Page 26 - CEMS News Summer 2020

ALUMNI NEWS
Adapting continued from page 25
Also, in the current situation, I have found more time
for reading journal articles and exploring potential new research directions, enabling intensive study that I hope will help my company achieve its ambition to become the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world.”
Innovating to Fight COVID-19
Engineering Medicine
Jennifer Long, MD (PhD ChE ’03), serves as an Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery
in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Her engineering degree proved even more useful when the pandemic presented novel challenges that required her expertise.
Jaime Reyes Robles
Jaime Reyes Robles (MS ChE ’70), former Secretary for Innovation, Science, and Technology for the State of Jalisco, Mexico, brings public and private sector experience to bear in the fight against COVID in Mexico.
“I obtained my MS in Chemical Engineering from the U of M in 1970, after which my career path led me to KODAK where I worked for 15 years, and then
“COVID-19 produced a
whirlwind for my work, as
it did everywhere. Being in a group of surgeons, my engineering background made me the de facto expert on N95s and aerosols. We scrambled to develop our own clinical protocols because none existed. As it became apparent that the world could not possibly supply enough protective gear for our usual practices, we found ways to get by safely with less. I think having reusable PPE options is important for the future, as we have clearly seen the failure of the “single-use” paradigm.
I often ask resident doctors in research to define the problems they notice and work to solve them – that
was never more important than in the early days of
the pandemic. I’m proud of how my department came together during these months. We published several COVID-related manuscripts and guidelines, trying to contribute something helpful. We managed to keep the patients who needed our care safe, and keep those who didn’t need us immediately at home. Along with the rest of the country, we shut down the entire laboratory research enterprise and are now navigating how to start it up again.
I hope that all this effort is just the beginning of finding creative large-scale solutions to reduce the impact of emerging infectious diseases in the future.”
on to Hewlett-Packard for an additional 21 years, retiring in 2004 after serving as Global
Vice President of the business unit within the Imaging and Printing Group. I was director at Tecnológico de Monterrey for seven years and entered the public service as Secretary of First Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology for the State of Jalisco, Mexico for six years.
In April 2019, I founded a company focusing on how disruptive technologies are changing the world based
on neural networks, which beginning this February has launched its own Innovation Committee to fight COVID-19. The COVID-19 is becoming worse every day in Mexico, with infections and deaths increasing exponentially. We have developed a respirator for patients recently admitted to hospitals and are also developing both molecular and immunologic low-cost rapid tests. Additionally, we are developing an app which uses artificial intelligence to predict and track infections. Finally, we have developed antiviral products which protect the whole body based on nanoparticles of ZnO2.
My time in CEMS has had a tremendous impact on all areas of my professional life through to the present day. I am grateful for my educational experience at the U of M. My wife, Sara, and I are the proud parents of four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom are well.
Jennifer Long
26 www.cems.umn.edu