This week we discussed open source projects that are part of the fight against covid-19. This is important to me because last week I found out that I lost both of my grandparents to covid-19 within the span of 2 days. It really does hurt to know that I couldn’t do anything to protect them, but it’s very comforting to see that so many people have stepped up to solve this pandemic purely for the greater good rather than for personal gain. My grandparents were denied ventilators due to the shortage we have in NYC and the need to distribute them to those more likely to survive. If hospitals in countries suffering from heavier shortages of ventilators and other life-saving equipment could utilize some of the DIY equipment projects that my peers talked about, then hopefully more lives can be saved. I am so glad to know that engineers worldwide have put their time and effort into trying to solve this seemingly unsolvable problem. Additionally, while I am aware that I lack the technical skill to assist in this fight, some of my peers brought up projects which use the computing power of anyone willing to offer their gpu up to work on folding and unfolding proteins. Projects like this allow anyone to help in the fight against both covid-19 and other debilitating illnesses. Upon hearing about them I set my computer to assist in this. While many of these projects are too young and too complex for the average person to contribute to, they set an important precedent; in the event that another life-changing pandemic appears, I know that these projects will be more ready and more capable of producing important work.