One key component of DuPont Science and Technology is the effort of Central Research and Development (CR&D), which employs more than 1,500 people at the Experimental Station and Chestnut Run facilities in Wilmington, Del.

CR&D is the foundation of our science efforts and has been responsible for most of our major product breakthroughs. CR&D provides both leveraged scientific services to the corporation and long-term research activities. In the past two years, CR&D has transitioned to an enhanced research model that has significant benefits to the corporation, including:

• Long-term research focused on providing options and creating new revenue.
• Creation of the Growth Council to select projects and oversee our portfolio to assure growth.
• A research review process to ensure that project goals and business cases are reconciled regularly.
• Leveraged services that provide cutting-edge technology and support to the corporation.

Almost half of CR&D personnel are responsible for leveraged services that provide scientific expertise to the company. Our leveraged technologies organizations are:

• CorporateCenterfor Analytical Science
  Providing cutting-edge capability, applied problem solving and rapid response services.
• CorporateCenterfor Engineering Research
  Developing new engineering science for asset productivity.
• Leveraged Information Technology and Research Services
  Delivering scientific computing, including visualization and bioinformatics, the DuPont Information Repository, Business Intelligence Center, Research Operations and patent support activities for CR&D.

In 1998, DuPont began a transformational change in its approach to long-term, discovery research. DuPont changed from an organization based on scientific competency areas meant to provide discoveries for DuPont to commercialize to the Growth Council research process. The Growth Council process starts with proposals submitted for research projects and must contain a technical and business case for the research to be pursued for DuPont. Each of the proposals is evaluated by a group of senior business leaders within DuPont (Growth Council) who determine if the proposal meets the criteria to resource the proposal. Through this process we manage our long-term research as a portfolio of projects.

Transitioning to this project structure, CR&D developed processes to evaluate, activate, staff, track, develop and, if necessary, terminate projects. Growth Council ensures a continued match between the business case and the technical accomplishments of projects.

Growth Council research is divided into three areas:

• Biochemical Science and Engineering
• Material Science and Engineering
• Chemical Science and Engineering