In response to the need for personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, instructors at Somerset Community College worked with University of Kentucky to develop a new kind of nano-coating to make reusable filters for breathable face masks.
During the development process, Somerset Community College worked with Megan Aanstoos, licensing and new ventures manager at Kentucky Commercialization Ventures, to file a patent application for the new innovation on behalf of the Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS).
"That was the first time that a community college here in Kentucky had ever filed for provisional patent application with the assignee being KCTCS," Aanstoos said. "Not only that, but it's one of the few community college systems around the entire country who have done patent filings."