LSU-Industry Partnership Develops New Designs, Turns PMAC into PPE Manufacturing Operation
April 13, 2020
Innovation for Purpose
Through the support of more than a dozen local business partners and about 100 faculty and staff, the manufacturing effort for personal protective equipment inside LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center, or PMAC, created more than 20,000 protective gowns, 10,000 face shields, and 1,000 gallons of hand sanitizer in 30 days to help protect Louisiana’s healthcare professionals. Companies such as Lamar, Baker Hughes, and ExxonMobil were essential in making it happen.
The project started small, in a faculty member’s garage, where students such as LSU biomedical engineering senior “Meagan the Maker” Moore (pictured below) helped fabricate various types of equipment, including through 3D printing.
Another large-scale effort by the LSU National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT) supplied $270,000 worth of personal protective equipment to the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), including 100,000 pairs of gloves and 5,000 N95 respirators, as well as 200,000 bars of soap to state agencies.
LSU partners in the PMAC.
– LSU
“We are proud to see the response being rallied at LSU. Not only is the flagship ramping up PPE production and testing capabilities, but the Health Sciences Centers in New Orleans and Shreveport are doing a phenomenal job of treating and testing as well. The entirety of the LSU family has responded to this health crisis and are making a difference for the people of Louisiana through their innovation and commitment.”
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards