(Secaucus, NJ––April 19, 2020) A group of career and technical education (CTE) teachers at High Tech High School are utilizing their knowledge of 3D-printing to support frontline and hospital workers in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
Instructors Jared Krinsky, Vanessa Batista, and Albanery Simon, have been using the school’s 3D printers to create protective visors and mask straps, crucial components of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers dealing directly with patients infected with COVID-19. Using open-source models from the University of San Francisco and Swedish company 3D Verkstan, the instructors have been creating the visors in their homes, using equipment relocated from their classrooms for this express purpose.
This initiative began in March, when Mr. Krinsky worked with his CTE students to create the straps and mask components in his classroom. As the pandemic began to take hold locally, word of this effort circulated amongst teachers and supervisors, who helped coordinate a more concerted effort. With the blessing of administration, the instructors were permitted to relocate relevant classroom materials to their homes when schools were closed. In addition to Mr. Krinsky’s students’ early work, Mrs. Simon and Ms. Batista have since developed facemask design projects for their students, and they hope these creations will support the overall efforts of frontline workers.
As of this writing, High Tech’s PPE have been distributed to Lenox Hill Hospital, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and Bayonne Medical Center, in Bayonne, NJ. Additionally, Mr. Krinsky personally distributed approximately 160 pieces of PPE to hospitals in New York City, Jersey City, Newark, and Lumberton, NJ. All three teachers continue the effort from their homes, and expect to distribute the PPE more widely as needed.
The instructors collectively thanked their administrators at the Hudson County Schools of Technology for their support of this initiative, and acknowledged the debt owed to the creators of the open-source data from University of San Francisco and 3D Verkstan.
