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A quick glance at the press page on their web site clues the interested reader to the type of high-quality attention Ecovative Design has been getting since its founding by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) graduates just few years ago: Scientific American, WashingtonPost.com, Discovery Channel, CNN, Science Channel HD, and Mechanical Engineering Magazine (ASME) comprise only a partial list of media organizations that have focused their journalistic lenses on this new Troy, New York "green" technology company growing insulating and packing material from fungus.
Photo at right -->
Ecovative's "Greensulate™" insulation material. Properties:
- R-Value: 3 per inch
- Flammability: Non-Flammable
- Density: 6 lbs/ft^3
- Compressive Strength: 150 psi (ASTM C165-07)
- Flexural Strength: 50 psi (ASTM C203-05a)
This and other photos courtesy EcovativeDesign.com.
A Trip to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Incubator Center
After work last Tuesday, myself and six other members of the local Hudson-Mohawk section of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) were kindly invited by Eben Bayer, CEO and Co-Founder, for a 1.5 hour technical tour of Ecovative's current facility, located on the first floor of the Incubator Center (J Building) on RPI's campus. Eben is a Mechanical Engineer himself, and graduated in 2007 from Rensselaer's dual-degree ME and Product Design program.
Material Design that takes the Fire Fighter into Account
For skeptical folks out there (like myself) who might doubt the flammability claim made here, I suggest taking a look at a YouTube video of Ecovative from Science Channel HD – click here. In the video, the material pictured above is subjected to a 2,000 degree F torch, and performs very well compared to a base-line, traditional insulation material.
With reports over the years of fire fighters developing brain cancer from repeated exposure to toxic fumes in burning buildings, not to mention reports of other artificial building materials, that under normal use, out-gas harmful toxins that are less-than-optimal for human exposure, it's easy to think about applications where Ecovative's material could be used in new building construction to improve human health.
<-- Photo at left: Ecovative's "Acorn™" packing material, made from natural material that easily bio-degrades in a garden or compost.
A More Sustainable Landfill
During the ASME tour, it was stated that 50% of all landfill volume is made up of non-biodegradable, potentially toxic packing materials like the white poly-styrene foam used to pack computer monitors into boxes for shipping.
With this statistic in mind, it's easy to see how a new packing material like Ecovative's could extend the life, and improve living conditions for nearby inhabitants, for landfills that seem to constantly grow without end. Ecovative's material degrades back into the biomass it came from – and nature then takes care of the rest.
Photo at right: CEO Eben Bayer with Chief Scientist and Co-Founder Gavin McIntyre, demonstrating some of their early work. Photo courtesy RPI.edu.
Making it Happen - The Team that hosted ASME's Hudson-Mohawk Section Tour
ASME Hudson-Mohawk is grateful to Eben Bayer, Gavin McIntyre, and Edward Browka, for having hosted this event for the local mechanical engineering community. They stayed late for us last Tuesday – well past dinner time – providing a fascinating technology overview, and answering lots of questions.
For their support of our section, ASME Hudson-Mohawk chair David Smith – a Lead Engineer
working at GE Energy's Steam Turbine Center of Excellence during his day
job - presented Eben and his team with the Jefferson Cup Award, inspired by American statesman Thomas Jefferson. The Jefferson Cup is given by ASME to mechanical engineers demonstrating "outstanding technical leadership in development and demonstration of an important new technology."
<-- Photo at left:
Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Stanford University Design Graduate, Edward Browka.
- Larry Kelley
Resources:
http://www.ecovativedesign.com/
http://www.rpi.edu
http://sections.asme.org/hudson-mohawk/2009_Apr_Newsletter_v2.pdf
http://memagazine.asme.org/
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