The Hindu Business Line : ‘Developing technology to meet market needs is DuPont’s priority’

Hyderabad, Jan. 18 If men of Indian origin have been blazing a new trail, reaching the top slot in the information technology (IT), banking and telecom sectors globally in the last year, their women counterparts have not been far behind.

For instance, while Ms Indra Nooyi is at the helm of PepsiCo, Ms Padmashree Warrier is the Chief Technology Officer with Cisco Systems. In the world of science, where women are few in numbers, Dr Uma Chowdhry has scaled new heights, becoming the Chief Science and Technology Officer (CTO) of the $28-billion DuPont, based in Wilmington, US.

In her new role, Dr Uma Chowdhry, who hails from Mumbai, is responsible for the Research and Development (R&D) effort of the Delaware-based, science-driven company.

DuPont’s R&D budget, including engineering and technical, is $1.7 billion, which translates to more than the turnover of India’s top pharma company, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, during fiscal 2006-07.

With an MS from Caltech in Engineering Science and a PhD in materials from MIT, Dr Uma Chowdhry joined DuPont in 1977 as a research scientist in the Central R&D at the DuPont Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware.

Today, as Senior Vice-President and CTO, she is overseeing frontline research activity in all the five R&D centres of the company across the globe and the upcoming one in India at Hyderabad.

On a visit to the DuPont Knowledge Centre (DKC) recently, which is taking shape in Hyderabad, Dr Uma Chowdhry shared some of the new initiatives of the company, the role for the DKC, and the potential offered by India in the world of research. Excerpts from the interview:

As an integrated science company, Du Pont is virtually exploring every cutting-edge technology for new breakthroughs. Is there any exciting area that the company is still to enter?

Yes, at Du Pont Research Centres our scientists are working on a wide range of subjects. But, a couple of areas where we would increase our investments and research efforts would be in new materials for solar photovoltaic (SPV) and in the field of alternate energy. Bio-based materials and fuels will get due attention.

Our route would be to invest heavily in biology-based fuel development like ethanol, butanol from corn and cellulose from corn. The spotlight would be on different energy feedstock. For India, we will opt for non-food part of the feedstock.

Development of construction material, that is energy efficient and adds value to homes, and improved and newer water management technologies are other key areas.

We are about to start investing in filtration, re-use, air-filtration techniques. Plans are afoot to integrate nano science in this entire exercise.

With an impressive $1.3 billion allocated to R&D, what are the areas in which the company is planning to drive its research efforts?

Crop genetics, bio-fuels, alternate energy, safety and protection, connectivity, nano materials, construction, new electronic material for display (like cell phones), will see an increased attention from the various R&D centres of the company. At present, Du Pont has 5 centres, including one in China. In bio-based material, the company recently achieved a breakthrough with the development of Sorona, which is derived from Propanediol.

The new polymer can be used in textiles, carpets, auto parts, etc. and is a product of biotechnology and material sciences. More than $100 million has been invested in a production plant in the US.

DuPont is bullish about this versatile, biotech material, which is the product of extensive research.

Company scientists have successfully modified bacteria, which they use to get propanediol from corn sugar which is the raw material, she said.

The next bio-material called Ceranol, which could go into a variety of engineering polymers and automotive products, is also in advanced stage of development. A range of eco-friendly products in the personal care segment are in the pipeline.

Since research in some of the newer areas calls for high investments and risks, is DuPont exploring global collaborations. Is India on the radar?

Yes indeed. One of the best ways to optimise investments, cut time from lab to market and reach larger markets is to have R&D collaborations globally. DuPont has a large collaborative programme with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The identified areas of work are biotechnology and new materials.

In the Indian context, DuPont forged a global research agreement with the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune in 2005. The effort was to have research projects at NCL to develop DuPont titanium technologies business.

What is the status of the NCL collaboration?

We have been able to develop a part of the process for titanium dioxide. We will incorporate it into the titanium technologies. With this, different raw materials to coat titanium dioxide have been completed now.

Another area of interest is nano technologies. If opportunities exist we will grow new partnerships with NCL in the future and extend the collaboration.

How did Du Pont zero-in on India to locate the DuPont Knowledge Centre (DKC)?

Our strategy has been to grow wherever opportunities exist. India and China offer the right mix now. In India, we find the very best talent, entrepreneurship, skill and language which blends well with the future goals of the company.

Hence, the decision to locate DKC in India, especially in Hyderabad. It will be the largest R&D Centre outside the US for the company. It is expected to host about 600 scientists and engineers and see an investment of around Rs 300 crore.

Will the DKC be involved in ‘blue sky’ research, with basic work, or develop products that would generate revenues in the long run?

We are a market-driven service company.

Therefore developing technologies to meet market needs and demands will be the priority. In this endeavour we will have strategic alliances with Indian research institutes and companies, other than pharma.

Having started research activity from a temporary facility, with 40 scientists already recruited, we are forging partnerships with ICRISAT, Osmania University, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Agriculture Universities.

What is unique about DKC?

DKC is the first of its kind facility which integrates research, engineering and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), all under one roof.

Du Pont is keen that it works so that the model can be replicated in other countries in the future. In three years, we hope to have a product and generate IPR from here.

What are the key areas of research that DKC would take up in the initial phase?

Agri biotechnology, especially in corn, mustard and rice will be the focus area. We are planning a centre of excellence in hybrid research with synergy from Pioneer Seeds, a subsidiary.

Industrial biotech with emphasis on plant wastes, photovoltaic materials, water technologies, nano science and engineering will see a separate group established.

The objective would be to enhance properties of various plastics materials with different applications. Automobile and infrastructure are other areas.

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