Meet William Huang | Philanthropist and STEM Education Equity Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with William Huang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi William, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic following a rising sense of alarm over the lethal virus spreading across the world. Although there was little initial knowledge about the virus, one thing was certain: it was airborne. Turning on the news, I was extremely troubled to hear about the continued increase in shortages of PPE across California hospitals sparked by terror over the virus. Even more disturbing were the pleas for help from frontline workers. I was astonished and frustrated that the federal government was not doing enough with international supply chains to aid in the crisis. Furthermore, with more and more people reacting to the decreased supply by hoarding and panic buying, prices began to soar as “surgical masks [saw] a sixfold increase [in prices], N95 respirators trebled and gowns doubled”, putting underprivileged communities at-risk (World Health Organization). I decided to step in and make a difference by co-founding a national nonprofit, Safe COVID-19 Relief Engineering (SCORE).

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
To combat the shortages in PPE, we decided to use 3D-printers because of its ability to mass produce equipment at an affordable and rapid rate. However, when students first joined SCORE’s team, many of them were inexperienced. Therefore, for six hours every week, we held Zoom meetings to demonstrate software, answer questions, and brainstorm strategies to improve comfortability. I am extremely proud to have donated 2,050 face shields with 5 new designs to 9+ locations across the US by the end of our COVID effort.

Since the change in tide of the pandemic this year, cases began to decline and mask shortages were no longer as crucial to hospitals. Thus, I recently decided to convert my nonprofit to one that will continue to use STEM, specifically biomedical engineering, to help the underprivileged and underserved communities in an equally impactful way. The motivation behind this pursuit for research equity stemmed from my experience at the 2022 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). During the Opening Ceremony, I was shocked to hear that certain states and countries had as few as 1 finalist, and upon further research, I quickly noticed a direct correlation between the number of finalists in an area and its economic strength. As such, this summer, I engaged and empowered the underprivileged youth by promoting accessible research and educational opportunities through a free 4-week long biomedical engineering research course, a blog, and funding of STEM kits. By opening STEM doors to all, I hope my initiative will enable future kids to start similar initiatives during times of crises and even more importantly, create equity in the job market and provide the resources needed to effect change in communities.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would start the day on a hike at the Point Vicente Lighthouse where we could explore the coastline and go whale watching. Taking advantage of California’s weather, I would go swimming at Redondo Beach and stop for some lunch at the Riviera Village. In the evening, we would go shopping at the Del Amo Mall and eat pork dumplings at Din Tai Fung. Finally, what better way to end off the day with a movie at the AMC!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My efforts with SCORE would not have been possible without the support of the SciFacturing Laboratory at UCLA and funding/grants from the America’s Promise Alliance, Bauhausx Media, and the Metali Company. I would also like to thank our team of 10+ professionals and 50+ students for their contribution to SCORE’s efforts.

Website: https://www.scoreusa.org