Ecovative Design, LLC
Ecovative adapts living systems to create environmentally responsible materials and products to help people live in harmony with the rest of life on planet Earth. Today, Ecovative is using mushroom technology to grow EcoCradle® Protective Packaging which is renewable and compostable, and can replace plastic foam packaging. Ecovative has been featured in USA TODAY, CNN, Wired Magazine, The New York Times, and TED.com to name a few. Today we are developing materials not just for our protective packaging clients, but also apparel companies, building companies, and even folks interested in automobile components.
- Industry: Manufacturing
- Year Started: 2007
- Organization Type: For-Profit
- # of Employees: 53 ( as of Jan 1, 2012)
Gavin McIntyre
Gavin McIntyre is the co-founder and Chief Scientist of Ecovative Design. Since the company’s start in 2007, he has led all material and biological process development in the company’s strides to replace synthetics. Gavin co-invented Ecovative’s patent-pending technology that uses a fungal mycelium to transform agricultural byproducts into strong biological composite materials. These materials are 100% compostable, and made with a fraction of the energy of conventional plastics. He has served as the principle investigator on grants received from the US EPA, the USDA, the NSF, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Gavin has also served on Technology Roundtables hosted by former NYS Governor David Paterson, NYS Governor Cuomo, the US DoE and EPA, and Congressman Paul Tonko. Gavin received a dual B.S. In Mechanical Engineering and Product Design from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
- Age: 39
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
Eben Bayer
Eben enjoys using biology to create disruptive solutions that are good for people and the planet. He has evangelized this strategy of bio-adaption to audiences around the world, including presentations at TED Global, PopTech, CGI, and the World Economic Forum, and in posts for the New York Times, and the NCIIA. Eben is the CEO and co-founder Ecovative, an award-winning bio-materials company that grows living organisms into super-sustainable materials and products. He serves on the external advisory board of the ASU Origins project, the business board of Tech Valley High School, and advises start-ups in and around New York. Eben studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he received duel degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Innovation & Design. For the 18 years prior he studied agriculture and farming through hands on learning at his family farm in central Vermont.
- Age: 38
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
