Lubrizol builds digital foundation for R&D with fusion teams

Lubrizol's digital transformation effort is framed by Girish Rao, vice president of information technology, as a way to connect business processes, modern data platforms, and cloud infrastructure for its research and development teams. The company aims to combine decades of accumulated technical data with the deep expertise of chemists and engineers who understand customer needs and physical constraints.

Bringing scientists, data scientists, and IT teams together in fusion teams is central to the approach, with small pilots used to build trust. Rao emphasizes that the goal is not to replace scientific judgment but to give scientists better tools. Cloud infrastructure provides flexibility to access computing resources without building and maintaining own data centers.

These capabilities could prove valuable for sustainability, as digital modeling helps researchers evaluate more formulations and explore materials such as starch and corn-based alternatives. Rao expects AI, automation, advanced modeling, digital twins, and connected data to converge, making laboratories more intelligent and manufacturing plants more efficient.