HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA – 12 December 2002—A business executive from Taiwan and a scientist from Japan have been named 2003 recipients of the two highest awards granted by the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers, Inc. (IISRP).
Dr. Dah-Chieh Otto Cheng, formerly Executive Vice President of Taiwan Synthetic Rubber Corporation (TSRC), will receive the General Award, and Nobunori Maehara, retired from Ube Industries, Ltd., will receive the Technical Award. The awards will be formally presented during the IISRP’s 44th Annual General Meeting in Beijing, China, the week of 19 May 2003.
Dr. Cheng is being honored for his numerous contributions to the synthetic rubber industry, most importantly to the IISRP. He spent much of his career at TSRC in varying executive capacities and is still a member of the TSRC Board of Directors.
After graduating from Michigan State University with a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, Dr. Cheng was employed at Tennessee Eastman, Wei-Chuan Food Corporation, Union Petrochemical Corporation, and at Everlight Chemical Industrial Corporation. He is currently President of Taita Chemical Company.
During his career at TSRC, he became the Director Representative to the IISRP and a member of the Institute’s Executive and Performance Review Committees. He also served as the Institute’s 1998-99 President-International.
Mr. Maehara is being honored for his technical contributions in the research, development and industrialization of polybutadiene elastomers. Following his graduation from Kyoto University in 1964, he started his career at Ube Industries where he contributed to the industrialization of polybutadiene at Chiba Petrochemical and technology exchange at TSRC.
He has numerous patents, most notably in the successful industrialization of VCR, Ube’s reinforced polybutadiene, a product that has both current and future applications in tire elastomers. His career took him to the most senior management positions before his retirement as President of Ube Maintenance.
The IISRP is an international not-for-profit trade association with 47 corporate members domiciled in 21 countries producing more than 90% of the world’s supply of synthetic rubber. Incorporated in 1960 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, the Institute supports regional offices in London and Tokyo.
