Business News
Pete Carlson, Noel Scrivner Receive Lavoisier Medal
Wednesday 17. December 2008 - D. Peter Carlson and Noel Scrivner are the 2008 recipients of the Lavoisier Medal for Technical Achievement, awarded to DuPont scientists and engineers who have had a career of outstanding achievements in their chosen fields. Pete is a retired technical fellow from DuPont Fluoroproducts and Noel Scrivner, also retired, was a fellow in DuPont Engineering.
Pete began his career at DuPont in 1957 after receiving his Ph.D. in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University. His work on copolymerization led to commercialization of important DuPont product families – DuPont Teflon PFA, Teflon FEP for Fluoroproducts applications, Tefzel ETFE and several Viton fluoroelastomers. He invented the liquid phase auto-oxidation process for making hexafluoropropylene oxide — better known as HFPO — a key intermediate for making many fluoroproduct plastics and elastomers. The process is still used today, 45 years later.
Noel Scrivner also earned a Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University, in chemical engineering. His DuPont career began in 1961. Noel is internationally recognized as an authority on using aqueous electrolyte thermodynamics to solve problems in manufacturing processes, waste treatment and environmental remediation. As chairman of the Design Institute for Physical Properties of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, he co-authored the “Handbook for Aqueous Electrolyte Thermodynamics.” A hallmark of his career has been mentoring fellow engineers and using collaborative research with universities and institutes to expand knowledge in the field.
“The Lavoisier Medal is the highest honor that scientists and engineers can aspire to,” said DuPont Senior Vice President & Chief Science and Technology Officer Uma Chowdhry. “Pete and Noel exemplify curious minds, a multi-disciplinary approach, and enduring business impact that models the behavior of Lavoisier himself. They have achieved notable results through methodical development of scientific principles in their field and simultaneous application to practical challenges in the business.”
“Our Lavoisier Academy represents the technical masters who have made DuPont a great science company and enable this companys continued success 206 years after our founding,” Uma added.