Jackson Free Press

The Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, which is part of Mississippi State University’s James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, recently designed and donated a device that can sterilize up to seven personal protective masks in 30 minutes to the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Kosciusko as part of an effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

MSU researchers and engineering students created the sterilizer, which is a modified truck toolbox, to disinfect N-95 protective masks using ultraviolet light. The team researched the theory behind the design from Nebraska Medicine, a release from MSU says.

MSVA Executive Director Stacey Pickering first heard about the device in one of Gov. Tate Reeves’s daily press conferences and sent a team to MSU to gather information, the release says. After learning about positive cases of COVID-19 at MSVH, the CAVS team donated one of the devices to the home.

MSVA and CAVS representatives are currently working on an operations manual for future prototypes, and MSVA is building other prototypes for three other veterans homes in Oxford, Jackson and Collins.

MSU Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center Launches COVID-19 Resource Page for Small Communities

Mississippi State University's Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center recently launched a new website with a COVID-19 resource page to help small communities respond to the pandemic. The webpages are smalltowncenter.msstate.edu and smalltowncenter.msstate.edu/covid-19.

Resources on the site include toolkits for business owners to safely welcome customers, information on how restaurants can adapt, options for helping aging and youth populations and suggestions for family-friendly community activities.

For more information, visit smalltowncenter.msstate.edu or follow the Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center on Facebook.

JSU Launches Online New Student Orientation Page

Jackson State University's Academic Advisement Center and Enrollment Management recently partnered to launch an Online New Student Orientation web page. Newly admitted students at JSU must complete all nine modules of the ONSO.

The ONSO website includes information on JSU’s history and mission, policies, important offices on campus, academic advisor roles, class registration, Welcome Week, Move-in Day, financial aid, health and safety and more.

For more information, visit jsums.edu/orientation/.