DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) Global Technology Director Henry Bryndza today received the Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management at the 2016 American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting in San Diego, California. Bryndza was recognized for his outstanding leadership of transformational technology development at the interface of chemistry and biology, and for ushering in a new era of improved environmentally sustainable products, including renewably sourced chemicals and materials.
In addition to receiving the award, Bryndza discussed key learnings in his personal journey toward sustainability in a special program, and a symposium was hosted in his honor. The symposium, entitled “Sustainability through R&D: Driving Leadership for the Next Generation of Chemicals and Materials,” featured presentations from sustainability leaders in the U.S. government, public institutions, companies and academia regarding advances in policy, regulations, research and business commitments to sustainable product development.
“Our world and its demand for new materials is growing at an unprecedented rate and it is more important than ever to create safer, more environmentally sustainable chemicals, materials and processes,” said Bryndza. “DuPont is bringing together new combinations of disciplines, new feedstocks and a whole new generation of scientists to work on these important challenges. It’s very exciting to be able to work collaboratively to apply these insights to our product development and make a positive difference for people and our planet.”
Bryndza leads the global technology program for DuPont Performance Materials. He is responsible for all aspects of R&D, Applications Development/Technical Service and Manufacturing Technologies for this $6B portfolio of businesses. Since joining DuPont in 1981, he has contributed to significant advances in the manufacture of green chemicals, polymers, specialties and inorganic materials. He has an international reputation in homogeneous catalysis, green chemistry and sustainability, physical organometallic/organic chemistry and polymer technologies as well as in the rehabilitation of oiled wildlife. Most recently, he led initiatives in biofuels, bio materials and bio specialties with a focus on applications development and new product commercialization. He holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Berkley and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from MIT.