were asking for fabric masks, we both decided that we needed to help. She got a jump start on me because she already had supplies and tools. I ordered my first sewing machine and some materials and got to work right away.”

She sewed her first few masks by hand, but has now taken her production up significantly with her machine. Both she and her mother are sending their masks to Domesticity fabric studio in Lauraville, and Milic also shared some with a neighbor who is a truck driver.

“There are people risking their lives every day to take care of the sick and keep our state running… This is what I can do to help, and as a Sondheim [Scholar] there is no way that I could sit this out,” says Milic, who also very much enjoys her mom’s company during her hours at the sewing machine. 

“We actually Skype and sew together so yes, we are very much doing this together.”

Christine Obriecht ’85, biological sciences, a research assistant at UMBC’s Molecular Characterization and Analysis Complex, started sewing masks as soon as she heard there was a need. And then—because she adores sewing and experimenting—she didn’t stop there.

“My boss showed me a picture of a headband that medical personnel can wear to make mask-wearing more comfortable. The headband has buttons one can hook the mask elastic to, instead of hooking it around their poor chafed ears. I plan to make some of those to see how well they are received. I have had one request for a scrub cap. I will try that, too. And so the ideas flow in,” says Obriecht, who has donated her work to a local hospital, but also a number of her elderly neighbors.

“I don’t really care who gets the masks, as long as they go to people who need them and who are trying to help,” she says.

Help in Unexpected Forms

Bennett Moe ’88, graphic design, found his coronavirus volunteer calling from a Facebook post. After reading about a Boy Scout creating “ear savers”—plastic contraptions that wrap around the back of the head to make the wearing of the stretchy elastic of face masks a little less uncomfortable—a chat with a nurse friend confirmed the need.

Moe, who recently started a side business creating collectible die cast models, replacement gauge lenses for vintage trucks, and other vintage-inspired items, saw a sudden use for his new tabletop laser cutter. Within hours, he had tested a design out first in clear acrylic, and then— wait for it—the far sturdier plastic of a kitty litter box.

“Seriously. Necessity is the mother of invention!” says Moe, who found the plastic to be pliable but thick enough to be durable. With materials in stock, he estimates he can produce 500 to 1,000 ear savers a week in his off hours for area hospital workers. 

“It feels good to be able to contribute, even in this small way, when so much around us seems out of our control,” says Moe, a former president of the UMBC Alumni Association Board. 

“I’m not very good at sitting and watching the world go by, so when my friend tagged me in that post, it was almost like a challenge. I knew there had to be a way that I could make this thing—this little thing that hardly anyone even knew was even a thing, but could make someone’s job just a little bit more bearable. And the folks that are out there helping patients every single day deserve all the help they can get.”

* * * * *

Header image: Potomac Photonics employee tests out one of the masks they manufactured. Courtesy of Potomac Photonics.

Don't forget WiCyS  virtual 

Conference  is here!!

Welcome to WiCyS Virtual 20

Welcome to #WiCySv20, a virtual summit available to all WiCyS members as part of their member benefits. As we shift into the world of virtual connections, the WiCyS community remains strong! We are excited to have you join the summit... filled with the incredible talent and skills of women in cybersecurity. Enjoy presentations, birds of a feather, panels, keynotes, and networking galore.

Members: To enter WiCySv20 summit, you'll need to use the email associated with your Member ID along with your WiCyS Member ID. Forgot your WiCyS Member ID? No worries, Click here before entering the summit.

Non-Members: This event is for WiCyS members and we'd love for you to join our community! Each member joins the WiCyS mission to collectively recruit, retain and ADVANCE women in their cybersecurity careers. By joining WiCyS you will unlock the gateways of opportunity and be the collective VOICE of women in cybersecurity. So, consider being #StrongerTogether and join our community HERE.

Join us for Virtual URCAD, April 22-29, 2020!

You will be able to view student presentations and interact with the presenters.

URCAD.umbc.edu

Anthony Cano | Political Science

Informal Resettlement of Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Cartagena, Colombia, and Urban Development

Mentor: Felipe Filomeno

Danylo Leshchyshyn | Political Science

Exploring Corruption In Post-communist States

Mentor: Laura Hussey

Genevieve Madden| Political Science

Mixed Methods Analysis Regarding Feminist Social Movement in the United States

Mentor: Ian Anson

Nihira Mugamba| Political Science

Establishing Food Inequality in Baltimore City: The Influence of Race and Poverty on Food Insecurity

Mentor: Carolyn Forestiere

Quinlan Murphy| Political Science

The Political Misinformation Element of Digital Asymmetric Warfare

Mentor: Brigid Starkey

Cameron Rybacki| Political Science

Assessing the Electability of United States Presidential Candidates

Mentor: Carolyn Forestiere

Omer Yildirim| Political Science

The Effects of Income, Education and Religious Participation on Party Affiliation, Ideology and Participation

Mentor: Carolyn Forestiere

Join us for Virtual URCAD, April 22-29, 2020!

You will be able to view student presentations and interact with the presenters.

URCAD.umbc.edu

Fabian Amurrio| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Phosphorus Recovery from Poultry Litter Slurries Using Donnan Dialysis

Mentor: Lee Blaney

Sarah Burney| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Validation of a Quality Attribute Estimator Utilizing Real Time Chromatography Measurements

Mentor: Yordan Kostov

Tobias Coombs| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Investigating the Impact of Nanoparticle Surface Charge on Compliment Activation Related Pseudo Allergy

Mentor: Erin Lavik

Eliana Crentsil| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

The Effect of Cell Tension on Cell Growth

Mentor: Sean Sun

Jada Damond, Sanya Ahmed| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

The Challenge of Measuring Activated Carbon Dose in Sediments

Mentor: Upal Ghosh

Erick Diaz| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Analysis of Dissolved Organic Matter By Fluorescence Excitation-emission Matrices to Identify Potential Sewer Leaks

Mentor: Lee Blaney

Ian Emge| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Chemical and Biological Sensing Using Perovskite Matereials

Mentor: Narsingh Singh

Anna Feerick| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Removal of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl substances by Anion-exchange Fibers

Mentor: Lee Blaney

Ward Gracey, Nicholas Balasus, Hana Flores, Sammie Maygers| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Developing a Calibratable, Pressure-Powered Vehicle Stopped by an Iodine Clock Reaction

Mentor: Mariajose Castellanos

Lauren Harris| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Impact of DOM, PH, and Divalent Cations on the Absorbanceand Phototransformation of Tetracycline Antibiotics

Mentor: Lee Blaney

Asmaa Hasan| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Phenotypic Characterization of the Aspergillus Nidulans prkA Deletion Mutant

Mentor: Mark Marten

Rahul Kamdar| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Investigating the Efficacy of a Synthetic 4-1BB Intracellular Peptide in T-Cell Activation

Mentor: Gregory Szeto

Saba Khan | Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Microfluidic Devices Efficiently Prepared from Eco-Friendly Plastics

Mentor: Yordan Kostov

Blair Landon | Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Development of a Blood Brain Barrier Model for Screening Brain Tumor Nanotherapeutics

Mentor: Jeffrey Winkles

Michael LaScola, Chimalay Okeke| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Screen Printing a Neural Stem Cell Niche for the Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Mentor: Erin Lavik

Nidhi Naik| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Investigating the Role of Surface Modifications in Complement Mediated Hypersensitivity Reactions

Mentor: Erin Lavik

Howard Nicholson| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Sickle Cell Disease Mediates Middle Cerebral Artery Shear Stress Profiles that Affect Endothelial Cell Responses

Mentor: Manu Platt

Shirin Parsa| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Novel 3D Neuroinflammatory Model of Alzheimer’s Disease Using Microglial Cells

Mentor: Gregory Szeto

Samyukta Rao | Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Optimization of Method for Rapid Contamination Detection Through Manipulation of Cell Membrane Porosity

Alexandra Seas| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Synthesis of Immunosuppressive Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Mentor: Gregory Szeto

Taylor Stephen| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Phosphate removal by Lanthanum-containing Materials: Effect of Inorganic Carbon and PH on Treatment Effectiveness

Mentor: Detlef Knappe

Diane Stonestreet | Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering 

Design And Fabrication Of A Housing For A Wearable, Low-cost Particulate Matter Sensor 

Mentor: Christopher Hennigan 

Fatima Talib| Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Use of Methane Combustion to Produce Clean Water and Energy

Mentor: Mariajose Castellanos

Sedzro Tamakloe | Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Economic Benefit of Photovoltaics in Michigan Field Crop Farms

Mentor: Annick Anctil

Samantha Maygers, Keegan Symon

Mentor: Neha Raikar

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Candidates are given the opportunity to submit videos/written responses to be shared with students. Look out each week for new submissions. 

Here are this week's video/written submissions from candidates running for SGA. 

Remember: Elections will be happening Monday-Friday 4/20/2020 through 4/24/2020 online through myUMBC.