EWU chemistry department makes 'Eagle Sanitizer"

By JEREMY BURNHAM

Staff reporter

CHENEY — With Eastern Washington University going online only for the rest of the year, most lab classes have been canceled. That left the science lab with some extra chemicals on hand.

EWU chemistry Professor Jeff Corkill had the idea to put some of those chemicals to good use.

Corkill and EWU lab manager Fred Joslin have mixed the necessary chemicals to make hand sanitizer that they are calling Eagle Sanitizer.

Corkill says the plan is to hand it out to first responders, seniors and other people in the area who need it. The distribution plan is still being developed.

The sanitizer includes four ingredients: isopropyl alcohol 99%, hydrogen peroxide 3%, glycerol 98% and water.

Corkill said the idea behind the project was to help people.

“It was just something we were able to do,” Corkill said. “Maybe we will be able to get it to someone who otherwise wouldn’t have any.”

The bottles to be handed out needed labels. With design not being in their field of expertise, Corkill and Joslin reached out to others in the school for help.

Deans got involved, and design professors at the university received an email asking if any of them would be willing to design a label.

Mindy Breen, a visual communication design professor at EWU responded to the email. She was very willing to join the project.

“This idea of creating a product that is so scarce regionally and nationally right now, to help them make that happen, I thought was a great opportunity,” Breen said. “I also said yes because the design program really values opportunities for students to collaborate and tackle community-based challenges.”

While she agreed to get involved, Breen thought it should be a student doing the actual design.

“Initially the request came for me to design the labels myself,” Breen said. “And I could, and I would have. But we have students who can do a good job.”

Breen immediately knew who she was going to reach out to. She said senior Danielle Flinn had been working with her on other items and would be a good choice for the project.

Flinn, like Breen, was happy to join a project aimed at helping people. She said she collaborated with Corkill and tried to bring some science elements into the design.

“When I talked to [Corkill], he wanted to showcase how chemistry can really be important in situations like the one we’re currently in,” Flinn said. “So, we used a little icon in the corner to kind of highlight chemistry. He also wanted to show we are fighting the coronavirus, so we had little virus icons in the corner as well.”

Each batch of Eagle Sanitizer makes 21 litters, or about five and half gallons. One batch has been made and Joslin says the lab has enough ingredients to make about two more.

Jeremy Burnham can be reached at [email protected].