Molly Morse Wins 500,000 Euro Award in Green Challenge
Piedmont Native’s Green Business Plan Honored –
Molly Morse, who grew up in Piedmont, is the 2012 winner of the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, the world’s largest annual award for sustainable entrepreneurship. Morse received €500,000 ($630,000) to develop her promising green business. Her company, Mango Materials, uses bacteria to turn methane gas into affordable biodegradable plastic.
A Piedmont High School grad, Morse‘s interest in science began during her early school years at Havens Elementary School. At Cornell University, she majored in Civil Engineering, and then earned a Master of Science degree at Stanford University in Design Construction Integration (DCI). Her interests led her to research the anaerobic degradation of bio-composites for the building industry.
Two other finalists, Daan Weddepohl of Amsterdam and Nick Gerritsen from New Zealand, won $125,000 (€100,000) each for their CO2-reducing projects.
