In collaboration with SafeTraces and Integrating Green Technologies, we aim to verify ventilation and filtration performance in indoor spaces with real-world data using veriDART®, a patented DNA-Tracer Visualization Technology by Safe Traces. It provides critical information on aerosol mobility inside buildings to accurately assess HVAC performance of infectious aerosol exposure risks in buildings.

veriDART’s proprietary airborne tracers safely mimic the chemical composition, particle size distribution, and mobility of viral emissions to mirror a person coughing and sneezing inside indoor spaces.

We will identify a building on campus which has higher student density and interactions where our team will release DNA-tracers in designated test areas for dispersion throughout the building’s HVAC air duct system. Air and surface samples will be collected at specific, predetermined points within the building during timed intervals. Samples will be collected and PCR-tested in an ISO9001 laboratory.

Based on assessment results, we will use data analytics to visualize exposure risk based on the DNA signal strength in the tracers including heat maps to identify any potential problem areas in the subject building.

Our detailed analysis and reporting will clearly communicate opportunities to mitigate risks by taking the corrective action steps needed to ensure real-world safety while making better informed financial decisions.

This analysis will help us understand how effectively our HVAC and filtration systems handle air that circulates within our buildings on campus. One of our primary overarching goals is designed to cause all stakeholders to recognize the importance of cost-effective, scalable opportunities to provide the highest quality indoor environments.

Specifically, the F&S leadership is involved in this effort and will receive the summary reports and discuss the recommendations made as a result of our HVAC and Air Quality Assessment Pilot Project process.

Our project deliverables will include but not be limited to:

1. Recommendations about relevant changes in the HVAC filtration systems in the specific building.

2. Detailed analysis and reporting which will be published on the iCAP Portal, informing the public about the subsequent changes necessary to optimize indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and human health and safety in our campus infrastructure.

3. We will track data over time that supports the optimization of objective operational financial decisions that can contribute to a change toward “people-centric” methodologies for overall Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ).

This is a paradigm shift in how decisions can be made regarding the design of new structures, renovation of existing structures, and their occupancy, as we continue to contend with the combined impacts of the Covid-19 global pandemic and the unpredictable effects of Climate Change.