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Local Impact: Dr. Goswami's purifier to be manufactured in Lakeland

While Professor Yogi Goswami holds 24 U.S. patents, including many related to solar energy, it’s his creation of a device driven by the health of his children that could end up as his most lasting legacy. The director of USF’s CERC has been developing the Molekule air purifier for more than 20 years. The impetus came when he and his wife found out their then-young son, Dilip, had asthma and other allergies.

Now, Molekule has further strengthened its ties to the Tampa Bay area by consolidating its manufacturing at a facility in Lakeland. Up until now, the company had used contractors around the country to make its air purifiers. The move brings the manufacturing facility closer to the company’s research and development arm at USF’s Tampa campus.

The Polk County facility is expected to soon employ dozens of workers. Dr. Goswami used patented solar technology that he developed at Tyndall Air Force Base to clean up the base’s contaminated ground water.

“This is a photo electrochemical oxidation (PECO) process,” Goswami explained. “Any contaminants that are in the air, they just get destroyed and converted to basic elements that are supposed to be in the air.”

An LED light in the purifier simulates sunlight to create a chemical reaction in a replaceable filter that breaks down harmful molecules like allergens and chemicals. The purifier can trap pollutants up to 1,000 times smaller than what a high-efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA) catches, according to the company.

The 2-foot-tall Molekule air purifier was named one of Time magazine’s “25 Best Inventions of 2017” and retails for $799 on Molekule’s website. The purifier sold out seven times last year, another reason for consolidating manufacturing in one place, according to co-founder and chief operating officer Jaya Rao, Dr. Goswami’s daughter.