UAB Briefs: Engineers make PPE, WBHM shares COVID-19 news

Engineers from the UAB School of Engineering are working to create face shields in response to the shortage of face masks and other PPE for UAB Hospital.

WBHM 90.3 is supplying weekday newscasts on the COVID-19 free of charge for radio stations statewide.

UAB has been named a Tree Campus USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation for the sixth year due to its work to nurture more than 4,400 healthy trees and engage students and employees in conservation.

For the first time for UAB and the state of Alabama, a professor has been awarded a fellowship through the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

For the latest updates on UAB’s response to COVID-19 and health information, visit uab.edu/coronavirus.

ENGINEERS MAKE PPE

Many American hospitals and other healthcare facilities are facing a severe shortage of face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

So some of the engineers in the UAB School of Engineering are creating face shields that can be used immediately by personnel at UAB Hospital, according to UAB Media Relations.

Justin Koch, director of the school’s undergraduate design lab, came up with the idea after seeing that various maker groups were using 3D printers to make PPE.

“We chose a design that could be made on several manufacturing platforms,” Koch said in a UAB news release.

Scott Bishop at the Alabama Power TAC and Jody Beck at the University of Alabama Productivity Center agreed to help Koch in the project, the release states.

However, it became obvious early on that it would take more than 3D printers to meet the demand.

“It took us two hours to make one headband,” Koch said. 

Therefore the team switched to laser cutting.

“We instantly increased production from one to 28 in the same time frame,” Koch said. “Now we are on pace to make 1,000 reusable headbands and 10,000 face shields.” 

The team, while working in isolation to comply with social distancing guidelines, created three prototypes that were tested by UAB personnel. 

One of the prototypes was approved for use, and the team began producing hundreds of head pieces and face shields during the week of April 6.

“I believe we have enough materials to produce 7,000-10,000 or more shields,” said Timothy Wick, who serves as interim dean of the School of Engineering. 

“This is a great example of a community coming together using innovation and existing resources to meet an urgent demand in a time of crisis,” Wick said.

SERVING COMMUNITIES

WBHM 90.3 FM — the public radio station at UAB — is now providing weekday newscasts focused on COVID-19 free of charge for more than 40 radio stations statewide, according to UAB Media Relations.

The stations receiving the content from WBHM reach as many as 3.5 million Alabamians.

In addition, many of those stations do not have their own news departments.

“Information is powerful, particularly in this unprecedented public health crisis,” said WBHM General Manager Chuck Holmes.

“As a public radio station, WBHM has a mission to serve our communities,” Holmes said.

The newscasts are offered twice a day — in the morning and afternoon — Monday through Friday, in collaboration with the Alabama Broadcasters Association.

TREE-FRIENDLY

For the sixth year, UAB has been recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree Campus USA for its work to nurture more than 4,400 healthy trees and engage students and employees in conservation, according to UAB Media Relations.

The university was first designated a Tree Campus USA in 2015, and the certification must be renewed annually.

UAB also was honored for the first time with a Tree Campus Healthcare designation, which recognizes health institutions that seek to increase community wellness through tree education, investment and community engagement. 

Though it must accommodate construction projects, the university is dedicated to preserving tree growth on campus, according to a news release.

The UAB Facilities Division created a process to evaluate the trees and estimate their worth. 

If a tree or group of trees must be removed during construction, new trees equal to the value of those removed must be planted at the site or the equivalent dollar amount added to the Lynne and Tim Sullivan Tree Fund. 

Formerly known as the UAB Tree Fund, the account was renamed in March 2020 for recently retired UAB Facilities employee Tim Sullivan.

ACADEMIC STAR

Sarah Parcak, a professor in the UAB Department of Anthropology, has been awarded a fellowship through the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

She will use the award to work on her third book, “Surviving Collapse: A Global History of Human Resilience,” according to UAB Media Relations.

The Guggenheim Foundation, which receives about 3,000 applications each year, awarded the fellowship to 175 writers, scholars, artists and scientists.

This is the first time someone from UAB and the state of Alabama has received the fellowship.

“In a time when we face so much uncertainty, having the opportunity to write about the history of our resilience gives me unexpected hope,” Parcak said in a UAB news release.

Since its establishment in 1925, the Foundation has granted about $375 million to about 18,000 people, including Nobel laureates and winners of the Pulitzer Prize.

An archaeologist and Egyptologist, Parcak has worked on excavations around the world since 1999.

In 2016, Parcak was the recipient of the Smithsonian magazine’s American Ingenuity Award and the $1 million TED prize. 

She is famed for the use of satellite imagery to locate ancient cultural sites.

Parcak also serves as founder and president of Globalxplorer, a nonprofit dedicated to using cutting-edge technologies to protect cultural heritage sites.