PROFILE
As in all great , long-standing organizations , it is easy and tempting to refer to the many people who have contributed to one ’ s history as being “ part of its tapestry ,” every strand important and contributing to the beauty and success of the whole . And then there is Subha Patel .
In her nearly 40 years with International Flavors & Fragrances ( IFF ), this woman of humble beginnings and boundless curiosity has arguably contributed – and continues to contribute – more than her fair share to our legacy . As director of IFF ’ s Nature Inspired Fragrance Technology , it is her job to discover and reveal nature ’ s secrets , helping us share them with the larger world through the artistry of our perfumers . Over the course of her career , she has been able to do so in some surprising and groundbreaking ways . But before I go any further , let ’ s briefly turn back the clock .
Subha ’ s childhood in Kenya gave her many gifts , not the least of which is her deep love and appreciation for nature and how its beauty is expressed - particularly in the aromas of flowers . Like many of us , her memories of can be unlocked through her sense of smell ; the jasmine of her mother ’ s garden , the coffee of her father ’ s business . What she could not have known as a young girl in Kenya is how the power of scent would carry her into a remarkable career .
In 1973 , with an education in organic chemistry and botany from her college in Western India and her new husband in tow , Subha stepped onto the tarmac at JFK airport in New York to start her new life . After a number of positions in several companies , including The Rockefeller University , she was recruited by IFF , joining the analytics lab in 1978 .
“ Before joining IFF , I had never worked in any commercial industry . I was scared stepping out of my academic comfort zone . But the people at IFF made it a home and I am still here .”
She quickly began her vast list of contributions to her new “ home ” – starting with the computerization of the lab for her team and creation a cohesive information ecosystem that allowed Subha and her colleagues to focus on their core work . It was around this time that her attention began to shift to the study of living plants and their fragrances . For example , her team was recognizing that there was a difference between the aroma of living flowers vs . what was captured through traditional fragrance extraction methods . But how to prove it ? They developed a groundbreaking tool – a glass dome able to slip over a living flower – that allowed them to collect and analyze the fragrance molecules of the living bloom . The team soon had the proof they were looking for , confirming their suspicions about the compositional differences . It also set IFF on the path to its signature “ Livings ” approach to fragrance development – still very much in use today and a key part of the IFF fragrances library .
“ Having our IFF Botanical Gardens opened the doors to new opportunities to explore , take risks and really try to understand Nature and bring it to table for IFF ’ s creative teams . Newness from Nature is right under our noses . We ( humans ) try to look farther than our nose to
“ Over the years , I have learned that all the experiences and lessons we ( humans ) have had and learned -- nature already knows them . Every day , walking through to the IFF Botanical Gardens , I learn , see or experience something new . It is truly amazing as there are countless opportunities out there in Nature that we have not even begun to touch . Amazing Nature !” find answers . Deep dive into nature and one will find the answers .”
The technology that brought about the Livings collection opened the door to other areas of exploration . Now that the team could analyze what was previously an ephemeral and uncapturable experience , they did so with abandon . Then they noticed something strange . The aroma molecules captured at one point in the day would be markedly different at another time of the day . Was it an issue with the scientists ? Their tools ? Neither , it turned out . What Subha and her team discovered is that plants , like people , have a natural biorhythm with ebbs and flows of their chemical signals .
The team went on to discover more about the secrets held by the plant world . And then on to another experiment that made the world sit up and take notice .
In 1998 , Subha ’ s team , led by Dr . Braja Mookherjee ( then director of global natural products ), let their imaginations run to the cosmos with what is arguably one of the most famous experiments in the fragrance world . The team hypothesized that there would be a measurable effect on the fragrance of a rose exposed to microgravity for a period of time . Working with the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation Robotics , the experiment was designed for execution on NASA ’ s Space Shuttle mission STS-95 , launching on October 29 , 1998 . They selected a fragrant miniature rose plant , dubbed “ Overnight
18 FRAGRANCE NOTES SUMMER / FALL 2017