IPO Education Foundation Honors Top Inventors of 2010

Inventors Recognized for Discovering Advanced Insecticide

WASHINGTON, June 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation will present the 37th Annual National Inventor of the Year Award to George P. Lahm, Ph.D., Thomas P. Selby, Ph.D., and Thomas M. Stevenson, Ph.D. of DuPont on June 10, 2010, in a ceremony at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.  The inventors will be recognized for their discovery of Rynaxypyr®, an advanced insecticide that protects growers' crops from damaging pests.

Rynaxypyr® is the first commercialized anthranilamide, a chemical class of insecticides that exhibit a new biological mode of action.  A combination of high efficacy, low-use rates and an excellent environmental profile make Rynaxypyr® a sound choice for growers, farm workers and consumers.  First introduced in 2007 in the Philippines and Indonesia, products powered by Rynaxypyr® are registered in more than 60 countries.  In the United States, Rynaxypyr® is sold as DuPont™ Altacor® and DuPont™ Coragen® and can be used to protect more than 300 crops.

George Lahm joined DuPont Crop Protection in 1980, where his career focused on the discovery and development of new insect control products.  In 2007, Lahm was promoted to DuPont Fellow, DuPont's highest technical position.  Tom Selby joined DuPont Crop Protection in 1979 and rose to his current position of Senior Research Fellow.  Over the past thirty years, Selby's career has focused on agrochemical discovery research.  Thomas Stevenson joined DuPont Crop Protection in 1985 as a research chemist and rose to his current position as Senior Research Fellow.  The three honorees have each received several awards recognizing their contributions.

The National Inventor of the Year Award fosters the spirit of American innovation and highlights the protection offered to inventors by the patent system.  The Award is the best known honor for recent American inventors, having gone previously to those responsible for the development of the Jarvik Seven Artificial Heart, Bose speaker technology, Powercore® LED technology and other patented breakthrough inventions.  The award will be presented by David J. Kappos, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Members of the media can arrange to attend the June 10 ceremony by contacting Mary Lynch at 202-507-4504.

About IPO Education Foundation

Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation, a non-profit subsidiary of Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), was established in 2005 to educate the public on the importance of intellectual property rights to the economy.

Donations to the foundation are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the law.  To find out more about IPO Education Foundation programs or to make a donation, visit www.ipoef.org or call 202/507-4500.

SOURCE Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation