One signal

Lubrizol says it is using connected technical data, cloud computing and modelling to help researchers explore ideas before running physical experiments. The specialty chemicals maker’s IT chief says the aim is to give scientists better tools, not replace their judgement.

The account also describes “fusion teams” bringing scientists, data specialists and IT staff together on small pilots. It appears in sponsored content produced by MIT Technology Review’s custom-content arm with Infosys, so treat it as a company case study, not independent reporting. For chemical research, the useful promise is narrowing the options before the lab work begins.

Discuss: How much should companies trust digital modelling to guide experiments, and where should scientists insist on testing things the old-fashioned way?

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