Projects addressing COVID-19 awarded nearly $175,000 in state funding

The Manufacturing PA Innovation Program COVID-19 Challenge recently awarded $174,603 to four universities for seven projects that address the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Community and Economic Development, though the challenge program, solicited accredited Pennsylvania colleges and universities for proposals for projects that addressed the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eligible projects included the rapid development and deployment of new technologies, products, and processes.

The PA Manufacturing Program funded the program.

“We are fortunate to have some of the brightest minds in our higher education system, and they rose to the challenge in supporting our commonwealth during this unprecedented time,” Gov. Tom Wolf said. “My administration remains committed to identifying new resources that can support our state’s businesses and communities as we continue to navigate this pandemic and the recovery steps ahead.”

Carnegie Mellon University was awarded $24,986 for a nasopharyngeal swab project and $25,000 for a vaccine project.

Lehigh University was awarded $25,000 for addressing the spread of Coronavirus.

The University of Pittsburgh was awarded $25,000 for a respirator project and $25,000 for a reusable N95 filters project.

Villanova University was awarded $24,815 for a ventilator project and $24,802 for a project using a wearable sensor with machine learning processing on mobile devices for COVID-19 risk monitoring.