Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** taza AYA holds the exclusive…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** taza AYA holds the exclusive license to intellectual property in the area of airborne pathogens and preventing airborne infectious disease transmission. While virtually every person around the globe has been impacted by the covid-19 pandemic and its societal effects, this project will provide an opportunity to hone a technological solution to the specific needs of a community that has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Taza AYA has developed an approach to personal respiratory protection that eliminates all of the shortcomings and annoyances of conventional face masks: increased breathing resistance, inability to eat or drink, difficulty in verbal and nonverbal communication, fogging of glasses and goggles, and ear and face discomfort. Although conventional masks are highly effective at respiratory protection, their drawbacks lead to poor rates of adherence with principles of preventing respiratory diseases. This challenge is particularly true among meat and poultry processor workers, who often engage in tasks in close proximity or in congregate settings, the results of which were high rates of absenteeism during the pandemic and lost processing capacity. Taza AYA will develop a specialized version of their jet air curtain visor specifically for meat and poultry processor workers, incorporating environmental, ergonomic, safety, and aesthetic feedback into the design. The functional prototypes to be produced as a result have the potential to increase the resilience of the domestic food infrastructure against future disease outbreaks.