Chancellor’s Welcome

As demonstrated throughout this issue of the State of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, our spirit of innovation—even amid the challenges of a global pandemic—has never been stronger. Emanating from every corner of campus, it gains strength and structure through the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship and expands its reach through our partnerships with individuals, organizations, and businesses across the commonwealth.

We see the power of innovation and entrepreneurship to foster creative solutions, improve lives, and address the challenges of today. We witness the generosity and vision of Robert and Donna Manning, who endowed $18 million of their recent historic $50 million gift to the University of Massachusetts to propel the newly named Robert and Donna Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences forward, focusing on its mission of Computing for the Common Good. Complementing that generosity, we celebrate and gratefully acknowledge the leadership of Governor Charlie Baker, who committed an extraordinary $75 million to expand and enhance the college’s facilities.

In these pages, we also meet chemical engineering student Connor MacFarlane ’23, who arrived at UMass Amherst with an idea to improve the lives of people who, like him, live with Type 1 diabetes. And we watch invaluable east-west partnerships growing through the Mount Ida Innovation and Collaboration Space, with entrepreneurs sharing more than 25,000 square feet of co-working space, creating a hub of innovation while connecting UMass Amherst with the most forward-thinking individuals and companies in Massachusetts.

Clearly, our revolutionary spirit is driving us forward, challenging convention, and advancing an environment that encourages scholars, innovators, and entrepreneurs to transform their pioneering ideas into reality.

Sincerely,

Kumble R. Subbaswamy Chancellor

In the spring of 2020, when the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning to reveal itself, researchers and innovators on the UMass Amherst campus realized that they could use their skills to help solve one of the emerging problems: a dire nationwide shortage of face shields, critical protective equipment for frontline workers providing patient care.

Frank Sup and Meghan Huber of mechanical and industrial engineering led a cross-disciplinary team of engineers, nurses, and researchers at the university’s Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS, see page 22) aiming to design a face shield that could be produced quickly at a large scale.

Nurses and technicians from the College of Nursing assisted with testing the shield’s clinical usefulness. The design is made out of a single piece of plastic with antifog properties that is quickly cut and packed flat for distribution. It’s easy to put on, with a fold that allows it to curve around the head and create space for eyewear or a respirator underneath.

Partnering with K+K Thermoforming of Southbridge, Massachusetts, the team fabricated and distributed 100,000 face shields. The design was openly published and available to manufacturers and key findings were shared in a Fast Company article.

Sup recalls, “Supply chains were not keeping up with demand.” Since package manufacturers had underutilized materials on hand, they could “scale up the production of face shields in a matter of days to meet the vast and urgent need. All they needed was the design.”