DuPont Scientists Receive"Heroes of Chemistry"Honor for Rynaxypyr

DuPont scientists who developed the insect control product DuPont™ Rynaxypyr® were named the newest “Heroes of Chemistry,” an award bestowed by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society.

The recognition honored the DuPont Crop Protection team for creating Rynaxypyr® – an innovative insect control product that has an excellent environmental profile and protects the global food supply from damaging insects to help feed a global growing population.

“What makes Rynaxypyr® the game-changer for agriculture is not only the new chemistry, but also the way we integrated chemistry and biology to fundamentally redesign the new active ingredient discovery process,” said Rik L. Miller, president of DuPont Crop Protection.  “This new process involving integrated science, leveraged our research team, and elevated key health and environmental characteristics to the same level of importance as pesticidal activity.”

Rynaxypyr® is a precedent-setting innovation for the advancement of sustainable agriculture.  The product enables farmers to more effectively protect yields and as a result recover more value from their crops.  Farmers in developing countries can particularly realize the benefits of Rynaxypyr® through increased yield, which helps feed their families, and the associated economic benefits that come with increased profitability.  These can include better health care, new opportunities for education and a more reliable income source.

Scientists from DuPont that were honored are: John H. Freudenberger; Thomas P. Selby; Daniel Cordova; George P. Lahm and Thomas M. Stevenson.  Rynaxypyr® is registered in 94 countries on more than 400 crops, including vegetables, pome and stone fruit, tree nuts, grapes, corn, cotton and many other crops.  In 2012 alone, more than 28 million farmers around the world benefitted from the insect control provided by Rynaxypyr®.

The “Heroes of Chemistry” recognizes scientists whose innovative work in chemistry and chemical engineering led to the development of commercial products that benefit humankind.