in order to validate the need and to begin the discussion regarding requirements or specifications.


We think of those things as platforms, about some of the things you’re describ- ing. So if I take nano as an example, sure, we’re doing stuff in the nano world, and we have for decades. What would happen that became kind of interesting over the last decade and a half or so is that first, our analytical tools have improved to the point where you can actually start to visualize some of this. So it made it real for people.


But to come back to your question, we can talk about something like block copolymers as an example.


Army AL&T: And what are those?


Dirkx: Tis is a hard one to describe. If you think of a polymer as a kind of a plate of spaghetti, it’s all these long chains of molecules represented by the noodles of spaghetti. Te property of that material will be based on the chemistry of these long spaghetti noodles, how long they are and how they’re held together, the bond- ing in between. One of the options you have in making a polymer is to think of one of those noodles. It’s got two ends to it. One end is one chemistry and one end is another chemistry, and so we refer to those as blocks. So put a line in the middle of that thing. Half of it could be hydrophobic and the other half could be hydrophilic—water-loving and water- repelling. And you can marry those chemistries, again at a nano scale. Now the properties of that polymer that’s made up of all that plate of spaghetti has the combination of the two properties that I just gave you as an example.


Te world knows about block copoly- mers, but my point was to use that as


FILM INDUSTRY


An Arkema technician tests experimental polymer film. As Dirkx explains it, the company’s technology goes downstream along a supply chain of parts suppliers in a variety of industries. Because of that, the company needs to be able to formulate and make products that their customers might make in order to make sure they can meet customer requirements.


another example, like nano, of what we would consider a technical platform. Or I think I talked about it as a tool in our toolbox that we would use as a potential solution to a challenge in the marketplace or an opportunity in the marketplace. And we call them a number of things— core competencies, platforms—that define our skill set inside of Arkema, that


we [use] to try to bring solutions to the marketplace.


Army AL&T: Te chemical industry


is heavily regulated, and Arkema is an international company. Do you take reg- ulatory requirements into consideration when establishing requirements for your research and development? What sort of


ASC.ARMY.MIL


85


CRITICAL THINKING


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156