Trevor Jones is from Effingham, Illinois, where he graduated high school in 2010. In 2009 he received the "Best Producer" award at the AHA Film Festival for the PBS film "Zombilicious." In 2013 he attained his Associates Degree in Art at Lakeland Community College in Mattoon, IL. He now resides in Carbondale, Illinois where he attends Southern Illinois University of Carbondale, currently pursuing his Bachelors in Industrial Design with a minor in Marketing.
Throughout his time at SIUC, he has held a position as a Graphic Designer for the Center of Teaching Excellence, and is now an Undergraduate Assistant in the Subtractive and Additive Manufacturing Lab (SAM Lab), operating and maintaining the hardware and software for 3D printers, laser cutting machines, and vinyl cutting machines. In his time working in the SAM Lab, he has discovered various ways that certain manufacturing methods can be made to become sustainable, and has begun the process of initiating the research to begin the journey needed to make the campus a more sustainable system. He is also in the process of co-founding a design firm and another business revolved around biodegradable 3D printing filament.
One of Trevor's driving forces is to have a positive influence on the Earth's ecosystem. That is, to help mitigate or even reverse the damage that has occured due to industrialization. One very important factor in the plans that he has to do this is to utilize nature's own forces as a healing agent to the world. Initiating mycorestoration to any aspect of the economic ecosystem will help to mitigate the harm caused by humanity's regular functions.
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Sustainability Start-Up
Description
Our aim is to create a 3D-printer that can 3D-print biological waste which can be colonized by mycelium, creating 100% biodegradable 3D-printed materials with material properties of those such as leather, wood, cork, and styrofoam. By doing this, we are creating further material capabilities for consumers in this industry whilst preserving the ecosystem by creating green alternatives. We will create biodegradable alternatives to 3D printing methods currently on the market, but with many of the same capabilites. This is a practical example of how individuals from varied backgrounds of academic study can come together as a team and utilize I&E processes to create positive and profitable solutions to the biggest problems of the world. Instead of creating events to promote I&E for the sake of I&E, we will be leading by example, providing a framework for others to follow when embarking upon their own I&E endeavors. Basically, we'll show them how it's done.
Detailed Description (Let's explain a little bit.)
Mycelium (AKA "Fungus") is the collection of cells that compose root structure of mushrooms. Mycelium takes dead, composted plant matter and recycles it into a form that can be reused again by living plants. It is nature's own system of recycling, and is essential to Earth's ecological balance. Replicating the same functions of these natural processes into the economic system can benefit us all. Long story short, the end goal is to develop a business where we make profit off of waste, by turning that waste into valuable material or goods that people want and/or need. This profit will allow the company to expand, consuming more and more waste throughout the economy. Here's the deal. Waste is cheap. Mycelium can effectively colonize many petroleum-based plastics, petroleum itself, cardboard, wood and sawdust etc. Once fully colonized, it can be dried to create a strong and durable material. Based on the combinations of various growth parameters, species, and substrates, many different material qualities are possible. This can effectively replaceother, more harmful materials that are currently being discarded at an unprecedented rate. We know it is possible. It just needs to be done, and it needs to be done well. This plan isn't just a business. It is a system. A new paradigm. It is a self-expanding addition to our current economy that will grow from the waste of other corporations, cleansing the world.
Tactical Implementation
- Note* Much of the research on many of the subjects below has already been developed. We hope to simply expand on this research in each area, to refine it so that it more appropriatefly fits with our goal.
- Funding: In order to initiate any phase of this endeavor, funding must be received to pay for the equipment and materials needed for the research. We have already recieved and a fund of $850.00 from the Windgate Charitable Foundation to begin our intial "Phase 1 (Proof of Science)" research. Other sources are currently being sought out for
"Phase 2 (Proof of Concept)", such as the SIUC Green fund. The REACH Award is also being considered, and the Venturewell E-Team Grant has been applied for. If granted, this Venturewell grant will give us the funding we need to get this research off the ground, and begin developing a potential product. - Recruiting the Research Teams : The main team will consist of sub-teams, each focusing on their particular specialties of research. The individuals in these teams will be based on the department in which they reside. Bio-Team (Microbiology & Biochemistry), E-Team (Electrical & Mechanical Engineering), ID-Team (Industrial Design), and M-Team (Business & Marketing).
- Research (Mycology) [B-Team] : This research will focus on which species and and substrates to use, and how to most effectively and efficiently create a growable product that conforms to the material property specifications. Also, to experiment with alternate combinations to develope various material quality options for use later.
- Research (Engineering) [E-Team] : This research will focus on creating create a controllable, mechanized 5-axis 3D printer that can extrude colonized compost slurries or agar at the temperatures required to preserve spore and mycelial production while maintaining sterile field.
- Marketing and Publicity [M-Team] : The M-Team will be shadowing our research, recording our progress with a journalistic standpoint. The goal of the M-Team during this phase will be to create a story (through newpapers, social media, etc.) that will get people interested in what we are doing, with updates every other month on our progress. The more exposure our project has, the more help we will get, and the more influence our results will have by the end of the project. We want to create a story that people will be interested in and perhaps even want to help out with.
- System Testing and Prototyping [All Teams] : Once a process for printing and growing our material is developed by the teams, it will be time to create and expose our tangible research results. This will help get our project even more traction. After this, we will begin refining our processes and finding more ways to make them marketable.
- Market Segmentation, Customer Profiling, Lean Startup, Business Development [ID Team, M-Team] : Throughout the research process, it is the job of these two teams to continue to develop the business from the inside. In essence, refining and expanding the entirety of our Business Landscape Canvas, which is too extensive to go into now.
- Funding : Once we know our mission from the inside out and have the technical and engineering capabilities to do so, we will need an additional source of funding. Kickstarter, additional grants, venture capitalists, etc.
- Start-Up
Feel free to contact him at tnjones@siu.edu or tnjones730@gmail.com.