About ABSMaterials, Inc.


Above: Dr. Edmiston continues to study, refine, and develop Osorb
® materials in the lab.
ABSMaterials was founded in December 2008 by Dr. Paul L. Edmiston and Stephen Spoonamore to commercialize Osorb®, a swellable organosilica that removes organic compounds from water. Since then, ABSMaterials has continued to receive numerous awards and grants for our innovative research and groundbreaking solutions in water remediation, as well as media attention from publications such as Forbes, Popular Mechanics, Bloomberg, The Huffington Post, NPR, Chemical Engineering, Planet Forward, and RIGZONE.

Dr. Edmiston has developed over 200 new types of responsive glass materials during his scientific career. At the age of 29, he received a CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation to molecularly engineer glass for explosives detection. He further refined the explosive sensors in collaboration with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (where he is a Fellow), again sponsored by the National Science Foundation. 

The glass that is now Osorb was devised by Edmiston in his College of Wooster lab during the early stages of the initial project. One of his undergraduate research assistants, Colleen Burkett, was the first to observe its unique swelling properties when she added acetone to a vial of the material via a dropper. Edmiston recognized the nano-engineered material’s unrivaled potential, and he spent two years studying, refining, and developing the technology. 

In recent years, Dr. Edmiston has continued to develop new variants of the material to create new, even more functionally efficient materials with specific applications in different markets.

Two years after Osorb's discovery, Dr. Edmiston and Mr. Spoonamore drafted a business plan for ABS Materials. Mr. Spoonamore, whose now-wife was a colleague of Dr. Edmiston, had heard about the “glass that sucks up oil.” Fascinated by the product and by Dr. Edmiston, Mr. Spoonamore began supplementing Dr. Edmiston’s technology with his experience as a company-builder. In effect, the duo transformed Osorb from an innovative research subject to a groundbreaking commercial product in water treatment solutions. Since 2009, the company has successfully grown from a team of three—Dr. Edmiston, Mr. Spoonamore, and 2008 Wooster graduate Laura Underwood—to a firm of more than 30 full-time employees at two locations.

ABSMaterials has applied Osorb to advanced technologies in a number of industries, as well as developed cutting-edge solutions for scavenging volatile contaminants from ground, surface, and municipal water with no negative effects on the environment. Unlike outdated remediation methods such as air stripping, granular activated carbon, sparging, or oxidizers, there are no toxic byproducts, no landfilling, virtually no replacement costs, and minimal energy requirements with our products. Today, ABSMaterials continues to study new applications for Osorb and to help our commercial clients exceed industry standards for effective, cost-efficient, and eco-friendly water treatment.

Right: Mr. Spoonamore recognized Osorb's potential and 
founded ABSMaterials along with Dr. Edmiston in 2008.