Barbara Haviland Minor facts for kids

Barbara Haviland Minor is an American chemical engineer. She is famous for inventing new refrigerants. These are special chemicals used in things like air conditioners and refrigerators. Her work has helped protect our planet from global warming.

In 2014, Barbara was one of the first women to be named a DuPont Fellow. This is the highest technical honor at the company. In 2018, she won the Perkin Medal. This award celebrates great new ideas in chemistry that lead to important products.

Meet Barbara Minor, the Cool Engineer

Her Journey to Engineering

Barbara Minor studied chemical engineering at Bucknell University. She earned her degree in 1981. This is where she learned how to work with chemicals and design new processes.

Inventing Earth-Friendly Coolants

After college, Barbara started working at a big company called DuPont. Later, she moved to a company called Chemours. For many years, she has been creating new refrigerants. These are the chemicals that make your fridge cold or cool down your car's air conditioning.

Her work is super important for our planet. Old refrigerants used to harm the ozone layer. This layer protects Earth from the sun's harmful rays. Other older refrigerants also made global warming worse. Barbara's goal is to create coolants that do not harm the environment.

The Big Breakthrough: HFO-1234yf

Barbara was the main technical leader for a team at DuPont. They developed a new refrigerant called HFO-1234yf. This chemical is amazing because it helps reduce pollution from car air conditioners by more than 99%.

HFO-1234yf is much better for the environment than older coolants like R-134a. It has a very low global warming potential (GWP). This means it traps much less heat in the atmosphere. It also breaks down in the air much faster.

DuPont worked with another company, Honeywell, on this invention. Today, HFO-1234yf is sold as Opteon yf by Chemours and Solstice yf by Honeywell. By 2018, about half of all new cars used HFO-1234yf for their air conditioning.

More Cool Inventions

Barbara also helped develop other types of refrigerants. These new coolants are used in many different places. They are in supermarket freezers, commercial refrigerators, and even large building air conditioning systems. She also helped create coolants to replace older, less eco-friendly ones. Many of these new coolants mix different chemicals to be more effective and safer for the planet.

Barbara Minor holds more than 160 patents in the United States. A patent means she officially owns the rights to her inventions. Her patents cover refrigerants, cleaning agents, and even aerosol sprays.

She is also a member of important groups like the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). She has led research groups and committees in these organizations.

Awards and Recognition

Barbara Minor has received many awards for her important work:

• 2003: Featured in Woman Engineer magazine as a top DuPont scientist.
• 2010: Won the DuPont Sustainable Growth Award for her work on HFO-1234yf.
• 2014: Named a DuPont Fellow, a very high honor.
• 2016: Received the Distinguished Service Award from ASHRAE.
• 2017: Honored by Bucknell University for her engineering achievements.
• 2018: Awarded the prestigious Perkin Medal.