New TxAIRE Facility Will Focus on Air Quality Research
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Dust bunnies, Fido’s fur and other allergens are about to undergo closer scrutiny and possible eradication. Researchers in the Texas Allergy, Indoor Environment and Energy Institute hope to introduce better ways to measure and improve indoor air quality.
The institute, nicknamed TxAIRE, is a collaboration headed by The University of Texas at Tyler and includes The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Texas Health Center at Tyler and The University of Texas at Austin. A $3.75 million grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund is serving as seed money for the project.
Improved sensors, filters and an array of yet-to-be-imagined products are on the horizon, says James Nelson, dean of engineering and computer science at UT Tyler.
“This is a good economic investment for Texas and a project that has really practical applications,” Nelson says. “You can just look around at all the people suffering from allergies and sinus problems, and you can imagine the benefit these products are going to have for them. It’s exciting, both from a research perspective and from an economic standpoint.”
This is the first time such research is being conducted in hot, humid conditions. It also is the first time test homes will be used as data collectors.
Previous indoor environmental research has been done in the cold conditions of Nordic countries.
Lab equipment has been installed in UT Tyler’s new Ratliff Building North on campus, and a survey of existing conditions will begin before the end of 2008, Nelson says.
Swedish scientist Jan Sundell is the institute’s executive director and J. Torey Nalbone, an environmental engineer at UT Tyler, is associate director.
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