Vacuum Thermoformer for Fabrication of Powered Air Purifying Respirators for Children

Over the last few decades, the world has faced significant challenges that are complex in nature. Two such challenges are the coronavirus pandemic and global climate change. The STS research paper addresses the forces that influence the implementation of renewable energy in India and how those economic, political, and social forces influence renewable energy implementation more broadly, while the technical project involves the development of a Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) for children for use during the coronavirus pandemic and other future pandemics and the creation of a plastic thermoformer to facilitate construction of the PAPRs. While these two projects are not directly related, they both address technologies that are involved in major global sociotechnical systems that have changed drastically in recent years. Each of these projects seeks to better understand the sociotechnical systems and progress them to better face global challenges.