#009 - Far-UVC for clean indoor air with Vivian Belenky

Vivian Belenky discusses the use of far-UVC technology to reduce the transmission of pathogens in indoor environments. The conversation covers the current state of the technology, safety considerations, and pathways to reducing its cost. Engineers interested in promoting the widespread adoption of far-UVC technology will find valuable insights in this episode.

In this episode we discuss

• How Vivian came to work on biosecurity and specifically indoor air quality
• A brief history of germicidal ultraviolet radiation and the current state of far-UVC technology
• What is required for far-UVC to be adopted in a broader context
• Potential pathways to reducing the cost of far-UVC
• Safety considerations for far-UVC
• How engineers can contribute to developing far-UVC technology
• How engineers can contribute to promoting wide-spread adoption of far-UVC technology

Full show notes: http://engineeredforimpact.show/vivian

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hogSXD2zYC4

Timestamps

(00:00:07) Intro

(00:02:52) Vivian

(00:03:27) Why focus on hardware?

(00:07:01) Developing an interest in biosecurity

(00:12:26) What is far-UVC

(00:20:22) What are the bottlenecks

(00:25:01) Availability and cost of the tech

(00:32:51) How to work on far-UVC

(00:36:54) What is the cost floor of far-UVC?

(00:40:02) How to create a market for the tech

(00:44:56) How can engineers work on far-UVC

(00:53:19) Questions on safety considerations

(01:03:41) What is it like working in the field

(01:05:43) Other technologies to look out for

(01:08:58) What do you wish you had invented?