April 1, 2020

The Honorable Doug Ducey
Governor of Arizona
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Dear Governor Ducey:
I am writing regarding the continuing need in Arizona, like all other states, for more personal
protective equipment (PPE) and medical equipment to meet the needs of Arizona’s clinics and
hospitals to address the spread of COVID-19 infection in the State.
As you may know, ASU has mobilized its research labs, faculty, students and external partners
to create a distributed medical equipment “factory” and contribute to the effort to supply our
clinics and hospitals with as much equipment as the ASU distributed “factory” can design,
manufacture, and distribute. We have also used that same capacity to stand-up COVID-19
testing which can be used by hospitals (PCH), core industries (APS) and municipalities (City of
Phoenix) to test essential personnel such as nurses, nuclear engineers, and police officers.
While ASU’s distributed equipment “factory” is already underway producing the kind of PPE and
medical equipment that is in short supply all across the country, we believe a larger effort could
also be launched with investment and support from the State of Arizona. I am writing to ask that
you consider utilizing some portion of the discretionary resources made available to you by the
State Legislature to respond to the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Arizona in order to expand
the supply of PPE and medical equipment to clinic and hospitals. Attached is an overview of an
Arizona COVID-19 Rapid Response Initiative. With your support, we believe it may also be
possible to obtain additional third party support for such an initiative.
ASU would be glad to help advance a COVID-19 Rapid Response Initiative in whatever manner
you believe appropriate. But, more importantly, we at ASU want to make sure you were aware
of the work already being undertaken at ASU and the opportunity to expand this model to an
even greater scale for the benefit of Arizona.
Please let me know if you would like to pursue this initiative and if you would like ASU’s
assistance in doing so. Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, ASU Executive Vice-President, would
lead this effort on behalf of ASU if you believe it appropriate to move forward.
Sincerely,

Michael M. Crow
President

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