This program is an excellent way for DuPont, as a science company, to create lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships with creative and cutting-edge research leaders who are working to overcome some of the world’s toughest challenges.
WILMINGTON, Del. (PRWEB) May 20, 2013
Recognizing exciting and innovative scientific research, DuPont named 14 young faculty members to its 2013 Class of Young Professors. Over the next three years, the company will provide this outstanding international group with more than $824,000 to support their work in advancing basic science to meet global challenges.
The DuPont Young Professor program is designed to help promising young and untenured research faculty working in areas of interest to DuPont, begin their research careers. Since 1968, DuPont has provided nearly $50 million in grants to greater than 680 young professors in more than 130 institutions in 14 countries. In addition to providing unrestricted funding to new faculty, this prestigious program enables DuPont to build future research partnerships with emerging, global academic leaders. Research interests within the class of 2013 Young Professors represent key components of DuPont science and include promising research in the fields of: environmental remediation, genomic prediction, optics in nanoscience, pest management, phytochemicals for nutrition and medicine, plant breeding, protein engineering, studies of the human microbiome, sustainable energy and fuel production, and, water treatment and desalinization.
“Research is absolutely fundamental to meeting the needs for food, energy and protection of this growing population,” said DuPont Senior Vice President and Chief Science & Technology Officer Douglas Muzyka. “This program is an excellent way for DuPont, as a science company, to create lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships with creative and cutting-edge research leaders who are working to overcome some of the world’s toughest challenges through The Global Collaboratory™.”
The DuPont Young Professor grant program is significant, not only for the diversity of people, universities and disciplines represented, but also because it has reached out to the academic community for more than four decades, making it one of the most sustained programs for academic support. Professors are nominated by a member of the DuPont technical staff and the nominator serves as the liaison between the company and the faculty member. During the three-year award, each grant recipient is invited to present a seminar on his or her work to the DuPont research community.
Members of the DuPont Young Professor Class of 2013 represent seven nations and 14 universities. This year, awards were made to the following promising young faculty:
- Fredrik Bäckhed (Sahlgrenska Center for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research/Wallenberg Laboratory, University of Gothenburg, Sweden)
- Cullen Buie (Laboratory for Energy Microsystems Innovation, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
- Xing Chen (College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, China)
- Paul Dauenhauer (Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA)
- Flávio Lemes Fernandes (Instituto de Ciências Agrárias/Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viςosa, Brazil)
- Eric Gaucher (School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)
- Stewart Gillmor (Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad (Langebio), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados (CINVESTAV), Mexico)
- Prashant Jain (Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, USA)
- Richard Lunt (Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University, USA)
- Shaily Mahendra (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, USA)
- Jeffrey McCutcheon (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, University of Connecticut, USA)
- Huisheng Peng (Department of Macromolecular Science & Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Fudan University, China)
- Tobias Schrag (Institute of Plant Breeding, Seed Science and Population Genetics, University of Hohenheim, Germany)
- Durai Sundar (Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, India)
DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit http://www.dupont.com.
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5/20/13