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InterPore Academy lecture by Dr. Behnam Pourdeyhimi : “Facemasks & Respirators – Technology, Manufacturing & Performance”
Wednesday, April 7th, 10 AM – 11 AM US Eastern Time Zone (4-5 PM Central European Summer Time).
Speaker: Dr. Behnam Pourdeyhimi
Lecture title: “Facemasks & Respirators – Technology, Manufacturing & Performance”
About the lecture
The Covid-19 global pandemic increased demand for N95 respirators and surgical masks beyond the production capacity of existing supply chains. Industry attempts to rapidly expand manufacturing capacity have been inadequate due to raw material (meltblown nonwoven fabric used as filtration media and the spunbond nonwoven used as the protective layer for the meltblown filter) shortages and limited capacity on the machine’s necessary to convert the raw materials into masks. The World Health Organization estimates that supplies of Personal Protective Equipment need to be increased by more than 50% globally.
This discussion will focus on the evolution of the technologies used in N95 respirators, surgical masks and the newly established barrier masks used for the general public. Specifically, the following topics will be covered:
- Definitions of various mask technologies used, and the differences between surgical masks and N95 masks
- Manufacturing of masks and the meltblown and spunbond media,
- standard methods used,
- what we have learned from using cloth masks and the CDC and ASTM response in establishing new standards
About Behnam Pourdeyhimi
Dr. Behnam Pourdeyhimi joined NC State immediately after completing his PhD at the University of Leeds in 1982. Soon, he left for other opportunities, Cornell (2 years), University of Maryland (11 years) and Georgia Tech (4 years) before returning to NC State in 1998-1999 Academic year.
Behnam is the William A. Klopman Distinguished Professor of Materials in the Wilson College of Textiles at NC State University and is also an affiliated professor in the departments of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the Biomedical Engineering. He also serves as Associate Dean in the Wilson College of Textiles and is the Executive Director of The Nonwovens Institute.
Early in his career, he focused on the development of tools for characterizing various materials including nonwovens, medical devices, composite materials, etc. For this body of work, he received the ASTM D-13 Dewitt Smith Medal. In particular, his work on image analysis won him the Fiber Society Distinguished Scientist award in 1994. He also was selected as the Fiber Society Lecturer where he travelled broadly to present his work to industry and academia. He later served also as the vice president, and the president of the Fiber Society.
He is best known for his contributions to nonwovens and establishment and the growth of nonwovens at NC State. His work in the area of filtration won him the O’ Max Gardner award in 2015 (The Highest award by the University of North Carolina System), and in 2018, he received The Holladay Medal for Excellence (The highest faculty award bestowed by NC State University). In 2020, Behnam was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors as a Fellow.
He joined NC State in part to lead the establishment of the Nonwovens Institute (NWI). NWI is the largest university-based research institute in the US across all disciplines. Today, NWI is the world’s first and only accredited academic program for the interdisciplinary field of engineered fabrics. Operating on an “Open Innovation” platform, the Nonwovens Institute engages experts from industry and higher education in building next-generation nonwoven applications while also providing training and guidance to the field’s future leaders.
Professor Pourdeyhimi’s scholarly activities include authorship of 3 books, publications in 400+ journal articles and chapters, 250+ presentations, 28+ US Patents, and 65+ International Patents.
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