SAE Update - September 2022 - 16

TECH FOCUS:
VEHiClE iNTEriOrS
SAE Fellow helps conquer COViD for cars
SAE International is proud to have as a member and
Fellow Gursuran D. Mathur, Ph.D., P.E. He is known for
being an effective, long-time warrior in the battle for
more healthy and comfortable vehicle cabin air, as
well as for more efficient HVAC systems.
SAE is not the only organization to recognize his
effectiveness. Mathur was indirectly celebrated by
virtue of his company, Highly-Marelli North America
(formerly CalsonicKansei North America), Farmington
Hills, Mich., capturing a CES 2022 Innovation Award
for a COVID-killing product for cars that he was
largely responsible for developing.
At Highly-Marelli North America, he is Senior
Technical Specialist, Climate Control, and Senior
Manager in Development Engineering. His
responsibilities include product design, development,
and research in automotive thermal systems.
The company's award-winning Indoor Air Quality
(IAQ) Purification System deploys UV-A and UV-C
light combined with a titanium-dioxide (TiO2) filter to
destroy airborne bacteria and viruses, including
COVID-19, with greater than 99% effectiveness within
15 minutes, according to Mathur. IAQ incorporates
semiconductor photocatalysis to drive a chemical
reaction with the filter. TiO2 is an excellent
photocatalyst material due to its efficient
photoactivity, high stability, low cost, and
environmental safety.
SAE's Automotive Engineering magazine detailed
the Highly-Marelli/Mathur innovation here. Mathur has
written several SAE technical papers on the
technologies involved, including UV-LEDs Based
Photocatalytic Cabin IAQ System to Eliminate Viruses
Encountered in a Conditioned Space.
16
September 2022
Gursaran D. Mathur, Ph.D., P.E., at the 2022
SAE Fellows reception and recognition
ceremony. He was elected SAE Fellow in 2005.
For more than 20 years, Mathur has been
organizing sessions in the areas of thermal
management and climate control for seveal
SAE international conferences, including WCX.
The two-UV light design is key
to the product and
accompanying patents. Sensors
capable of detecting viruses are
very expensive and primarily in
hospital use, Mathur is quoted as
saying in that AE article. To
moderate cost, which during the
time of development was 4080%
more than the cost of the
HVAC itself, the Marelli system
incorporates a simple on-off
control, with timing based on
empirical data derived from test
chamber results.
" I came up with this idea in
2017 and developed a prototype
unit for demonstrating the
UPDATE
SAE International

https://www.sae.org/news/2020/08/marelli-covid-cabin-filter https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2022-01-0196/ https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2022-01-0196/ https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2022-01-0196/

SAE Update - September 2022

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