Series I contains the records of the Pioneering Research Division. These files contain research reports and related memoranda and correspondence, as well as minutes of staff meetings and the patent steering committee. Research studies that investigate the relationship between fiber behavior and polymer structure document ground-breaking research into the physical properties of nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate, viscose rayon, cellophane, polyhydrocarbons, vinyl polymers, polyester, and acrylic fibers. A complete set of serial reports from 1930 to 1955 describe the development of polymers and the polymerization process as it related to the commercial appeal of DuPont's line of synthetic fiber products. The correspondence of laboratory director William Hale Charch (1898-1958) provides insights into how the DuPont Company perceived the relationship between research and commercial markets.