IISRP to honour two rubber industry leaders

Houston, Texas – The International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers (IISRP) is to honour two long-standing contributors to the synthetic rubber sector at its 66th annual general meeting in Houston, to be held 15 April 2026.

Dr Elizabeth Delzell will receive the IISRP general award in recognition of her work in occupational, environmental, cancer and pharmaco-epidemiology; while the IISRP technical award will go to Dr Irina Yurovska for her technical leadership across the rubber, tire and chemicals sectors.

In a 28 Nov statement, IISRP said Dr Delzell led “a landmark long-term investigation in the North American synthetic rubber polymer industry” that identified 1,3-butadiene as a cause of human leukaemia, a finding that later shaped regulatory approaches.

Her research also highlighted elevated bladder-cancer risks among synthetic rubber workers and contributed to assessing potential cancer links with styrene.

Dr Yurovska, meanwhile, was trained in chemistry, chemical engineering and polymer physics in the former Soviet Union and worked in the tire and aerospace industries before moving to the US in 1991.

She later held senior roles at Teknor Apex, Precix, Cabot, SI Group and Himadri, ultimately retiring as global VP of technical service.

Dr Yurovska holds more than 80 patents and patent applications covering polymer compounding, rubber ingredients, testing and processes.

IISRP said her research has “significantly advanced the understanding of polymer applications and rubber technology.”