An Arcadia High School student who made hundreds of pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the start of the coronavirus pandemic is moving onto bigger things.
Weber Lin first spoke with NBCLA in April 2020 as he launched the small project from his bedroom while attending remote classes away from the classroom.
“After we talked, I kept making mask for a few months,” recalled Lin, who ultimately made over 3,100 pieces of PPE. “I expanded to face shields and ear savers. But eventually once the supply chain issues were resolved, there wasn’t a need for 3D masks.”
Fast-forward to 2023, the 18-year-old said the PPE project propelled him to dream big and prepared him for the future: after graduating from Arcadia High as the valedictorian, the teen is set to attend Stanford University in the fall of 2023.
“The mask project I started three years ago turned into something more and given me an interest in something I might want to do for the rest of my life.”
As the then-9th grader tried to pump out PPE pieces as many quickly as possible, the teen got to look further into 3D printing and learned he could do much more than providing life-saving equipment for medical professionals.
“Instead of putting plastic through the tube [of a 3D printer], you can put human cells. At least that’s what scientists are working on now,” said Lin, who is hoping to major in bioengineering at Stanford. “Printing cells to get living tissues and more organized tissues – so eventually and hopefully we can make human organs from that.”
In addition to his interest in bioengineering, Lin also is a music fan who learned to play the Scottish bagpipes. He said the secret to achieving a lot and graduating as his high school valedictorian is sticking to his motto: procrastinate later.
“If you’re going to do something, do it. Don’t do other things. Don’t get distracted. That’s my message.”
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Source: NBC Los Angeles