Revolutionary Research Breakthrough: Alumnus Weston Warren, ’11

Weston Warren, Class of 2011, stands in a Coulter Science Center lab with the result of his research breakthrough, revolutionary technology that proactively cleans air and surfaces safely.

Weston Warren was working in high-end residential and commercial construction in the 1990s when he noticed a problem.  The more advanced construction techniques and materials became, the better built – and airtight – the houses. These energy-efficient structures fulfilled one need for resource conservation but, at the same time, locked in VOCs and other contaminants.

St. Louis-based, Warren was the largest builder in the Midwest using insulated concrete forms, known for their energy efficiency. After looking at air samples that tested the air quality in the buildings he was constructing, he quickly realized the health implications.

“Construction materials can give off gases for 7 years,” Warren says. “The VOCs were trapped inside. The buildings were too air tight.”

Concerned, Warren began researching ways to purify the air. He stumbled across technology used by NASA known as PCO (photo-catalytic oxidation) – originally used to enable plants to grow in outer space and clean the air and surfaces in space stations. Fascinated, he connected with scientists involved in the original development of PCO technology and tried to improve upon the NASA design.

Warren continued to see the possibilities that PCO technology held for food safety, the medical community, and indoor climates (residential and commercial); his passion to innovate and expand what currently existed grew. He worked with Kansas State’s Dr. Jim Marsden, well known as an expert in food safety, and other scientists, but Warren knew his own educational background limited him.

“I knew the role I would play, the new position I was heading toward,” Warren says. “I wanted a degree that would fit.”

He started researching colleges and universities what would best serve his needs, looking for a place to sharpen his science skills with “approachable professors.”

“There was fear,” he says about entering college not as a traditional student fresh from high school, but as a grown man with a family. “Trepidation.”

He didn’t want the large university, lecture-hall setting with 250 students in a class. He sought a high ratio of PhDs teaching classes, a small student-faculty ratio, and a college that had a reputation for excellence.

Westminster College rose to the top in his search.

He arrived on campus in 2008, his PCO research project in-hand, and he went to work, spending countless hours in Coulter Science Center and finding the support he needed from professors such as Dr. Mike Amspoker and Dr. Alan Goldin.

“All the faculty members are knowledgeable. They make you work and that’s what you want – to get your money’s worth for your education,” Warren says.

“I can’t say enough about (Amspoker and Goldin) and their knowledge, their professionalism, the mentors they were.”

Warren says the high caliber education and strong ethics on campus created a positive experience for him at Westminster.

The College gave him the space to further his research, bringing him closer and closer to the breakthrough he needed with PCO technology.

Only three months after his graduation with honors in 2011, Warren says he had his breakthrough moment with ion generation. That breakthrough increased the capabilities for PCO technology – and enabled an unparalleled, active solution against airborne and surface contaminants.

“Weston is one of the brightest people I’ve ever met,” says James Gabriel, Chief Executive Officer of Puradigm, a global leader in the technological world of creating safer and cleaner environments, the company that acquired Warren’s patent.

According to Gabriel, in the months and years to come, Warren’s technology will be the technology used to reduce air and surface contaminants throughout the world.

Unlike a passive filter system, Puradigm technology aggressively treats the air external to the system, at the contaminant source. In one Kansas State University Study, Puradigm effectively created a 90% reduction in staph, E. coli, black mold and more in a 24-hour time period. It has also been shown effective against 32 antibiotic-resistant drugs, making a huge impact for medical environments.

Warren sold the patent to Puradigm, but kept global distributorship rights. Today, he’s negotiating with companies such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s, Tyson Foods, and more.

“We can create an eight to 11-day extension on the life of produce in transit,” Warren says about adding his technology to, and purifying the environment of, the trucks that transport the food we eat.

As he stands poised to see his research and creation impact the world, Warren is already looking back to see how he can help the institution that helped make it possible.

“I learned so much at Westminster,” says Warren. “I have a soft spot in my heart for this great institution, and I want to make sure it is around long after I am gone.”