OXFORD - All over the world, we are seeing grocery stores that were previously full of food, cleaning supplies, and bathroom essentials, become nearly empty. We are seeing long lines for toilet paper at local stores. We are seeing limits being placed on paper towels and isopropyl alcohol. Now, hand sanitizer is a prized possession.

During the height of the worldwide shopper panic, Andrew Wang, a second-year Chemical Engineering PhD student at the University of Oxford, noticed that he had supplies for the creation of hand sanitizer at the Monroe Research Group’s laboratory. Wang said, “When I looked at the recipe for hand sanitizer, it was intuitive as it [required] a lot of ingredients that we were using in our lab.”

Wang wanted to take initiative in his community by making hand sanitizers for his university peers, “You don’t really hear about anyone making these supplies or giving [them to others]. If you have these things, you might as well do something with them and be useful.”