Blog & News

NIOSH, the federal agency under CDC responsible for worker health and occupational safety generally - and respiratory protection specifically - suffered devastating budget and staffing cuts earlier this spring, essentially shutting down all related activities including testing and certification of N95 respirators and other respiratory protection.  After weeks of ardent, outspoken lobbying - particularly by firefighters and congressional representatives in coal-producing states where coal miner health is closely tied to respiratory protection - several hundred NIOSH staff have been called back to work temporarily.  Read about the impact of the cuts here, and about the ongoi

Michigan Engineering News published a retrospective article marking the fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic declaration and the various ways Michigan Engineering students, faculty, and staff stepped up to help, including Taza Aya’s development of non-thermal plasma technologies.

The February 13th edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the CDC highlights the potential risks posed to veterinarians of the ongoing H5N1 avian influenza outbreak.  Although the positivity rate was low (2%), those who tested positive for H5N1 antibodies did not report having treated animals with known or suspected H5N1 infections.

Work to transition Taza Aya’s current beta prototype, through the gamma prototype phase and into an MVP of the Worker Wearable Protection (WWP) product is progressing well and is on schedule for a Summer 2025 completion.   This marks yet another significant step toward redefining workplace safety, leveraging innovation as well as the know-how of an experienced product development team.  Hatch PD of Waukegan, IL is leading the product development activities.. 

“Our vision at Taza Aya is to revolutionize how industries approach worker safety and productivity,” said Herek Clack, Co-Founder at Taza Aya. “Partnering with Hatch Product Development aligns perfectly with our mission to deliver innovative, high-quality solutions that create tangible value. Their product design

At Taza Aya’s first attendance at the ISRP conference (Oxford, UK), conference goers voted our poster second-best!  We are grateful for the recognition, as well as for the many supportive comments towards our hard work and vision.

Ann Arbor, MI

June 13, 2024 

Taza Aya, a device company pioneering the future of air curtain breathing solutions for workers and consumers, today announced the completion of a human-centered usability study for its groundbreaking Worker Wearable device. Conducted in partnership with Michigan Turkey Producers, a leading North American processor of farm-raised
turkeys, the study assessed the device’s usability, ergonomics, and overall effectiveness. The study was conducted with oversight from Castle IRB.

The Worker Wearable device features a non-thermal plasma reactor and an air curtain, creating a barrier of air encircling the wearer’s face. This innovative solution aims to
enhance the safety and efficiency of poultry processing workers by offering respi

In Grand Rapids for the day to witness a production capacity improvement project at Michigan Turkey Producers, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small and several state and regional agriculture agency leads held a listening session to hear what issues are of greatest concern to local agriculture and related industries.  During the session, Taza Aya took the opportunity to introduce and explain its wearable air curtain technology for protecting workers at processing facilities from communicable diseases, supported in part by a grant from the Meat and Poultry Processing Research Initiative (MPPRI). 

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded Taza Aya $1M to adapt the company’s air curtain visor product for use by workers in the meat and poultry processing industry.  Awarded through the Meat and Poultry Processing Research and Innovation (MPPRI) program, USDA is seeking to increase the resilience of the domestic food production industry, particularly for small and medium sized processors.

Of the three topic areas of interest sought by USDA, the Taza Aya technology addresses Topic Area #2:  Worker Safety.  Specifically, the need to protect workers from communicable diseases during stages of meat and poultry proces

In a bell-ringing ceremony reminiscent of the end of trading day at the DJIA, Innovation Partnerships, a unit of the UM Office of the Vice-President for Research, officially recognized Taza Aya as a UM spinout and licensee.  

Co-founders Mike Drake and Herek Clack, along with newly appointed CEO Alberto Elli, each briefly spoke to the assembled audience, reflecting on the early days of the company, the challenges that arose, and the many ways in which Innovation Partnerships helped the company overcome them.  Associate Director of Licensing, Physical Sciences & Engineering Keith Hughes related the company’s record of innovation as measured by invention disclosures and patent filings, and Associate VP for Research and Innovation Partnerships Kelly Sexton present

Taza Aya was named one of 16 start-ups making an impact in University of Michigan, 2022’s Annual Impact Report Innovation.

The article is here: https://innovationpartnerships.umich.edu/stories/u-m-innovation-partnerships-reports-433-inventions-16-new-startups-during-fy22/ including a PDF of the winners. 

More evidence that mitigating airborne pathogens and maintaining healthful air is essential:  A Univ. of Michigan study finds that COVID transmission via air was ~1000 times more likely than via contaminated surfaces on campus:  https://news.umich.edu/at-u-m-risk-from-surface-contamination-of-covid-19-was-much-lower-than-air-transmission/

Herek Clack of Taza Aya is featured talking about Taza Aya’s solution at :55 seconds in this promotional video from University of Michigan’s Center for Entrepreneurship. 

In 2020, the JLabs QuickFire Challenge was Awarded to Taza Aya for $200,000! The challenge is described in the article and video below:

https://jnjinnovation.com/innovation-challenges/invisible-shield-quickfire-challenge

University of Michigan’s College of Engineering produces a YouTube video highlighting the work of Prof. Mirko Gamba and Herek Clack on the effort, during the early days of the pandemic, to support UM hospital by testing filtration of N95 masks after their disinfection. You can watch the interview here:

Taza Aya, Founder, Herek Clack being interviewed by Local ABC affiliate WXYZ: https://www.wxyz.com/news/coronavirus/coronavirus-what-could-the-future-hold-with-new-technology

Herek Clack, Founder of Taza Aya, and Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan wrote an article for The Conversation. 

The big idea: It’s the enduring media image of infectious disease outbreaks, including the current coronavirus outbreak from Wuhan, China: people in public spaces with faces half-hidden by surgical masks.

Filters have long been used to remove particles, including viruses and bacteria, from the air we breathe. Particle filters are key components of building and aircraft ventilation systems. Unfortunately, viruses are much smaller than the smallest particles those filters typically capture reliably.

Read the full article here: 

An article from the Daily Beast regarding a megachurch’s false claims that they could protect attendees at a rally for Former President Donald Trump using a technology installed in their ventilation system:

Taza Aya, founder, Herek Clack was quoted:

That’s not true, scientists said. The CleanAir EXP filter uses ionization to bind up particles and make them easier to pull out of the air. “This is not ‘zapping’ the virus and does not mean the virus has been rendered non-infectious,” Herek Clack, a University of Michigan environmental engineering professor, told The Daily Beast.

Read the full quote and full article here: 

In the early days of COVID-19, Forbes was looking for insight into it from scientists. Herek Clack was interviewed. The full article is below: 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2019/04/29/this-new-device-kills-99-9-percent-of-the-viruses-floating-around-in-the-air/?sh=6d981e195612

The video below is also featured in this article: