DuPont has named three outstanding scientists as 2016 Pedersen Award Medalists: Nathaniel (Todd) Becker, Barry Morris and James (Jim) Sweigard.
The award is named in honor of DuPont’s Nobel Laureate, Charles J. Pedersen, and recognizes individuals who made outstanding technical achievements that delivered significant value for DuPont customers.
“Science-based innovation is at the core of who we are at DuPont. It solves important global challenges for society, creates value for all of our stakeholders and inspires us to work together to make a difference for the future,” said Senior Vice President and Chief Science & Technology Officer Douglas Muzyka. “Todd, Barry and Jim have made extraordinary technical contributions to DuPont and their respective technical fields. On behalf of the company and the DuPont Fellows, it is a pleasure to recognize their outstanding achievements by honoring each of them with a 2016 Pedersen Medal.”
| Honorees |
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| Nathaniel (Todd) Becker |
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| Barry Morris |
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| James (Jim) Sweigard |
Pedersen Medalists are selected by The DuPont Fellows, a group of the highest technical professionals in the company. The medalists’ technical knowledge, skill and commitment in their respective areas have resulted in important new products for DuPont customers:
Nathaniel (Todd) Becker (Palo Alto, California) is a leading expert in the process technologies that help make enzymes more affordable and effective for industrial use, particularly in detergents and animal nutrition. He was a key inventor and developer of enzyme spray coating technology, and the DuPont™ Enzoguard™ and Thermo Protection Technology (TPT) formulations for enzymes, which enable enzymes to be stored, shipped and used by customers properly in a way that fits their end uses.
Barry Morris (Wilmington, Delaware) is an industry expert in polymers and an industry pioneer for polymer and process modeling. He has developed predictive models for packaging film markets, enabling customers to minimize package weight and cost while maintaining rigidity and package function through the use of multilayer structures that incorporate high-performance materials such as DuPont™ Surlyn® ionomer resins.
James (Jim) Sweigard (Newark, Delaware), is an internationally recognized expert in fungal genetics and the culture, growth and molecular biology of crop pathogens. He has developed new tools to identify and understand the underlying molecular biology of plant diseases, and ultimately, to aid us in the development of important new fungicides such as DuPont™ Zorvec™.
The 2016 Pedersen Medalists will be recognized in award ceremonies in May.
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.
