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Kemin Celebrates 40 Years of Hosting Global Scientific Meetings

by Megan Boettcher, Senior WW Digital Communications Specialist
Innovation & Technologies
Company Culture
Careers

Imagine a bustling room filled with the brightest minds in science, all gathered to share their latest groundbreaking discoveries. This is the scene at Kemin's Worldwide Scientific Meeting, an annual event that has been a cornerstone of innovation for the past 40 years

From its humble beginnings in 1986, when Kemin first opened its Innovation Center in Des Moines, Iowa, this event has evolved into a prestigious gathering where scientists from around the globe come together to celebrate their achievements and collaborate on future projects. With the feel of an old-school science fair, but the expertise and polish of seasoned professionals, Kemin's Worldwide Scientific Meeting continues to inspire and drive scientific progress.

What Happens at Kemin’s Worldwide Scientific Meeting?

To showcase their work at the Worldwide Scientific Meeting, global R&D teams submit abstracts to be judged by an outside panel of scientific advisors. The top submissions are invited to present a poster or give an oral presentation of their findings. There are a series of awards given to the colleagues who give the best oral presentations and who have the best poster presentations. Team members are also recognized for other accomplishments, such as contributing to peer review journals or publishing an outstanding white paper.

Why is the Worldwide Scientific Meeting Important to Kemin’s Culture?

“The Worldwide Scientific Meeting is a clear reflection of Kemin’s science culture. It reinforces the belief that ‘everyone is a scientist’—curiosity, critical thinking, and collaboration are part of how we work across all teams,” says Dr. Natasja Smeets, Senior Scientist Global Discovery Research, who is based in Belgium. 

As a global company that often takes advantage of the convenience of online meetings to make cross-functional team collaboration possible, Kemin also values bringing teams together in person to share learnings and best practices. “It’s also a chance to step away from our daily routines and reconnect with the bigger picture,” Smeets says. “Presenting our team’s work and learning from others was truly energizing—it reminded me of the purpose behind what we do and how our research contributes to customer success.”

Kemin Team Members Share Insights on Worldwide Scientific Meeting 

Ye Lao - Senior Vice President, Research & Development

yelao
Ye Lao received a Patent Award from Dr. Chris Nelson, President and CEO and Libby Nelson, Chief Legal Officer at the 2025 Worldwide Scientific Meeting.

 

“Science has always been at the heart of Kemin. Our Worldwide Scientific Meeting provides a valuable opportunity for employees to showcase the exciting progress happening across the company. It reinforces our commercial team’s confidence that Kemin products are firmly grounded in rigorous research, while also strengthening their belief in the innovative new solutions soon to come—helping us serve our customers even better."

"History shows that scientific breakthroughs are often born from collaboration and the exchange of ideas—especially when people with shared or complementary perspectives come together and spark innovation. This event serves as a bridge for fostering research collaboration and meaningful discussion. Each year, our scientists return with fresh research ideas, best practices, and the warmth of having reconnected with colleagues and our scientific advisors in person.”

Rahul Mathew - Scientist, Kemin AquaScience

”The Worldwide Scientific Meeting is a demonstration of the One Kemin culture that brings together the entire scientific community of Kemin. It shows the importance of scientific research in Kemin and helps to understand the variety and quality of research that happens in different Kemin labs. It is also an opportunity to meet and interact with people from different parts of the world, understand diverse cultures, and build bonds beyond our local offices, which makes Kemin a truly global organization."

"The biggest benefit is indeed the sharing of knowledge. It is a great platform to get one’s research critically reviewed and appreciated by the experts. Close interaction between different R&D groups helps to learn, have new ideas and perspectives, and opens possibilities to collaborate.

rahulmathewsWWSM2
Rahul Mathew won third place for his Outstanding Oral Presentation at the 2025 Worldwide Scientific Meeting.

Brenda Fonseca, PhD - Senior Scientist, Clinical Research & Advocacy, Human Nutrition and Health

brendafonseca2
Brenda Fonseca won first place for her Outstanding Oral Presentation at the 2025 Worldwide Scientific Meeting.

“The Worldwide Scientific Meeting represents possibly the most important stage of scientific discovery—the sharing of our results. This is a forum that allows us to present our research for both the praise and the criticism of our colleagues.  It allows us to keep the bar high for our scientific endeavors and gets us thinking about the meaning and true impact of our efforts. The back-and-forth with our colleagues raises our standards, sharpens the next experiment, and helps to keep us focused on why the work we do matters beyond the lab."

"Throughout the year we mostly need to stay focused on our individual areas of research.  Coming together as a company once a year to present our work is a great way to catch up on the science across the company. I always find unexpected overlaps and am able to form productive collaborations with colleagues. Once again, this year I was blown away by the level of science across the entire company—it’s truly impressive and makes me proud to be a part of Kemin.”

Megan Boettcher
Megan Boettcher, Senior WW Digital Communications Specialist

Megan is a strategic communications professional with more than 20 years of experience writing and creating content for B2B and B2C brands. 

 

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