Nic Brown. Photo Credit: yourvalley.net
We know that Scottsdale has an educational system which ranks favorably in our state and nation. So it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that one of its own students is using that education, as well as an innate desire to innovate, to help fight Covid.
17 year old Nic Brown saw an unmet need for purification products after Covid started spreading throughout the world, and started his own company to help meet that need. His creation, UV Connect, was based on the principle that UV rays could kill most viruses (including Covid-19), as well as the idea that the device that we often use the most (our phones) are often the most germ-riddled. As such, his first creation for the company was a phone charger that also kills viruses without using any chemicals, just simple UV light rays.
Since that initial product release, the company (run with the help of his mother, who serves as CEO) has expanded into other offerings, including sanitizing lockers ideal for workspaces, as well as room air purifiers including HEPA filtration. His latest release is a car air purifier, designed to clean the air in our most commonly used confined space. His entire line of products can be found at connectuv.com.
In case killing viruses with light seems like a snake oil solution, it actually has a strong scientific rationale. According to the FDA, UV radiation is shown to kill the outer proteins of the Covid-19 virus, thus rendering it inert and unable to cause harm. The inventor credits innovators throughout the world as his inspiration; “I’ve always been inspired by great entrepreneurs around the world, and I hope what I’m doing can actually inspire some other young people like me.”
We are lucky to have an educational system that fosters innovation in our youth, as well as a business climate that incentivizes such innovation. But credit must primarily given to Mr. Brown himself. “You find a problem, and you solve it,” Brown said. “That’s as simple as it gets.” It would be nice if we had such concise and simple wisdom in government, wouldn’t you say?