DowDuPont Specialty Products Names 2018 Pedersen Award Medalists

Press Release | October 10, 2018
 
 
 
Press Release
DowDuPont specialty products names 2018 Pedersen award medalists
Scientists Recognized for Outstanding Contributions

WILMINGTON, Del., Oct. 10, 2018 – DowDuPont Specialty Products Division has named four outstanding scientists as recipients of the 2018 Pedersen Medal: Hua Cui, Richard T. Fox, Bainian (Brian) Qian and Michel Renaud. This award is named in honor of DuPont’s Nobel Laureate, Charles J. Pedersen, and recognizes individuals for outstanding technical achievements that have had great impact and delivered significant value for Specialty Products. The medalists were honored at a ceremony at TechCon 2018, DuPont’s premier innovation conference that brings together scientists, engineers and business colleagues to share ideas, collaborate and advance our innovation agenda. 

“Receiving a Pedersen Medal is an important accomplishment that highlights the major contributions that Hua, Richard, Brian and Michel have made through their personal commitment and expertise in scientific innovation, technology and engineering in their respective fields,” said Alexa Dembek, Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer, DowDuPont Specialty Products Division. “I am delighted to congratulate them on this high honor and thank them for the positive business impacts they have delivered to Specialty Products, and the value they have created for our customers and society.”

Hua Cui, Ph.D., technical fellow, Electronics & Imaging, is recognized for developing a series of innovative products (EKC™ 580 and EKC™ 590) that have delivered previously unachieved cleaning performance and highly selective etching on TiN, replacing traditional solvent-based solutions with aqueous formulations. These products are key enablers for advanced mobile devices, automotive autonomous driving systems and other sensor-related devices

Richard T. Fox, Ph.D., principal research scientist, Safety & Construction, is recognized for his technical leadership in the successful implementation of novel STYROFOAM™ extruded insulation foam formulations with improved sustainability and performance. He is a leader in styrenic foam formulation and extrusion foaming process. Richard has led the development and implementation of STYROFOAM™ extruded insulation foam formulations with a low Global Warming Potential hydrofluoro-olefins (HFO) blowing agent, and with polymeric BLUEDGE™ fire retardant developed at Dow.

Bainian (Brian) Qian, Ph.D., senior research scientist, Electronics & Imaging, is recognized for technical leadership in creating the cornerstone of the commercially significant IKONIC™ series of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) pads that offers the right balance of performance and cost of ownership.

Michel Renaud, M.Eng., regional design CAE leader, Transportation & Advanced Polymers, is recognized for his technical expertise in the area of air duct solutions in the automotive industry. He was responsible for developing design concepts to reduce air duct assembly from seven parts into just one.

Charles Pedersen received the 1987 Nobel Prize for his discovery of a novel class of chemical compounds called macrocyclic polyethers, which he dubbed the “crown” ethers because of their molecular shape. The structure of these compounds enables them to coordinate to certain metallic ions such as sodium or potassium which bind to the center of the “crown,” much like a key fits in a lock. This specific lock-and-key feature of the crown ethers mimics the very complicated functions of biological materials such as enzymes and substrates in a relatively uncomplicated way, and thus researchers have found a number of important applications in the chemical and biological sciences.

About DowDuPont Specialty Products Division

DowDuPont Specialty Products, a division of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), is a global innovation leader with technology-based materials, ingredients and solutions that help transform industries and everyday life. Our employees apply diverse science and expertise to help customers advance their best ideas and deliver essential innovations in key markets including electronics, transportation, building and construction, health and wellness, food and worker safety. DowDuPont intends to separate the Specialty Products Division, which will be called DuPont, into an independent, publicly traded company. More information can be found at www.dow-dupont.com.

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10/10/18

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