Assistant professor of chemical engineering Gaurav “Gino” Giri's startup company, Hava Inc., has received a $259,484 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Centers for Disease Control.
Giri co-founded Hava Inc. with Balashankar Mulloth, an assistant professor of public policy at the University of Virginia's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, using metal organic frameworks-based air filtration technology he created in his chemical engineering lab at UVA.
The company produces fully washable, highly efficient fabric face masks and filters made with the metal organic frameworks material. The team is designing the masks to meet the American Society for Testing and Materials' specifications for breathability and filtration efficiency for nonmedical face masks.
Giri has filed a patent on his process to rapidly synthesize the metal organic frameworks material, which can be applied to ordinary fabric using existing manufacturing technology.
Hava received the CDC grant to continue moving the face masks toward commercialization, which you can learn more about here.