
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – This spring, as everyone was beginning to understand the devastating public health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeremy and Amy Filko were like many Americans. They felt helpless. They supported passive efforts to flatten the curve, such as wearing masks, social distancing and supporting the lockdown, but wished they could do more.
But when Jeremy Filko, an alumnus of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, looked at their 3D printer, he saw potential. A device that previously had been used as a hobby to fabricate a replica of the starship Enterprise from “Star Trek” for a friend and containers for leftovers could be used to make something helpful for medical workers, he reasoned.
Not only did the Vienna, Va., couple begin producing 3D plastic respirator shields for doctors, nurses and other first responders during the initial shortage, but they also launched the non-profit Collective Shield and a network of like-minded people in the “maker” community worldwide to do the same thing. Their shield designs today are being replicated all over the world.