An Interview with PurpleAir Founder Adrian Dybwad

by Amanda Hawkins April 06, 2026

Rohan Seshan is a 9th-grade student who interviewed PurpleAir founder Adrian Dybwad for an English class assignment. We love seeing young people take an interest in air quality and environmental monitoring, so when Rohan shared his interview with us, we were happy to publish it here. What follows is Rohan's piece in his own words.

An Interview with Adrian Dybwad

I was nearing the end of my interview with Dr. Andrea Polidori, the Deputy Executive Officer of Science at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, who specializes in air-quality monitoring. When I asked him if there was anyone else I could talk to on the subject, he responded by giving me a brief description of Adrian Dybwad. Later that day, I went home, conducted some research, and was very impressed with his accomplishments.

Adrian Dybwad is the founder and CEO of PurpleAir, a company that develops affordable air-quality sensors that are used around the world. These sensors measure fine particulate matter like PM2.5, which is the primary pollutant responsible for Delhi's severe smog. This data is then uploaded to an online map. By making air pollution monitoring more accessible, PurpleAir has helped communities and researchers better understand pollution levels in their areas.

How the Sensors Work

PurpleAir sensors are a prime example of how accessible environmental engineering can use a simple system to detect particles in the air. Inside the device, a small fan pulls outside air into the sensor where the particles pass through a small laser beam. As Mr. Dybwad explained during the interview, “anything that’s in the air will reflect that laser into a little detector.” By measuring how the particles scatter the laser light, the sensors can estimate how many particles are present, and how large they are. Utilizing this information, the device calculates the concentration of pollutants like PM2.5. Once the data is collected, the sensor automatically uploads the information to PurpleAir’s online map. This allows people around the world to view real-time air quality conditions in their area.

What Inspired PurpleAir

Before conducting the interview, I was curious about how someone could build a company focused entirely on air-quality sensors. Most air pollution monitoring systems are created by large scientific equipment manufacturing companies and used mainly by governments or researchers. PurpleAir, however, takes a different approach by making sensors that are small, affordable, and accessible to the public. This made me especially interested in learning what motivated Mr. Dybwad to start the company.

At the start of the interview, I asked Mr. Dybwad what inspired him to create PurpleAir. He explained that the idea came from a personal problem near his home. He used to live near a gravel pit where large amounts of dust were constantly blowing into the air. However, there were no government monitoring stations nearby that could measure pollution. He explained that “there was no government sensor for twenty miles around us,” which meant he had no reliable way to determine how much dust, and hence pollution, was actually in the air. Because he could not find an affordable sensor that would answer this question, he decided to try building one himself. His goal was to determine whether the pollution levels were exceeding the limits set by government agencies.

Cost and Accessibility

I asked Mr. Dybwad about the biggest differences between PurpleAir sensors and the official monitoring stations used by government agencies. He explained that the government monitors are much larger, more complex, and significantly more expensive than the PurpleAir low-cost sensors. He also mentioned that official government sensors could cost anywhere from “$20,000 to $60,000” for the instrument itself. In addition, operating an official monitoring station requires a lot of infrastructure and maintenance. In his words, when electricity, internet connection, facilities, and trained scientists are included, maintaining a monitoring site can cost “around $250,000 a year.” In contrast, PurpleAir sensors cost around $200, and still produce highly accurate data. However, Mr. Dybwad emphasized that these government sensors are still necessary despite their cost. They are designed to meet strict scientific and legal standards because governments rely on them to enforce air-quality laws and regulations.

Complementing Government Monitoring

The PurpleAir sensors are not only useful for people measuring air pollution, but also for communities and researchers who want to better understand air-quality patterns. Because these sensors are highly affordable, they can be used alongside government sensors for more data points. So, in places like Delhi, someone can purchase a PurpleAir sensor and get an accuracy of “up to 97 percent correlation with federal sensors.” Applying this data to Delhi, I realized that the city could greatly benefit from this technology. The already financially constrained Indian government can limit the number of Beta Attenuation Monitors and replace the rest, gaining many more data points, while also significantly lowering costs. Gathering this data is crucial for environmental engineers looking to design solutions for Delhi’s extreme pollution.

Public Awareness and Empowerment

During the interview, Mr. Dybwad also talked about the importance of educating the public about air pollution. He explained that one of the biggest challenges in addressing environmental issues is helping people understand how pollution affects their daily lives. When individuals have access to reliable information about the air they breathe, they are more likely to care about the issue and support solutions. Mr. Dybwad emphasized that making air-quality data public allows communities to become more involved in environmental decisions. As he explained, giving people access to pollution data “gives them the ability to go to leaders and say, ‘hey, look, this is what’s happening.’” This empowers citizens of Delhi to demand change. By making air quality information more visible, Mr. Dybwad hopes an increasing number of people will become aware of the problem and push for improvements in the air quality of communities.

Building a Denser Network

One interesting topic that came up during the interview was how large networks of low-cost sensors can change the way scientists study pollution. Traditional monitoring systems rely on a small number of very accurate stations, which means that large areas of a city may not have any nearby measurements. Mr. Dybwad explained that PurpleAir helps solve this problem because many smaller sensors can be installed across different neighborhoods. These sensors allow scientists and communities to gather “many more data points” than traditional monitors. In cities like Delhi, traffic, industry, and other patterns can cause pollution levels to spike, even within short distances. By collecting more measurements across a city, scientists can develop a clearer picture of where pollution is coming from and which communities are affected.

Looking Ahead

Overall, interviewing Mr. Adrian Dybwad helped me better understand how gathering data is the first step in environmental engineering. Before this interview, I had mainly thought about air pollution in terms of government regulations and scientific research. However, this conversation showed me that public awareness and outcry can also have a major impact. By creating affordable sensors that allow anyone to monitor air quality, Mr. Dybwad has made pollution data much more accessible to the masses. He has also shown how this accessible technology can help map out the pollution in Delhi, where air pollution is rampant. PurpleAir sensors demonstrate that air quality monitoring technology does not always need to be extremely large or expensive to make a difference. Instead, smaller and more accessible sensors can help communities better understand the air around them and encourage more people to become involved in improving environmental conditions. For my next assignment, I plan to research 2 to 3 other organizations, and write about their impact in reducing air pollution in Delhi.