Innovation Day

Research Frontiers for the Chemical Industry:  A Report on the Eighth Annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day, Warren G. Schlinger Symposium

by Ron Reynolds | View • Web version

Since its inception Innovation Day was designed to provide young industrial scientists with a vista of the broader challenges and opportunities facing the industry.  Although primarily bench scientists, these researchers need to look beyond their laboratories in order to grow into future leaders of their companies' research programs.  To meet this need this symposium introduces them to broad technical, social, and regulatory issues. 

This year's sessions explored the challenges for water resources, the chemistry of energy sources, bio-based chemical feedstocks, increased food production and the chemical industry, and sustainable chemistry and technology.  

Research Frontiers for the Chemical Industry:  A Report on the Seventh Annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day, Warren G. Schlinger Symposium

by Hyungsub Choi | View • Download

In its seventh year, the CHF-SCI Innovation Day and Warren G. Schlinger Symposium has grown into a well-established institution of the community of researchers in the chemical industry.  Innovation Day seeks to expose its attendees to issues on the cutting edge of the innovation frontier. In this age of complexity and global interconnectedness it is no longer sufficient for industrial chemists to concern themselves only with technical matters.  Being aware of the broader implications of their work and of the work being done in other organizations is increasingly critical for success.

In 2010 the breakout sessions discussed the following topics:  Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering; Challenges for Water Resources; Chemistry of Energy Sources; Emerging Global Economies; and Organizational Strategies for Innovation.

Research Frontiers for the Chemical Industry:  A Report on the Sixth Annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day, Warren G. Schlinger Symposium

by Ron Reynolds | View • Download

The chemical industry faces many challenges and opportunities at the start of the 21st century, including a rapid emergence of new fields and the maturing of existing methods for research and manufacturing.  Only a renewed focus on innovation will harness promising technologies and spur industry growth.  The sixth annual Innovation Day brings together promising young scientists and technology leaders from across the chemical industries with a focus on frontiers in chemical R&D.

The panelists discussed the following topics:  Chemistry of Energy Sources; Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering; Electronic Materials; Emerging Global Economies.

Research Frontiers for the Chemical Industry: A Report on the Fifth Annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day, Warren G. Schlinger Symposium

by Hyungsub Choi | View • Download • Purchase

Report from the fifth annual Chemical Heritage Foundation CHF-SCI Innovation Day and Warren G. Schlinger Symposium. The key concern is to exchange and debate broad viewpoints on innovation in the chemical industry. The proceedings provide a unique opportunity for young industrial chemists to take a step back from their day-to-day operations to contemplate the bigger picture, expanding their outlooks into the broader social, economic, and political contexts that impinge on contemporary innovative activities in the chemical and molecular science industries.

Panel summaries include: Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering; Electronic Materials; Chemistry of Energy Sources; Health Materials; and Emerging Global Economies. Appendix I: Mapping the Future of Science and Innovation.

Research Frontiers for the Chemical Industry: A Report on the Fourth Annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day, Warren G. Schlinger Symposium

by Hyungsub Choi and Jody A. Roberts | View • Download • Purchase

Innovation is inherently a social process—an activity performed by human beings and embedded in a particular time and place as part of an intricate network of disparate institutions. The driving force for technological innovation comes, frequently but not exclusively, from the pressures that shape real and perceived societal needs. Successful innovation is characterized not simply by invention, but by an abilty to successfully intermesh new ideas or methods with social context, to implement them and make them real. Because successful innovations enter society through diverse pathways, they often bring about an unexpected reconstruction of the social milieu. And once entrenched, successful innovations tend to become inextricably linked with that social world, making the possibility of extraction difficult.

From the fourth annual Chemical Heritage Foundation CHF-SCI Innovation Day and Warren G. Schlinger Symposium, this report includes an introduction and summaries of the following panels: Eco-Friendly Products; Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering; Chemistry of Energy Sources; Health Materials; Electronic Materials; Emerging Global Economies.

Research Frontiers for the Chemical Industry: A Report on the Third Annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day, Warren G. Schlinger Symposium

by Cyrus Mody | View • Download • Purchase

Competition is becoming ever fiercer in the chemical industry as new firms from such emerging economies as China and India enter the market and as technological advances, potential new regulations, and rising energy and feedstock costs shrink profit margins. Companies manufacturing commodity products are particularly vulnerable to these forces. Yet chemical firms are also discovering that cooperation, even between competitors, is necessary for meeting today’s challenges.

Today’s market dilemmas and innovation systems are too complex for any one organization. Network building is therefore central to continued innovation. Successful networks must include competitors working in partnership. This report summarizes the third annual CHF–SCI Innovation Day and describes a variety of partnerships among chemical and materials firms that combine cooperation and competition in novel, forward-looking ways.

Research Frontiers for the Chemical Industry: A Report on the Second Annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day, Warren G. Schlinger Symposium

by Cyrus Mody and Arthur Daemmrich | View • Download • Purchase

Squeezed in on all sides—including from raw material costs (which are at unprecedented highs), narrowing access to feedstocks, and growing competition in commodity markets--chemical firms must create new high-value materials and services to survive and profit. This report summarizes the second annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day and suggests solutions for current challenges based on this annual forum in which scientists and technology managers gather to explore frontier areas for the chemical industry. The industry's future, we argue, lies in a strategic “wager” on disruptive technologies, balanced by incremental steps to develop new feedstocks and manufacturing processes that yield novel materials with less environmental impact.

Research Frontiers for the Chemical Industry: A Report on the First Annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day, Warren G. Schlinger Symposium

by Cyrus Mody and Arthur Daemmrich | View • Download • Purchase

Over the past century the chemical industry has been marked by transformations related to product and process innovations, the evolution of global markets, and the expansion of regulatory mandates. Today, the chemical industry faces a unique set of challenges from the rapid emergence of new fields and the maturing of existing methods for manufacturing. Based on findings from the first annual CHF–SCI Innovation Day, which explored frontier areas for industrial chemistry, this white paper argues that the industry’s future lies in exploring diverse areas for research and development (R&D) rather than a narrow focus. As core inventors and manufacturers of the material basis of modern life, chemical firms are uniquely positioned to avoid waves of creative destruction prevalent in other sectors. By reinvigorating R&D, developing new markets, and engaging the public in a new dialogue about the risks and rewards of emerging technology, chemical firms can promote a new wave of innovation and rejuvenate the industry.