Mayor Eric Garcetti recently toured Iovine and Young Academy where 3D printers and laser cutters are producing urgently-needed Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to disposable face shields, the Academy is making other essential gear such as a 3D-printable, reusable N95-equivalent respirator that uses HEPA filters, and reusable face shields using Powered, Air-Purifying Respirators (PAPR). At the request of Keck, the team is also designing a ventilator manifold, which splits a ventilator for two people.⁣ ⁣ The Academy, along with Keck School of Medicine, Viterbi School of Engineering and USC Architecture, is a partner of the mayor’s “L.A. Protects” initiative to ramp up production of PPE in the fight against COVID-19.


Watch the mayor discuss his visit to USC on Facebook Live.

Garcetti helps make COVID-19 protective equipment at USC Iovine and Young Academy