Eniola Shokunbi, a 12-year-old Nigerian-American student, helped secure $11.5 million in state funding for a school air-filtration project in Connecticut, United States, after building a low-cost air filter that removes more than 99 per cent of airborne viruses.
A Fifth-Grade Idea That Grew Into a Statewide Project
Eniola's interest in air quality began while she was a fifth-grade student at Commodore MacDonough STEM Academy in Middletown, Connecticut. After reading about air filtration, she decided to find a way her school could use the technology. She researched the subject and wrote to Marina Creed, director of the University of Connecticut's Indoor Air Quality Initiative, asking for the plans so she and her classmates could build their own filter.
Creed provided the plans and later brought scientists to Eniola's classroom. Students learnt about air pollution and climate change and built the filters themselves. The device they constructed is a Corsi-Rosenthal box filter, made with a box fan, four furnace filters, duct tape and cardboard, costing about $60, according to the American Lung Association.
Testing and State Funding
The project soon attracted wider attention. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the University of Connecticut tested the DIY air purifier in an EPA bioaerosol test chamber. UConn reported that the testing showed the device could remove more than 99 per cent of airborne viruses, including the virus that causes COVID-19, within 60 minutes under the test conditions.
In October 2024, Connecticut's State Bond Commission approved $11.5 million in state support for UConn's Indoor Air Quality Initiative. The funding is designated to purchase materials and oversee the construction and installation of the low-cost air filters in public-school classrooms across the state. The money is not given personally to Eniola; it supports the statewide programme inspired in part by the work she championed.
Advocacy and Future Goals
Eniola says on her official website that she played a pivotal role in securing the grant and is working with UConn scientists on the project. She has continued advocating for cleaner air in schools and plans to visit other schools to teach students how to build their own filters. She hopes the idea can eventually reach classrooms across the United States and around the world.
For Eniola, the project is also about showing young people that they can solve problems around them. "I believe it's really important help people understand the importance of clean air and show them how easy it is to make an impact," she said, according to the American Lung Association.
Eniola has said she wants to become the first Black woman president of the United States. For now, however, the young innovator is focused on getting cleaner air into classrooms and encouraging other children to use science to solve problems in their communities.
