SUU Industry Challenge Lab Announces GAF Zero Waste Ideathon Winners – Next Step, A Multidisciplinary Student Testing Cohort
Published: February 18, 2025 | Author: SUU | Read Time: 3 minutes
CEDAR CITY, Utah – Southern Utah University (SUU) and GAF are proud to announce the winners of the inaugural GAF Zero Waste Ideathon: SUU business major Matt Cherry and retired engineer Matt Lindsay. The winning ideas will now move forward to a testing phase where a multidisciplinary cohort, a group of approximately 10 students from SUU and Southwest Tech, will further develop and evaluate these innovative ideas in partnership with GAF scientists and engineers.
Cherry's winning idea involves utilizing shredded foam pieces as filler for use in wall insulation, while Lindsay proposed repurposing roofing waste as filling for impact barrels placed along highways, helping reduce vehicle damage in collisions. GAF employee Thomas Daniels received an honorable mention for his concept of compressing and incinerating roofing waste to generate electricity.
“At GAF, our goal is to make the production process as efficient and sustainable as possible,” said Eric Lewis, GAF project engineer. “Big changes require fresh ideas and new perspectives.”
In addition, GAF presented a special award to Launch High School for Emerging Leaders in Innovation. This recognition highlights the remarkable courage and ingenuity demonstrated by four of the school’s students. Altogether, GAF sponsored $2,500 in Ideathon prize dollars distributed among the three winners: Cherry, Lindsay, and Launch High School.
About the SUU Industry Challenge Lab
The SUU Industry Challenge Lab fosters collaboration between faculty, industry partners, and students to tackle real-world problems with creative solutions. Whether developing new technologies, testing innovative concepts, or refining existing tools, SUU and Southwest Tech students are positioned to bring fresh perspectives to pressing challenges.
“By fostering meaningful engagement opportunities with industry partners, we’re not just solving immediate problems—we’re building a stronger, more sustainable future,” said Melynda Thorpe, assistant vice president, SUU Office of Workforce and Educational Opportunity. “This partnership exemplifies how higher education, community, and industry can work together to create real-world solutions that benefit both students and society.”
Testing Cohort to Bring Ideas to Life
Building on the success of the Ideathon, SUU, Southwest Tech and GAF are now assembling a student testing cohort to transform the winning ideas into viable solutions. In addition to earning credits that can be applied toward degrees, students will receive a $15-an-hour stipend for their semester-long work on the project with funding provided by Talent Ready Utah. GAF is sponsoring tuition costs for the cohort of up to ten students.
“These projects provide students with hands-on design and testing experience, equipping them with valuable skills for their future careers while addressing real-world problems,” said Scott Munro, chair of the SUU Engineering and Technology Department. “Students will work closely with a 'customer,' designing solutions that meet specific needs and evaluating their effectiveness. This is what engineering teams do.”
For more information about the SUU Industry Challenge Lab’s GAF Zero Waste project, visit suu.edu/cwd/zerowaste. Are you a current SUU student, interested in joining the testing cohort? See the QR code below to apply. Cohort begins on March 3.
The University would like to acknowledge and give special thanks to Ideathon partners for their support and contributions to the ideation and student cohort: GAF General Manager Eric Lewis, GAF Project Engineer Josh Meacham, Southwest Tech Vice President of Academics Scott Leavitt, Talent Ready Utah.
Apply for the GAF Zero Waste Test Cohort
Or scan the QR code to apply:
Tags: College of Engineering and Computational Sciences CurStu Community
Contact Information:
Brooke Heath
435-586-5400
brookeheath1@suu.edu