About News Professor Bala Mulloth and Team Close to Marketing Better-Filtering, More Comfortable Cloth Face Masks Feb 03, 2022 Professor Bala Mulloth and Team Close to Marketing Better-Filtering, More Comfortable Cloth Face Masks Gaurav Giri, right, and Balashankar Mulloth co-founded Hava, Inc. to develop technology with the potential to dramatically improve the air filtration efficiency and breathability of face masks. (Photo by Dan Addison, University Communications)Batten assistant professor of public policy Bala Mulloth has partnered with Gaurav “Gino” Giri, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Virginia, to develop alternative mask technology to create better-filtering, more comfortable cloth face masks. Mulloth focuses on social entrepreneurship and this project is a display of the power of social innovation to uniquely solve the world's challenges. The team is patenting a process for turning ordinary fabrics into inexpensive, washable air filters that breathe as easily as plain cloth masks, but are much better at stopping fine particle matter and other airborne hazards. He and his colleagues at Hava Inc., the company the two professors co-founded, anticipate releasing their first run of 5,000 face masks with the technology as early as March. The team hopes that by then, the Hava masks will be certified under a new standard established in February 2021 by the American Society for Testing and Materials International for breathability and filtration efficiency. The standard applies to face coverings that are not medical masks or respirators. Read Full Story in UVA Today Bala Mulloth Bala Mulloth is an assistant professor at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Mulloth is a globally oriented educator and entrepreneur and his work focuses on innovation and social entrepreneurship. Read full bio Related Content Bala Mulloth Challenges to measuring social value creation through social impact assessments: the case of RVA Works Research What are the issues that socially driven organizations face as they attempt to measure their social impact through the myriad social impact assessments (SIAs) available? In this paper, we aim to investigate this overarching research question using the example of RVA Works, a Virginia (Richmond)-based social enterprise that utilized educational programming to promote small business ownership and financial self-sufficiency among traditionally underserved and underprivileged demographics. Strengthening public policies for decent work in Francophone Africa in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic Research The project seeks to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small informal businesses in Benin, Cameroon, Morocco, and Senegal. It will explore policy options for targeted support to those businesses in a way that helps contain the spread of COVID-19 and similar pandemics in the future. It will also seek to identify the best options for building the long-term resilience of vulnerable population groups involved in small informal businesses. Designers and researchers join forces to imagine the home of the future News Batten’s Bala Mulloth and chemical engineering professor Gaurav Giri, co-founders of Hava Inc., are one of nine design teams commissioned to provide the public with a glimpse into the future of home furnishings and objects for a show titled Hybrid at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia. Batten’s Bala Mulloth Receives COVID-19 Social Entrepreneurship Grant News A team of faculty that includes Batten professor Bala Mulloth have been awarded $110,000 for their proposal titled “Technology Driven Entrepreneurial Solutions to Address Healthcare Worker Protection Needs.” Stay Up To Date with the Latest Batten News and Events Subscribe
Bala Mulloth Bala Mulloth is an assistant professor at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Mulloth is a globally oriented educator and entrepreneur and his work focuses on innovation and social entrepreneurship. Read full bio
Challenges to measuring social value creation through social impact assessments: the case of RVA Works Research What are the issues that socially driven organizations face as they attempt to measure their social impact through the myriad social impact assessments (SIAs) available? In this paper, we aim to investigate this overarching research question using the example of RVA Works, a Virginia (Richmond)-based social enterprise that utilized educational programming to promote small business ownership and financial self-sufficiency among traditionally underserved and underprivileged demographics.
Strengthening public policies for decent work in Francophone Africa in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic Research The project seeks to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small informal businesses in Benin, Cameroon, Morocco, and Senegal. It will explore policy options for targeted support to those businesses in a way that helps contain the spread of COVID-19 and similar pandemics in the future. It will also seek to identify the best options for building the long-term resilience of vulnerable population groups involved in small informal businesses.
Designers and researchers join forces to imagine the home of the future News Batten’s Bala Mulloth and chemical engineering professor Gaurav Giri, co-founders of Hava Inc., are one of nine design teams commissioned to provide the public with a glimpse into the future of home furnishings and objects for a show titled Hybrid at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia.
Batten’s Bala Mulloth Receives COVID-19 Social Entrepreneurship Grant News A team of faculty that includes Batten professor Bala Mulloth have been awarded $110,000 for their proposal titled “Technology Driven Entrepreneurial Solutions to Address Healthcare Worker Protection Needs.”