ABSMaterials Founder Receives Breakthrough Award
Send Via E-MailNEW YORK, NY - October 12, 2011 - WastewaterPR.com - Dr. Paul Edmiston was one of eleven innovators accepting a Popular Mechanics 2011 Breakthrough Award at a New York City ceremony Oct. 10. Edmiston, CSO and Co-Founder of ABSMaterials, Inc., took home the prize in Materials Science for his invention of Osorb® glass materials to treat and clean water.
Dr. Paul Edmiston
Dr. Paul Edmiston was one of eleven innovators accepting a Popular Mechanics 2011 Breakthrough Award at a New York City ceremony Oct. 10. Edmiston, CSO and Co-Founder of ABSMaterials, Inc., took home the prize in Materials Science for his invention of Osorb® glass materials to treat and clean water.
The Breakthrough Awards, now in their seventh year, were created to “honor innovators whose work will transform the world in years to come,” according to PopularMechanics.com. “They’re determined and brilliant—and we can’t wait to see what they’ll do next.”
“It is an honor to receive the Breakthrough Award, which recognizes advances across all areas of science and technology development,” Edmiston said. Edmiston discovered Osorb, a reactive nanoglass, while engineering materials for explosives detection at the College of Wooster, where he is the Theron and Dorothy Peterson Chair of Chemistry. Recognizing the material’s potential to remove contaminants from water, Edmiston founded ABSMaterials in 2008 along with business partner Stephen Spoonamore, now CEO of the company. Edmiston has continued to refine his glass materials and invent new variations for specific purposes.
“The award recognizes two important things about Osorb technology,” Edmiston said. “First is the need for new technology to clean the world’s scarce water resources. Second is the hard work my team of coworkers has dedicated in helping me to bring this technology to market. We work hard behind the scenes to help clean the environment.”
The awards ceremony and reception took place at Hearst Tower, New York City, and was preceded by several private lecture sessions spanning topics such as space exploration, electronic implants in humans, and engineering for automotive racing.
Edmiston spoke as part of a lecture panel discussing "From Invention to Reality," or taking innovations from an idea to the market. Director James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic) is also slated to speak about his 3D camera technology.
Award winners in other categories include NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, the West Philadelphia Hybrid X Team for their supercar, UCLA/Caltech for electrical implants as a paralysis treatment and Humacyte researchers for their lab-grown blood vessels.
“When looking at this year’s winners and previous award recipients, it is quickly apparent that the selections made by Popular Mechanics is an elite set of technology leaders,
