College of Engineering Pulls Together to Produce 11,000 Pieces of Medical Equipment During Pandemic
In earlier news stories, we reported — under the patronage of His Excellency Rector Al-Solamy — that the College of Engineering launched an initiative for manufacturing medical equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE), using 3D printing in the Digital Fabrication Lab, to help meet the critical shortage for medical professionals treating COVID-19 patients. We noted that students from the College of Engineering will participate under the supervision of highly experienced faculty members on the initiative team. We are pleased to announce that this initiative, which is part of "Mobaderoon", has led to the production of more than 11,000 pieces of medical equipment and PPE — with 4,000 more under production — to the Department of Health Affairs in Asir, the Asir Municipality, College of Dentistry Clinics, the General Administration for University Safety and Security, the university's housing office, and the Al Haram Al Madani Maintenance company.
Dean of the College of Engineering, Dr. Muhammad Al-Misfer explained that this initiative is one of a set of research and manufacturing initiatives launched by the College of Engineering to mitigate the spread of COVID-19; it comes within the university belief in facing challenges that society goes through and finding solutions to overcome them. Dean Al-Misfer pointed out that the idea of this initiative came to take advantage of the technology of 3D printers and find appropriate solutions, meeting the PPE needs of the public writ large. Dean Al-Misfer raised his thanks to Asir Gov. Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz for his tutelage, His Excellency Rector Al-Solamy for his support, the faculty production team, and the students for their hard and fruitful work.
Dr. Ahmed Ali Du'ajim confirmed in his role as the initiative team head that intensive training courses were implemented to improve the products and create opportunities for students to innovate. He also highlighted that the female engineering students played a critical role in monitoring the work of devices, checking the quality of products, and delivering the products to clients.
