The University of Utah’s Technology Licensing Office (TLO) has named TraceAQ as its “Startup of the Year.”
TraceAQ, a spinout of the lab of Chemical Engineering Professor Heather Holmes, was honored at the TLO’s annual Innovation Awards, held on October 13. The company was recognized for its AI-powered forecasting of local air quality hazards — an issue especially prominent in Salt Lake City.
By providing accurate and reliable intelligence to communities, corporations and health care systems, these advanced forecasts allow Trace AQ’s customers to adjust their outdoor lifestyles around the times when local air quality will be the best, maintaining their respiratory health and safety.
Co-founded by Chemical Engineering’s Heather Holmes, Atmospheric Sciences’ Derek Mallia, and Taylor (Kai) Wilmot with affiliations in both, the company started as a National Science Foundation project focused on predicting wildfire smoke behavior. With Victor Gill joining as the founding CEO, Trace AQ has translated the team’s academic insight in atmospheric modeling, air quality analysis and wildfire behavior into a successful commercial platform that directly improves the respiratory health of their clients.
The spinout has also worked with the Venture Hub’s Energy Accelerator to build their business model, closing their $1.25 million seed round and moving their research beyond the lab into real-world applications.
Trace AQ recently debuted Trace AQ | AERO, an online and API air quality forecasting tool. The tool provides advanced warnings for unhealthy air events from wildfire smoke, dust, and anthropogenic pollution. The physics-based forecasts, with machine learning and predictive analytics-based augmentation, demonstrates the air quality forecasting capabilities that the company has developed to meet the growing threat of wildfire smoke and pollution events.
The Technology Licensing Office helps University of Utah researchers turn their discoveries into real-world technologies through patents, startups and industry partnerships. The Investigator on the Rise Award — part of the TLO’s annual Innovation Awards — recognizes early-career faculty whose work has strong potential for real impact in their fields and communities. The award celebrates innovative research that moves beyond the lab to create progress through collaboration and commercialization.