Crain's Chicago Business (July 6) -- The inventors of an air filter designed for industry are finding new uses for it, from purifying the air astronauts breathe to eliminating the smell of cat urine. Serionix, a startup based in the University of Illinois Research Park, was formed by a trio from the university's materials science and engineering department: James Langer and Weihua Zheng, who earned doctoral degrees there, and their 88-year-old mentor, professor emeritus James Economy.