Timeline
While Microtrace is 25 years old, the idea for a laboratory that investigates unusual and atypical problems has evolved in the minds of Skip and Chris for decades longer. Read below to learn more about some of the notable events in this history of Microtrace.
Microtrace Timeline
| 1954 | At age 8, Skip Palenik begins experiments in his first home lab | ||
| 1967 | Skip takes his lab with him to the Army barracks | ||
| 1980 | Skip builds a home lab in his townhome basement in Elgin, IL | ||
| 1985 | Skip builds a new, larger lab in the basement of his new home | ||
| 1989 | Chris Palenik, age 12, publishes his first article in The Microscope journal | ||
| 1992 | Skip Palenik founds Microtrace | ||
| 1996 | Microtrace establishes its first laboratory outside the home | ||
| 1997 | Microtrace examines evidence in the JonBenét Ramsey case | ||
| Microtrace sends its first Christmas card | |||
| 1998 | Skip appears on the Oprah Winfrey Show | ||
| 2002 | Microtrace analyzes paint evidence in the Green River serial murder investigation | ||
| 2003 | Skip Palenik is featured in his first of 10 appearances on Forensic Files | ||
| 2004 | Chris Palenik receives the Horace H. Rackham Distinguished Dissertation Award from the University of Michigan. | ||
| Skip Palenik receives Distinguished Scientist Award from the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists (MAFS). | |||
| 2005 | Chris Palenik joins Microtrace full time | ||
| 2009 | Microtrace moves to its present, 10,000 square foot, purpose-built lab | ||
| Skip Palenik is presented the Paul L. Kirk Award from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). | |||
| Jason Beckert receives the Jerome Metzner Graduate Award from John Jay College | |||
| 2010 | Microtrace is awarded its first research grant from the National Institute of Justice | ||
| Skip Palenik is the receipient of the Emile Chamot Award presented by the State Microscopical Society of Illinois (SMSI) | |||
| 2013 | Skip Palenik receives the Edmond Locard Award from the American Society of Trace Evidence Examiners (ASTEE) | ||
| 2014 | Microtrace is featured on The Today Show | ||
| 2015 | Microtrace receives ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation | ||
| 2016 | Chris Palenik is invited to speak at INTERPOL in Lyon, France | ||
| 2017 | Microtrace celebrates 25 years of excellence in microanalysis | ||
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