{"id":16616,"date":"2021-05-07T10:00:08","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T14:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=16616"},"modified":"2024-05-04T18:41:15","modified_gmt":"2024-05-04T22:41:15","slug":"local-company-donates-innovative-breathable-face-masks-for-commencement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2021\/05\/local-company-donates-innovative-breathable-face-masks-for-commencement\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Company Donates Innovative, Breathable Face Masks for Commencement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As more than 6,700 students earn degrees this spring, their commencement regalia will include red and black robes, mortar boards and matching face masks that grew from NC State innovation. <\/p>\n\n\n

Thousands of high-quality face masks are being donated by Aries USA<\/a>, a company led by Chris Evans. Evans studied electrical and computer engineering at NC State in the 1980s. He helped found the Wolfpack Investor Network<\/a> and currently serves on the NC State Entrepreneurship<\/a> advisory board and the Chancellor\u2019s Innovation Fund<\/a> selection committee. Aries\u2019 face masks are made out of the unique spunbond material that the Nonwovens Institute<\/a> (NWI) created in 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big innovation, and a lot of what I\u2019ve been doing all my life is getting innovations to market,\u201d Evans said. <\/p>\n\n\n