DuPont Names 2022 Lavoisier and Pedersen Award Medalists

Six DuPont scientists and engineers recognized for extraordinary achievements 

WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DuPont (NYSE:DD) today announced it has named six DuPont scientists and engineers as recipients of the company's 2022 Lavoisier Medal for Lifetime Technical Achievement and the prestigious Pedersen Award Medal. 

The two Lavoisier Medalists are Theresa Weston, DuPont Laureate (retired from DuPont Water & Protection), and Todd Buley, Global Application Director, DuPont Electronics & Industrial. 

The four Pedersen Medalists are Carmen Covelli, Technical Laureate, DuPont Mobility & Materials, and Tomoki Kurihara, Lead Scientist, Xiaoqing Li, Principal Scientist, and Chris Bish, Technical Laureate, all from DuPont Electronics & Industrial.

The Lavoisier Medal for Lifetime Technical Achievement recognizes scientists and engineers who have demonstrated a career of creative technical contributions with significant business impact. Pedersen Medalists are selected by the DuPont Laureates, a group of the highest technical professionals in the company. The medalists' deep technical knowledge, skill, achievements, and commitment in their respective areas have resulted in important new products for DuPont customers.

The groundbreaking innovations developed by the medalists have created significant value for our customers and stakeholders and have contributed to shaping industries by delivering new solutions to solve some of the world's most pressing challenges.

"It's an honor to recognize and celebrate the achievements of these Lavoisier and Pedersen award medalists. They are fearless innovators who embody DuPont's purpose to empower the world with essential innovations to thrive, and exhibit our spirit of innovation," said Alexa Dembek, DuPont Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer. "Their deep collaborations with colleagues and customers alike have made meaningful impacts and delivered significant business results to DuPont, and moreover, the world. Every day, they push our innovation forward and we're infinitely proud to call them colleagues."

The Lavoisier Medal is named in honor of the 18th century French chemist, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, who is considered the father of modern chemistry. 

The Pedersen award is named in honor of DuPont's Nobel Laureate, Charles J. Pedersen, who 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. 

DuPont's 2022 Lavoisier and Pedersen Medalists and their achievements:

Lavoisier Award Recipients

Todd Buley, Global Application Leader; Electronics & Industrial, Chemical Mechanical Planarization Technologies; Newark, DE – Buley is a global expert in Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) materials and application engineering with more than 30 years of experience in technology. Enabled by insights drawn from close partnerships with customers, Buley has commercialized numerous semiconductor processes, CMP Pad & Slurry products, and specified countless processes for use of those products – all which have contributed significant value. His contributions include being among the first in the industry to develop a CMP process to fabricate DRAM chips, pioneering work with pad grooves and conditioning, and novel slurry technologies. Buley also pioneered a CMP fundamentals toolbox and customer engagement model, including training for customers, to develop and specify numerous CMP processes with DuPont Pads & Slurries, supporting the business as a recognized leader in the pad market and delivering significant and sustained growth in sales over the last 20 years.

Theresa (Teri) Weston, DuPont Laureate (retired); Water & Protection, Shelter Solutions; Richmond, VA – Weston is a true innovation leader and trailblazer. Over her 35-year career in the construction space, she elevated the role of building science from a troubleshooting tool to a strategic capability with our customers. Weston leveraged her expertise with Tyvek® water/air barrier solutions to enable products that today are market-leading materials. This includes innovations in the North American HomeWrap® products, non-residential CommercialWrap®, the industry's first drainage wrap (StuccoWrap®) and the first DuPont flashing product (FlexWrap®). Her external technical credibility was beneficial when engaging with code/standards groups and national committees. Weston also played a key role in the integration and establishment of the Shelter business following the Dow-DuPont merger, focusing on building science-based common ground that resulted in a wide array of building system solutions and ultimately synergistic growth. 

Pedersen Award Recipients

Chris Bish, Technical Laureate; Electronics & Industrial, Industrial Solutions; Wilmington, DE – Bish is renowned for developing new crosslinking chemistries to fully exploit the performance advantages of Kalrez®. These crosslinkers enable the best high-temperature stability of any similar material, the broadest possible chemical resistance, and combinations of both of those properties. This technology contributed to the 400 percent annual revenue growth of the Kalrez® business over the past 25 years. 

Carmen Covelli, Technical Laureate; Mobility & Materials, Hytrel®; Wilmington, DE – Covelli innovates across applied polymer, fiber, and formulation sciences to develop new products for the Rynite^®, Crastin^®, Hytrel^® and Kevlar^® product lines and has made significant contributions to prior DuPont products such as Sorona^® polymer and Lycra^® fiber. Covelli's innovations have contributed to significant growth in sales to textile, carpet, ballistics, and resins applications. In addition to her technical prowess, she is highly valued for her boundless enthusiasm, leadership and passion for sustainability, mentorship, and talent recruitment. 

Tomoki Kurihara, Lead Scientist; Electronics & Industrial, Semiconductor Technologies; Niigata, Japan – Kurihara leverages deep expertise in materials and formulation science to develop several world-class photoresists and bottom antireflective coatings that contributed significantly to business revenue. His close collaboration with key customers resulted in innovative materials that enable high-volume manufacturing of electronic devices ranging from smartphones to high-performance computing to cutting-edge wearables with smaller size, faster speed, and lower power consumption. 

Xiaoqing Li, Principal Scientist; Electronics & Industrial, Industrial Solutions; Wilmington, DE – Li is renowned for creating two foundational polymer platform technologies within the DuPont Digital Inks business that continue to enable differentiating product offerings today. The development of waterborne polyurethane dispersion binders and crosslinked pigment dispersions enabled success in direct-to-garment apparel printing, roll-to-roll textile printing for fashion, upholstery and home furnishings, and commercial applications such as transactional printing. 

About DuPont

DuPont (NYSE: DD) is a global innovation leader with technology-based materials 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, construction, water, healthcare, and worker safety. More information about the company, its businesses and solutions can be found at www.dupont.com. Investors can access information included on the Investor Relations section of the website at investors.dupont.com.

DuPont™, the DuPont Oval Logo, and all trademarks and service marks denoted with ™, ^SM or ^®are owned by affiliates of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. unless otherwise noted. 

SOURCE DuPont