Serious Materials Named Grand Award Winner for Green Tech in Popular Science’s Best of What’s New

SUNNYVALE, CA — Serious Materials announced today that its EcoRock™ green drywall has been named the grand award winner for the green tech category in Popular Science’s Best of What’s New.  The company adds this award to its growing list of honors including: voted #1 at Cleantech Venture Forum XII, Global Gypsum Product of the Year 2008, and winner of the first Aspen Institute award for innovation in Energy Conservation.  Serious Materials has also been recognized by TIME/CNN, Fortune, Business Week, GreenTech Media and Red Herring as one of the most promising green technology companies. 

EcoRock is used like standard gypsum drywall, but requires 80% less energy in its core production. Serious Materials has reengineered the drywall manufacturing process by eliminating heaters, dryers, calcining, and the burning of fossil fuels. Using EcoRock instead of gypsum drywall would eliminate up to 20 billion pounds of CO2 emissions per year in North America. EcoRock is mold-resistant, which supports improved indoor air quality, and generates less dust than gypsum drywall. 

“For 20 years, Popular Science’s Best of What's New awards honor the innovations that a make positive impact on life today and change our views of the future,” says Mark Jannot, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science. “PopSci’s editors evaluate thousands of products each year to develop this thoughtful list, there’s no higher accolade Popular Science can give.” 

“The manufacturing of standard gypsum drywall has remained virtually unchanged since its invention over 100 years ago when energy was cheap and the environmental impact was not understood,” said Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials.  “EcoRock and our other advanced building materials – like ThermaProof windows and glass, and QuietRock soundproof drywall – are designed for superior performance today, without sacrificing the prosperity of tomorrow. We are truly honored to be recognized in our mission to reinvent the building materials industry to reduce worldwide CO2 emissions by one billion tons annually.” 

Each year, the editors of Popular Science review thousands of products in search of the top 100 tech innovations of the year; breakthrough products and technologies that represent a significant leap in their categories. The winners — the Best of What's New are awarded inclusion in the much-anticipated December issue of Popular Science, the most widely read issue of the year since the debut of Best of What's New in 1987. 

About Popular Science
Founded in 1872, Popular Science is the world’s largest science and technology magazine; with a circulation of 1.3 million and 6.8 million monthly readers. Each month, Popular Science reports on the intersection of science and everyday life, with an eye toward what’s new and why it matters. Popular Science is published by Bonnier Active Media, a subsidiary of Bonnier Corporation. 

ABOUT Serious Materials
Serious Materials develops and manufactures sustainable green building materials that reduce energy costs and dramatically reduce greenhouse gases.  The company was voted #1 at Cleantech Forum XII, Global Gypsum Product of the Year 2008, and won the first Aspen Institute award for innovation in Energy Conservation.  It has also been recognized by TIME/CNN, Fortune, Business Week, AlwaysOn and Red Herring as one of the most promising green technology companies. ThermaProof™ windows and AlpenGlass+ reduce heating and cooling energy costs by up to 40%.  QuietRock® soundproof drywall and QuietHome Windows® reduce material use, enhance livability, and support dense sustainable urban construction. And EcoRock™, the first true green alternative to standard drywall, uses 80% less energy in its core production, potentially saving billions of pounds of CO2 annually. The company is working to create thousands of cleantech jobs here in the U.S .

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Contact:
Jason Aiken, Vantage Communications
(415) 541-8055 / jaiken@pr-vantage.com

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