When 3M opened a new state-of-the-art R&D facility at our Minnesota headquarters last week, it marked a major celebration for our scientific community.

My group works to develop new fluoroelastomer and fluoroplastic products, which are high-performing synthetic materials used to make parts and coatings. (Think of the coatings that go on computer network cables.) We engineer these materials to meet demanding sealing applications – among other things – as our products provide protection against high temperatures and corrosive materials. We’ll also be developing new applications for existing products, and providing technical service to our customers.

Our move onto the main 3M campus and this new facility – known as Building 280 – also will allow us to fully participate in the 3M Technical Forum. The “Tech Forum” is where 3M scientists, engineers and others come together to share ideas with our colleagues.

We’ll also be able to more closely interact and cross-pollinate with other divisions and scientists in the corporate labs. This will allow us to accelerate new product introductions and to identify additional applications for our material-based solutions. There are some famous stories about the products that come out of this cross-collaboration, like the mixing technology that was first used in dentists’ offices and is now also used in auto body shops.