Congratulations go to Barbara Haviland Minor of Chemours and Steven Swier of Dow Performance Silicones for winning the 2018 Perkin Medal and Gordon E Moore Medal respectively.
Neil Eisberg, Editor of C&I
The 2018 Perkin Medal was awarded to Barbara Haviland Minor, formerly with DuPont and now Chemours, by the SCI America International Group at a dinner held on 25 September in Philadelphia, US. Haviland Minor received the award in recognition of her work in developing non-ozone depleting and low global warming refrigerants for air conditioning and refrigeration applications. She has developed several new refrigerants to help the phaseout of CFCs, HFC and HCFCs.
In 2010, Haviland Minor received a DuPont Sustainable Growth Award for developing the hydrofluorocarbon HFO 1234yf for automotive air condition systems. This material has over 99% lower global warming potential than the previously used HFC 134a. It has been adopted by all major automotive manufacturers and is already used in more than 20m vehicles globally.
In 2014, she was one of the first women to be named a DuPont Fellow – the highest technical level within the company – and is one of only two Fellows in Chemours. She also holds over 160 US patents for refrigerants, cleaning agents and aerosol propellants. She is currently Chair of the Research and Technology Committee of the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Technology Institute and serves on the Refrigeration and Technical Activities Committee of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning.
NEWS: Barbara H. Minor accepted the 2018 @SCIupdate Perkin Medal last night in Philadelphia. This honor recognizes her contributions in the research and development of new sustainable Opteon™ refrigerants. Read the interview via @cenmag to learn more: https://t.co/vXMP0nhBT5 pic.twitter.com/4PApuiHi7S
— The Chemours Company (@chemours) September 26, 2018
The Perkin Medal, acknowledged as the highest honour in American industrial chemistry, was established in 1906 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the dye mauvene – the first synthetic aniline dye – by UK chemist, William Henry Perkin, who was the medal’s first recipient.
Earlier the same day, the SCI Gordon E Moore Medal was awarded to Steven Swier, Principal Research Scientist at Dow Performance Silicones, at a luncheon as part of the joint SCI/Science History Institute Innovation Day. The award recognised his work in the development of silsesquioxane polymer films for the colour conversion of led lighting. The conversion is achieved through the incorporation of phosphor particles in the films that are used to encapsulate the LEDs on semiconductor tiles using vacuum lamination.
Established in 2004, the SCI America Gordon E Moore Medal, named after the so-called father of the semiconductor industry, is the premier award recognising early career success in innovation, as reflected both in market impact and improvement to the quality of life. By highlighting extraordinary individuals and their work, the SCI aims to promote public understanding of R&D in the chemical industries, enhance the interest of students in applied chemistry, and emphasise the role of creative research.
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