An innovative new healthcare device, the Beam Helmet, was on display—along with the technology it replaces—during the Feb. 27, 2025, Idea Pub: Morning Edition. The helmet was invented by UNMC Associate Professor of nursing, Elizabeth Beam, PhD, RN, who also spoke at the event.
by Amanda Hawley, PhD, UNeMed | February 9, 2026
Beth Beam had the spark of an idea but was uncertain if it was worth catching fire. Certainly not worth being the winning entry in a silly invention contest, whose entry form looked like a forgotten, dirty napkin stuffed in your car cupholder. And certainly not worth the thousands of dollars for prototyping and engineering consultation earned as the top prize.
UNMC nursing professor Beth Beam (left) is inducted into UNeMed’s Innovation Ambassadors program in a “Grey Coat Ceremony” with licensing associate Nathan Hatch during UNeMed’s 2025 Innovation Awards ceremony on Oct. 22 at the Scott Conference Center in Omaha.
Even as she scrawled her idea for a better respirator inspired by the traumatic, grueling shifts of the pandemic, she certainly didn’t think it would be revered as a literal poster child for healthcare innovation at UNMC.
Too many inventors feel this way. Surely, someone has already thought of this. Surely my idea, can’t be something that changes, well, everything.
If the Back-o-the-Napkin Contest has taught us anything after four years, it’s that there are no bad ideas, and yes, your idea can make a difference.
Don’t believe me, just ask Beth Beam, PhD, Associate Professor at UNMC in the College of Nursing who wore those bulky breakouts suits and respirators for hours at a time
“I was just annoyed because (respirators) were horrible and clunky. I guess I thought the idea might have a shot at being innovative given the time we were in,” she said. “The application was so simple it seemed like it was worth at least telling people my ideas.”
Her idea, the BEAM Helmet, was a new powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) that doctors and nurses could wear during a pandemic for extended periods. Her design is light weight, easy to sanitize, more comfortable, offers better visibility, requires less training.
Despite her initial low expectations, Beam was UNeMed’s inaugural Napkin contest winner. UNeMed and UNeTech Institute connected her to the Machine and Prototyping (MAPRO) Core at UNO to design and prototype her invention.
“Their support in conception and willingness to help me with research versions of the helmet… Nothing short of extraordinary. Their motives are solely to help the idea fly,” she said when describing her collaboration with the MAPRO group to build out the prototype.
After prototyping, Beam was awarded additional grant support from the Great Plains IDeA-CTR, Nebraska Research Initiative and $20,000 from Nebraska Tobacco Settlement Biomedical Research Development Fund to further evolve the helmet design. A more advanced version of the helmet was later named UNeMed’s 2024 Most Promising New Invention and is currently patent pending.
Dr. Beam, one of UNeMed’s elite cohort of 13 Innovation Ambassadors, recommends anyone with an idea that addresses a problem to take a few minutes to enter the contest.
“I know I am not alone, everybody knows it’s a problem, but it’s having that motivation to ‘Let’s see if we can fix it.’ It needs to be done,” she said about what drives her and her innovative pursuits. “I’m always happy to chat with anyone who is innovation-curious, especially nurses and those nurse-adjacent. We have a lot to offer the world.”
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Contest submission forms can be found here. Completed forms can be returned to UNeMed at unemed@unmc.edu or via campus mail (6099). Contest entries will be accepted until March 6, 2026. See contest announcement for details. Contest support is sponsored by the Great Plains IDeA-CTR group along with resources from UNeMed.
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Associate Professor Beth Beam, PhD, RN, joined UNMC in 2004. She has worked on an emergency preparedness grant at the College of Nursing since 2005. In that role, she became involved in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit and was the educator for the unit in 2014 when the Ebola virus disease was treated in the United States. Dr. Beam has gone on to do further research on healthcare worker behaviors and respiratory protection for situations like the COVID-19 pandemic. She also co-leads a group at UNMC called the Nebraska Virtual Reality Network for Education and Research. In October 2025, Dr. Beam was recognized with the UNMC Distinguished Scientist award.
