• About Us
  • Get Insights to Your Inbox
Friday, May 30, 2025
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Search in posts
Search in Author
Search Events
Filter by Categories
Action Learning
Artificial Intelligence in Business
Book Club
Books
BU Today
Business Challenges
Business Education
Business Functions
Business Policy & Markets
Corporate Strategy
Digital Business
Digital Business Institute
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Events
Expert Take
Feature
Finance & Accounting
Future of Business Education
Future of Work
Global Media
Harvard Business Review
Health, Biopharma, & Health-Tech
Human Resources Policy Institute
Innovation
Insights Live
Institute for Sustainable Energy
Journals
Language of Business
Leadership & Management
Local Media
Marketing
Media Mention
Multimedia
National Media
Newsletter Spotlight
Op-Ed
Operations
Opinion
Our Insights
Partners in Business Ethics
Podcast
Publications
Research Institutes
Risk
ScienceDirect
Silicon Valley Bank
Sloan Management Review
Social Impact
Special Series
Susilo Institute for Ethics in the Global Economy
Technology
The Brink
Thinkers50@BUQuestrom: Passion & Purpose
Videos
Insights@Questrom
  • Our Insights
    • All
    • Business Challenges
    • Business Education
    • Business Functions
    Boston dockworkers among thousands on strike nationwide 

    High tariffs, immigration crackdown, funding cuts: BU professor warns of ‘Trump Trifecta’ 

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Madeleine Dean demand food and beverage CEOs put a stop to ‘shrinkflation’ 

    Mass. leaders worried for seniors and kids as Trump agenda bill clears House 

    What Is ‘Big Law?’ 

    Stop Making Cents: US Mint Moves Forward With Plans to Kill the Penny 

    How to Attract (and Keep!) the Best Gen Z Employees 

    How to Attract (and Keep!) the Best Gen Z Employees 

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    Could the GPT Store Turn ChatGPT into a Platform Powerhouse? 

    The Right Amount of Cards, Cash and ID to Carry in Your Wallet

    The ‘Best and Final’ Job Offer Usually Isn’t Final. How You Can Negotiate 

    From Hollywood to the Hardware Store: The Real-World Impact of a 100% Tariff 

    From Hollywood to the Hardware Store: The Real-World Impact of a 100% Tariff 

    Bank Failures Show Us What Not to Do with Our Own Finances

    Bank Failures Show Us What Not to Do with Our Own Finances

  • Videos & Podcast
    • All
    • Podcast
    • Videos
    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Tariffs and Their Economic Impact

    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Navigating Internet Privacy: Unpacking Cookies, Dark Patterns, and Future Data Protection Challenges (2)

    Beyond Prototypes: Rethinking Innovation in Complex Ecosystems with Prof. Douglas Hannah

    Beyond Prototypes: Rethinking Innovation in Complex Ecosystems with Prof. Douglas Hannah

    Is Business Broken? Season 2 out now! 

    Is Business Broken? Season 2 out now! 

    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Redefining Retirement: Navigating Emotional and Social Transitions with Insightful Strategies

    Life After Cookies: Who Uses Google’s Privacy Sandbox? – Garrett Johnson

    Life After Cookies: Who Uses Google’s Privacy Sandbox? – Garrett Johnson

    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Real Estate Ripples from a Landmark Settlement

    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    The Hidden Wisdom of Cultural Pushback

    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Fusion Strategy: Navigating the Industrial Evolution

  • Insights Events
    • Events
    • Insights Live
    • Questrom Institute Events
  • In the Media
    • All
    • BU Today
    • Global Media
    • Local Media
    • National Media
    • Op-Ed
    • The Brink
    Boston dockworkers among thousands on strike nationwide 

    High tariffs, immigration crackdown, funding cuts: BU professor warns of ‘Trump Trifecta’ 

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Madeleine Dean demand food and beverage CEOs put a stop to ‘shrinkflation’ 

    Mass. leaders worried for seniors and kids as Trump agenda bill clears House 

    What Is ‘Big Law?’ 

    Stop Making Cents: US Mint Moves Forward With Plans to Kill the Penny 

    How to Attract (and Keep!) the Best Gen Z Employees 

    How to Attract (and Keep!) the Best Gen Z Employees 

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    Could the GPT Store Turn ChatGPT into a Platform Powerhouse? 

    The Right Amount of Cards, Cash and ID to Carry in Your Wallet

    The ‘Best and Final’ Job Offer Usually Isn’t Final. How You Can Negotiate 

    Bank Failures Show Us What Not to Do with Our Own Finances

    Bank Failures Show Us What Not to Do with Our Own Finances

    In a ‘work-from-anywhere’ world, where are people working?

    79,000 lost jobs. $13 billion in GDP gone. Study tallies potential hit to Mass. from Trump’s ‘economic attack.’

    The Hidden Risk of Getting Paid in Stock Options 

    Trump Administration Cancels Scores of Grants to Study Online Misinformation 

  • Publications
    • All
    • Books
    • Harvard Business Review
    • Journals
    • Sloan Management Review
    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    Could the GPT Store Turn ChatGPT into a Platform Powerhouse? 

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    How to Monetize Volunteer-Driven Platforms 

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    Leading Global Teams Effectively 

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    Research: When Prototypes Don’t Yield Useful Insights 

    Transforming Products into Platforms: Unearthing New Avenues for Business Innovation

    Transforming Products into Platforms: Unearthing New Avenues for Business Innovation

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    We’re Still Lonely at Work

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    17 Team-Building Activities for In-Person, Remote, and Hybrid Teams

    3 Ways to Support Employees with Bipolar Disorder

    3 Ways to Support Employees with Bipolar Disorder

    Will That Marketplace Succeed?

    Will That Marketplace Succeed?

  • Questrom Book Club
Insights@Questrom
  • Our Insights
    • All
    • Business Challenges
    • Business Education
    • Business Functions
    Boston dockworkers among thousands on strike nationwide 

    High tariffs, immigration crackdown, funding cuts: BU professor warns of ‘Trump Trifecta’ 

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Madeleine Dean demand food and beverage CEOs put a stop to ‘shrinkflation’ 

    Mass. leaders worried for seniors and kids as Trump agenda bill clears House 

    What Is ‘Big Law?’ 

    Stop Making Cents: US Mint Moves Forward With Plans to Kill the Penny 

    How to Attract (and Keep!) the Best Gen Z Employees 

    How to Attract (and Keep!) the Best Gen Z Employees 

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    Could the GPT Store Turn ChatGPT into a Platform Powerhouse? 

    The Right Amount of Cards, Cash and ID to Carry in Your Wallet

    The ‘Best and Final’ Job Offer Usually Isn’t Final. How You Can Negotiate 

    From Hollywood to the Hardware Store: The Real-World Impact of a 100% Tariff 

    From Hollywood to the Hardware Store: The Real-World Impact of a 100% Tariff 

    Bank Failures Show Us What Not to Do with Our Own Finances

    Bank Failures Show Us What Not to Do with Our Own Finances

  • Videos & Podcast
    • All
    • Podcast
    • Videos
    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Tariffs and Their Economic Impact

    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Navigating Internet Privacy: Unpacking Cookies, Dark Patterns, and Future Data Protection Challenges (2)

    Beyond Prototypes: Rethinking Innovation in Complex Ecosystems with Prof. Douglas Hannah

    Beyond Prototypes: Rethinking Innovation in Complex Ecosystems with Prof. Douglas Hannah

    Is Business Broken? Season 2 out now! 

    Is Business Broken? Season 2 out now! 

    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Redefining Retirement: Navigating Emotional and Social Transitions with Insightful Strategies

    Life After Cookies: Who Uses Google’s Privacy Sandbox? – Garrett Johnson

    Life After Cookies: Who Uses Google’s Privacy Sandbox? – Garrett Johnson

    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Real Estate Ripples from a Landmark Settlement

    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    The Hidden Wisdom of Cultural Pushback

    S1:E1 CVS Paying the “Pink Tax” on Certain Products and the Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Industry

    Fusion Strategy: Navigating the Industrial Evolution

  • Insights Events
    • Events
    • Insights Live
    • Questrom Institute Events
  • In the Media
    • All
    • BU Today
    • Global Media
    • Local Media
    • National Media
    • Op-Ed
    • The Brink
    Boston dockworkers among thousands on strike nationwide 

    High tariffs, immigration crackdown, funding cuts: BU professor warns of ‘Trump Trifecta’ 

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Madeleine Dean demand food and beverage CEOs put a stop to ‘shrinkflation’ 

    Mass. leaders worried for seniors and kids as Trump agenda bill clears House 

    What Is ‘Big Law?’ 

    Stop Making Cents: US Mint Moves Forward With Plans to Kill the Penny 

    How to Attract (and Keep!) the Best Gen Z Employees 

    How to Attract (and Keep!) the Best Gen Z Employees 

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    Could the GPT Store Turn ChatGPT into a Platform Powerhouse? 

    The Right Amount of Cards, Cash and ID to Carry in Your Wallet

    The ‘Best and Final’ Job Offer Usually Isn’t Final. How You Can Negotiate 

    Bank Failures Show Us What Not to Do with Our Own Finances

    Bank Failures Show Us What Not to Do with Our Own Finances

    In a ‘work-from-anywhere’ world, where are people working?

    79,000 lost jobs. $13 billion in GDP gone. Study tallies potential hit to Mass. from Trump’s ‘economic attack.’

    The Hidden Risk of Getting Paid in Stock Options 

    Trump Administration Cancels Scores of Grants to Study Online Misinformation 

  • Publications
    • All
    • Books
    • Harvard Business Review
    • Journals
    • Sloan Management Review
    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    Could the GPT Store Turn ChatGPT into a Platform Powerhouse? 

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    How to Monetize Volunteer-Driven Platforms 

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    Leading Global Teams Effectively 

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    Research: When Prototypes Don’t Yield Useful Insights 

    Transforming Products into Platforms: Unearthing New Avenues for Business Innovation

    Transforming Products into Platforms: Unearthing New Avenues for Business Innovation

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    We’re Still Lonely at Work

    How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”

    17 Team-Building Activities for In-Person, Remote, and Hybrid Teams

    3 Ways to Support Employees with Bipolar Disorder

    3 Ways to Support Employees with Bipolar Disorder

    Will That Marketplace Succeed?

    Will That Marketplace Succeed?

  • Questrom Book Club
Insights@Questrom
Home Our Insights Business Challenges

How Communities are Saving Lives with Clever Ideas and Cleaner Air

Doug HannahbyDoug Hannah
March 24, 2022
in Business Challenges, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Health, Biopharma, & Health-Tech
17
0
How Communities are Saving Lives with Clever Ideas and Cleaner Air
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn

We often hear that “necessity is the mother of invention”, so it is no surprise that the Covid-19 pandemic – which upended, well, just about everything – set off a wave of innovation. Telehealth, mRNA vaccines, even outdoor “streatery” dining come to mind. One of the neatest inventions (in my mind) is a humble cardboard creation known as a “Corsi-Rosenthal box”.

You can read more about this invention (and the work my team is doing to understand grassroots innovation during the pandemic) at this article in The Conversation. The short story, though, is that a Corsi-Rosenthal box is a cube made of four furnace filters and a fan, held together with duct tape. For about $80 in parts and 30 minutes of labor, you get a substitute for a $500 portable air purifier and a substantial boost to indoor air quality.

What’s really neat about this technology is that it wasn’t developed in a lab. It was invented, and then improved and produced, by a network of citizen innovators – engineers and everyday people working in their own homes, linked only by Facebook and Twitter.

So why does this technology matter?

The first part of this question is easy: When we breathe, we exhale virus-laden particles into the air. In a room with inadequate ventilation, contaminants build up, which risks exposing others and spreading airborne diseases. Adding filtration helps reduce this risk by removing contaminants from the air.

The second part of the answer is more subtle: many of our homes, offices, and classrooms weren’t built with adequate ventilation in mind. Indoor air quality is often abysmal. The challenge though is that portable air filters and building upgrades are expensive, which means that many of the people who are MOST at risk are the least likely to be able to make the upgrades required to stay safe. Corsi-Rosenthal boxes can help address this equity issue, by making cleaner air more accessible and more affordable.

Are they still important, now that mask mandates are winding down?

It’s easy to see how ventilation might not matter anymore, especially as case counts and hospitalizations are trending down. The problem with that logic is that we don’t know what is going to happen with Covid in the coming months. But even if we could wave a magic wand and do away with Covid, ventilation (and Corsi-Rosenthal boxes) are still likely to be helpful.

First, better ventilation can substitute (to a degree) for other layers of protection. Population health folks call this the “swiss cheese model”. None of the tools we have – masks, vaccines, ventilation, social distancing – are perfect. But, when they are layered together they can collectively provide a high degree of protection. That means that if you take one of those layers away, it makes sense to balance that by paying MORE attention to the other layers. So with masking on the downswing, improving ventilation is more important than ever.

Second, Covid is just one of many airborne health risks. The average person gets sick 2-4 times a year, and can spend weeks sick, uncomfortable, and unable to work. This number is higher the more time we spend in shared offices and classrooms. Beyond airborne diseases, we breathe stunning amounts of airborne particulates. While we often take this for granted, it actually has big impacts: poor air quality causes investors to make worse trades, reduces the speech quality of politicians, and shaves YEARS off global life expectancy. Better filtration – and low cost innovations like Corsi-Rosenthal boxes – can’t fix all of that. But it can certainly help.

Was this a one-off fluke, or might we expect other big innovations to come from the community?

The Corsi-Rosenthal box as just one of many grassroots innovations to come out of the pandemic. The past two years have also seen better masks, new food service models, and dozens of other life-saving technologies. All of these were created by ordinary people coming together to solve problems in their communities. And we can expect more of this in the future, as technologies like Slack, Facebook, Amazon Web Services, Thingiverse, and others make it easier and less costly to coordinate, iterate, and turn ideas into reality.

But there is an important caveat and lesson here as well, which is that not everyone has equal access to these tools. This has big impacts on who gets to invent things, and what gets invented. For example, we know that women are more likely to develop innovations related to womens’ health, but they still lag behind men in many fields. Similarly, entrepreneurship training programs are especially critical for minority entrepreneurs, who often otherwise lack the networks and opportunities to launch startups.

Overall, this means that if we really want to realize the power of grassroots communities, it isn’t enough to sit back and wait; we need to actively empower those communities with access to resources.

Tags: COVID-19Doug HannahInnovation
Doug Hannah

Doug Hannah

Doug Hannah is an Assistant Professor of Management & Organizations at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University, where he studies strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He did his doctoral work at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, in the Management Science and Engineering Department at Stanford University, and subsequently worked at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. He studies strategy and entrepreneurship in technology-based industries like solar, medical devices, and social media. These settings are challenging because they require constant innovation as well as collaboration, but require firms to interact within the context of substantial competitive and technological uncertainty. As a result, it's often unclear where opportunities lie and what must be done to capture them. He holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College and an M.S. Prior to his academic life, he co-founded an environmental advocacy group, the Big Green Bus, worked as an analyst at the Cadmus Group in Boston and as a Fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and enjoyed a stint on a wonderful farm in Lesotho.

Related Insights

Scaling E.L.F. Beauty with Purpose: Tarang Amin’s Approach
Events

Scaling E.L.F. Beauty with Purpose: Tarang Amin’s Approach

March 5, 2025
How Retailers Can Capitalize on the “Refund Effect”
Harvard Business Review

Research: When Prototypes Don’t Yield Useful Insights 

December 5, 2024
Redirecting Innovation: Can We? Should We?
Business Policy & Markets

Questrom Panel Explores Innovation, Technology, and the Future: A Spotlight on Nobel Laureate Daron Acemoglu

October 21, 2024
What Digital Health Startups Can Tell Us About Teaching Students to be Effective Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship & Innovation

What Digital Health Startups Can Tell Us About Teaching Students to be Effective Entrepreneurs

September 4, 2024
An economist explains why the U.S. space economy’s output is shrinking 
Finance & Accounting

Fireworks sales in the U.S. are down due to the pandemic and inflation

July 3, 2024
Robert Rebitzer: How to overcome the disruptive forces that can impede high-value innovation 
Health, Biopharma, & Health-Tech

Robert Rebitzer: How to overcome the disruptive forces that can impede high-value innovation 

April 28, 2024

Upcoming Events

June 2025
Jun 07 2025

Mayor WU, BU Questrom Team Up to Host Civic Summit 2025

Boston University Questrom School of Business
No event found!

Get Our Insights Newsletter

Get Insights straight to your inbox by signing up now.

    Popular Insights

    • I’m a business professor who asked dozens of former students how they define success. Here are their lessons for today’s grads

      I’m a business professor who asked dozens of former students how they define success. Here are their lessons for today’s grads

      10 shares
      Share 4 Tweet 3
    • Massachusetts Economy at Risk from Trump Administration Policies  

      18 shares
      Share 7 Tweet 5
    • Poets&Quants Names Two Questrom Students 2025 Best & Brightest MBAs

      7 shares
      Share 3 Tweet 2
    • How much profit do fireworks stands make?

      307 shares
      Share 123 Tweet 77
    • Why did Hertz just announce it was selling EVs and recording a massive loss? 

      67 shares
      Share 27 Tweet 17

    Boston University Questrom School of Business
    595 Commonwealth Avenue
    Boston, MA 02215

    Follow Us

    Newsletter

    © 2023 Trustees of Boston University

    • About Us
    • Digital Business Institute
    • Human Resource Policy Institute
    • Susilo Institute for Ethics in the Global Economy

    Welcome Back!

    Sign In with Linked In
    OR

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password?

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In

    Add New Playlist

    Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Post Type Selectors
    Search in posts
    Search in Author
    Search Events
    Filter by Categories
    Action Learning
    Artificial Intelligence in Business
    Book Club
    Books
    BU Today
    Business Challenges
    Business Education
    Business Functions
    Business Policy & Markets
    Corporate Strategy
    Digital Business
    Digital Business Institute
    Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    Entrepreneurship & Innovation
    Events
    Expert Take
    Feature
    Finance & Accounting
    Future of Business Education
    Future of Work
    Global Media
    Harvard Business Review
    Health, Biopharma, & Health-Tech
    Human Resources Policy Institute
    Innovation
    Insights Live
    Institute for Sustainable Energy
    Journals
    Language of Business
    Leadership & Management
    Local Media
    Marketing
    Media Mention
    Multimedia
    National Media
    Newsletter Spotlight
    Op-Ed
    Operations
    Opinion
    Our Insights
    Partners in Business Ethics
    Podcast
    Publications
    Research Institutes
    Risk
    ScienceDirect
    Silicon Valley Bank
    Sloan Management Review
    Social Impact
    Special Series
    Susilo Institute for Ethics in the Global Economy
    Technology
    The Brink
    Thinkers50@BUQuestrom: Passion & Purpose
    Videos
    • Business Challenges
      • Business Policy & Markets
      • Digital Business
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
      • Future of Work
      • Health, Biopharma, & Health-Tech
      • Risk
      • Social Impact
    • Business Functions
      • Corporate Strategy
      • Finance & Accounting
      • Innovation
      • Leadership & Management
      • Marketing
      • Operations
      • Technology
    • Publications
      • Journals
      • Harvard Business Review
      • Sloan Management Review
    • Insights Events
      • All Events
      • Insights Live
      • Questrom Institute Events
    • Videos & Podcast
      • Videos
      • Insights@Questrom Podcast
      • Podcast
    • Voices in the Media
    • Our Experts

    © 2023 Trustees of Boston University

    -
    00:00
    00:00

    Queue

    Update Required Flash plugin
    -
    00:00
    00:00