DuPont Announces 2024 Lavoisier Medal and Pedersen Award Recipients

Company proudly honors four scientists whose innovations have made a significant impact for customers, industries and the world. 

WILMINGTON, Del., Sept. 10, 2024 – DuPont (NYSE:DD) has named the recipient of the 2024 Lavoisier Medal for Lifetime Technical Achievement and three recipients of the prestigious Pedersen Award.

At a ceremony this November, the 2024 Lavoisier Medal will be conferred on Brad Taylor, Ph.D., Technical Laureate, Printing & Packaging. The Lavoisier Medal for Lifetime Technical Achievement recognizes scientists and engineers who have demonstrated a career of creative technical contributions with significant business impact. It’s named in honor of the 18th century French chemist, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, considered the father of modern chemistry. 

Three Pedersen Award recipients will be recognized at that same ceremony: Yi Guo, Ph.D., Principal Scientist, Advanced Cleans & Slurry Technologies; Martin Heijnen, PES Ultrafiltration R&D Leader, Water Solutions; and Mansour Mirdamadi, Technical Laureate, Auto Adhesives. The Pedersen Award is chosen by a select team of Laureates, a group of DuPont’s highest technical professionals. This year’s recipients’ deep technical knowledge, skill, achievements, and commitment in their respective areas have resulted in important new products and other advances for DuPont customers. 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.

The commitment these medalists have displayed throughout their careers—and the innovations they’ve developed—have resulted in significant value for DuPont customers and other stakeholders. They’ve shaped industries and, in doing so, helped solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

“It's a privilege to acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments of Brad, Yi, Martin, and Mansour, and an honor to call them colleagues,” said Alexa Dembek, DuPont Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer. “The dedication these award winners have shown in bringing innovations to life has led to transformative outcomes not just for our company, but also for our customers and the world at large. They truly embody our purpose of empowering the world with the essential innovations to thrive.”

Learn more about DuPont’s 2024 Lavoisier Medalist and Pedersen Awardees:

Lavoisier Medalist

Brad Taylor, Ph.D., Technical Laureate, Printing & Packaging; Wilmington, DE. Brad has been instrumental in key technical transformations that have enabled advancements in the flexographic printing industry, having led the development of the first Cyrel^® Digital Imager and accompanying Cyrel^® digital plates. Over his more than 30-year DuPont career, he’s advanced digital flexography through the FAST thermal technology which delivers sustainability and productivity benefits. Brad also pioneered new printing form concepts like Cyrel^® Round and new screening technologies such as Cyrel^® EASY BRITE screens. Through his unique combination of technical expertise, market understanding, and leadership, Brad has earned the respect of the industry. He’s delivered groundbreaking developments that have changed the course of the industry and accelerated adoption by educating our customers through trainings, panel discussions, and articles. Today, more than 90 percent of the Cyrel^® portfolio benefits from Brad’s innovations.

Pedersen Award Recipients

Yi Guo, Ph.D., Principal Scientist, Advanced Cleans & Slurry Technologies; Newark, DE. Yi has contributed to innovation and business growth in multiple slurry families for chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) in semiconductor fabrication. Yi’s expertise in particle technology, colloidal science, interfacial chemistry, and commercialization skills has led to many key formulation breakthroughs, product innovations, and industry advancements. His most noteworthy invention was the formulation chemistry for Klebosol® 1730 alkaline slurry for polishing silicon oxide substrates, as well as next-generation product extensions. Beyond his scientific expertise, Yi’s commitment to the commercial success of products has made him a key asset for troubleshooting issues and helping customers overcome challenges in new-product introductions. Yi’s passion for product development has motivated others into becoming successful formulation scientists.

Martin Heijnen, PES Ultrafiltration R&D Leader, Water Solutions; Greifenberg, Germany. Martin supports advancements in ultrafiltration (UF) membranes for water filtration, with a primary focus on membrane development. Martin’s key impact has been the development of the legacy DuPont™ Multibore™ UF products and the solvent recovery system associated with the production to reduce emissions and enable capacity increases. The innovation reduced NMP and glycerin emissions by 3.5 million kg and 2.0 million kg, respectively, since 2017. His leadership in developing and launching a new membrane in 2023—DuPont™ Multibore™ PRO—is a critical pillar for growth for the PES (Polyethersulfone) UF portfolio used in desalination, municipal drinking water, or industrial water applications. Martin has also brought his expertise to sales activities, application technology, and manufacturing technology while maintaining a focus on sustainability, and is known as a strong leader in embracing change and challenges.

Mansour Mirdamadi, Technical Laureate, Auto Adhesives; Auburn Hills, MI. Mansour has successfully combined his expertise in material science, applied engineering mechanics and virtual modeling to create novel solutions for automotive customers. Leading a multi-disciplinary team, Mansour has been instrumental in applying advanced engineering methodologies to determine effective and efficient DuPont adhesive technologies suited for vehicle body substrates and electric-vehicle battery assemblies. Leveraging such an approach has enabled the automotive engineering community to design and engineer using DuPont’s adhesive product portfolio with a higher degree of confidence while satisfying component, sub-system, and system level safety, NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) and durability requirements. Widely regarded as an industry expert, Mansour’s multiple patents, awards, and demonstrated results have consistently confirmed his outstanding technical leadership.

View the digital version of this announcement and see previous award recipients here. 

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.