Terrence DeFranco improves indoor air quality with technology
With his Chapel Hill-based company IotaComm, he wants to make buildings — and the people inside them — healthier and more productive.
Research shows that poor indoor air quality in schools, office facilities and other buildings is linked to headaches, respiratory issues, asthma and other health problems. Elevated levels of toxins and carbon dioxide also impair alertness, concentration, memory and decision making.
For businesses and schools alike, the stakes are huge: The air students and employees breathe all day can impair learning and cognition, health, attendance and performance. More organizations are beginning to understand indoor air quality’s importance but lack the ability to monitor and improve it.
Terrence DeFranco ’89, ’22 (MBA), chairman and CEO of IotaComm, wants to fill this gap with his wireless communications and data analytics company. IotaComm, which recently opened its headquarters in downtown Chapel Hill, specializes in Internet of Things solutions for asset monitoring, indoor air quality, water quality and other data points critical to health and safety.
“Indoor environmental quality represents the vital signs of buildings. We take customers on a digital journey to measure those vital signs by learning from their data, which has a lot of value, including the financial benefits of a healthy and safer space,” said DeFranco. “The environment impacts us as human beings: our performance, cognitive behavior and our ability to avoid getting sick. So improving physical environments has a very high return on investment.”
In the Allentown School District in Pennsylvania, for example, the company is helping gather real-time sensor data to pair with other school data to understand the effects of indoor environmental quality on student learning, attendance, graduation rates and overall health. The findings by researchers, including five Carolina students working on the project in summer 2025, will help school district leaders make data-informed decisions. The project is a model for future collaboration between IotaComm and the University.
Tapping into the Innovate Carolina community
After completing the online MBA program at Kenan-Flagler Business School, DeFranco joined Innovate Carolina Junction — UNC-Chapel Hill’s innovation hub and coworking space in downtown Chapel Hill.
DeFranco has also participated in the UNC Clean Tech Summit hosted by the UNC Institute for the Environment and engaged in Carolina Innovators Connect, an annual event hosted by Innovate Carolina that gives Carolina students the chance to meet and explore internship possibilities.
“As the first coworking member to ‘graduate’ from the Innovate Carolina Junction, IotaComm exemplifies the kind of impact-driven entrepreneurship we aim to support — one that grows from early-stage innovation into a company creating real-world, community-focused solutions,” said Sheryl Waddell, director of innovation hubs and engagement at Innovate Carolina. “The work of IotaComm to improve indoor environmental quality is vital to public health and professional productivity.”
New headquarters in downtown Chapel Hill
DeFranco wants his team to be surrounded by the same intellectual energy and innovation that helped reshape IotaComm during his Carolina MBA experience. This proximity to the University, he believes, will allow the company to continuously evolve through student contributions and academic collaborations. He views the office decision as more than a real estate choice. It’s a strategic move to build a pipeline for student engagement, research and long-term innovation that spans from state level to street level.
“There’s a deliberate reason why we chose North Carolina. From a growth perspective, the state is exploding, and it’s a terrific place to do business — you want to be located near the Research Triangle Park area,” said DeFranco. “Why come to Chapel Hill? The relationships with the University, Innovate Carolina, the business school and other departments are great. Our office location isn’t about four walls or cubicles to put people in. It’s our strategy for what we want to do with the entire region and University.”
Town of Chapel Hill
See why so many Tar Heels often choose to call Chapel Hill home not just during their time on campus, but for life. Read more about the home of the Tar Heels.
