Way to Go! R.C. Murphy student makes face shields for front-line workers
James-Henry Parkinson, a seventh-grader in the Three Village Central School District, shows one of the face shields he created for front-line workers using his 3D printer. Credit: Parkinson Family
A student at a Stony Brook school has been combining his love of technology with a desire to give back to those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
James-Henry Parkinson, a seventh-grader at Robert Cushman Murphy Junior High School, made about 120 face shields using his 3D printer for everyone from nurses to emergency medical technicians to NYPD officers.
He was inspired to do so by his uncle, who is a nurse on Long Island, and partly funded the project through donations from family and friends.
"James-Henry is a talented, caring, amazingly well-rounded student," said Marisa Redden, principal of Arrowhead Elementary School in East Setauket where James-Henry attended last school year. He "always wanted to help anyone he could and his initiative and motivation in the mask-making project speaks to his altruism and his sense of community service and outreach."
To get started, James-Henry tested different prototypes and eventually settled on one that took about three hours per shield. Once the parts were printed, he and his younger brother, John, completed the shields by adding foam for comfort, a headband and Velcro — as well as a plastic transparency sheet.
Essential workers using the masks work at hospitals including Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Islip, Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson and Stony Brook University Hospital, his school said.
— MICHAEL R. EBERT
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
