Biosecurity1–3 hoursGuided
Measure how well a room is ventilated
Use a CO₂ monitor to estimate how often the air in a classroom, office or bedroom is replaced, then test what opening a window or running a fan actually does.
DataPeopleView project
BiosecurityA few weeksStarterLow-cost kit
Ventilation & air filtration project ideas
The source author’s top priority. Ideas range from DIY measurement to retrofit kits and modelling tools, and most need no lab.
Download PDFDataVisualReading & writingPeople
Why it matters
Cleaner indoor air protects against many pathogens at once, including ones we have not met yet.
Output: Depends on the idea you pick: a dataset, guide, tool or prototype.
Ideas
- Do cheap CO₂ monitors match expensive ones?
- Measure ventilation rates yourself and write the DIY guide
- A clean dataset or review of indoor air-quality products
- A quick window seal with a fan port
- An easy retrofit kit for typical UK houses
- Photo of a room → estimated air changes per hour
- A calculator for how powerful a fan or filter a room needs
- Why is the commercial air-filter market so poor? A logistics deep-dive
- Measured vs calculated ventilation: how far apart are they?
- Natural ventilation strategies across climate zones
- Survey of councils’ indoor air-quality programmes
- Cheap DIY PAPRs and filters
Getting started
0 of 5 done-
Read the list of ideas above and pick the one you would most enjoy.
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Check the source to see whether someone has already done it.
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Scope it down to something you can finish in your available time.
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Do a quick first version and show it to someone.
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Write up what you made and share it with the source authors.
All steps done
Share what you made, then try another project. The PDF version has room for notes.
Related projects
Biosecurity1–3 hoursGuided
Build a room air-cleaning calculator
Make a tiny calculator (a spreadsheet, notebook or web page) that tells anyone how much a portable air purifier would clean the air in their room.
CodeDataVisualView project
BiosecurityA few weeksIntermediate
Can AI help people protect their homes from airborne disease?
Explore whether AI tools can lower the effort of improving home air quality, or speed up reviewing the built-environment research literature.
CodeVisualView project
Further reading
Related mentored projects
- Attribution Across the Biological Threat Pipeline (opens in a new tab)SPARAnemone Franz · University of Notre Dame