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Canada Awards for Business Excellence dinner in Award of Excellence in the "invention‘‘ category. This is the third time in the past four years that technology developed through the university‘s Waterloo Centre for Process Development (WCPD) has been a winner in the Canada Awards for Excellience competition â€" silver in 1984, bronze in 1986, and now the gold in 1987. This year‘s recognition is for the invention of a new catalyst for a highly saturated nitrile (HSN) rubber; the rubber performs well and has proven highly durable in a wide variety of hostile environments and over a wide range of temperaâ€" tures (extreme heat, extreme cold) o_ Polysar will be marketing the new rubber products under their TORNAC rubber trade name. TORNAC rubber promises to be beneficial in many advanced technology applications â€" for things such as more durable fan belts for cars (particuâ€" larly important in these days of hotterâ€"running engines) and more reliable seals for space shuttle Specific purposes for which the new rubber has already been earmarked include: high pressure seals, oil well blowout preventers, gaskets, diaphrams, hoses, tubing, flexible fuel cells, conveyor belting (for hot or corrosive materials such as asphalt). bhydraulic systems seals. liners . .. and so on The catalyst used in producing the new rubber was invented by Dr. Garry Rempel, UW chemical engineering professor, whose expertise covers a wide range of kinetics and catalysis applications, in conjunction with Dr. Hormoz Azizian, who was Rempel‘s research associate on the project. What they have come up with is a process for manufacturing HSN rubbers in the presence of a highly selective catalyst. The Rempelâ€"developed catalyst has been patentâ€" ed in 14 countries by Polysar. the leading supplier of synthetic rubbers and plastics to manufacturers both in Canada and abroad. UWâ€"developed technology wins award for excellence ber technology, developed at Waterioo under contract for received the 1987 gold ‘‘The invention should help Canada keep abreast of â€" or even outdo â€" similar current developments in Germany and Japan," commented E.B. (Ted) Cross, executive director of the WCPD. He says Dr. Rempel and his research colleagues are studving other catalysts and process refinements under a series of continuing research contracts arranged through the WCPD." He said work on the HSN project began in 1981. New products resulting from it are almost at the point of coming onto the market (a new plant, now being built by Polysar, is scheduled to be operational this fall). The research was supported by both the Ontario provincial government and the federal governâ€" ment‘s National Research Council, as well as by Polysar. Dr. Garry Rempel WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 1987 â€" PAGE 13