Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs
We produce materials essential for human progress
We are the largest mining and metals company operating in Canada today
We work hard to leave a lasting, positive legacy everywhere we work
Get the latest news, stories and updates
Discover more about life at Rio Tinto
Josette has big dreams – and, lucky for us, she’s set on making them a reality.
“I think after my life on this planet, I want to leave a good mark – a little part of a better world from me. That's my mission,” says Josette, Director of Arvida Research & Development Centre (ARDC).
The ARDC is a part of the innovation hub for our high-end aluminium product development, the Aluminium Technology Solution group. It’s home to a lot of our breakthroughs over the years – like Revolution-AL™, a new alloy designed to make lighter and stronger car wheels to help reduce CO2 emissions.
The ARDC team has a big goal: Advance the aluminum industry with cutting-edge R&D and support our goal of creating a more sustainable future.
“We’re constantly looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact. And to do that, we have to believe it’s possible,” Josette says.
The key to realising ambitious innovation goals, Josette says, is “mind mixing.”
What’s “mind mixing,” you ask? It’s putting the right kinds of brains in the room – a diverse set of expertise across our operations, engineering teams, university partners and customers – to find the sweet spot of creativity and innovation.
And these kinds of “mind mixing” partnerships have a stellar track record: Revolution-AL™ was made possible with the help of our customers, who joined us to trial and test the alloy before launch.
Being on the forefront of aluminium innovation requires having a constant eye on what’s next for the industry. Josette proudly refers to her ARDC team as an “innovation machine” that’s designed to find exciting opportunities and fresh ideas where there weren’t ones before.
“We’re always looking for the next idea to improve our products or come up with a more sustainable way to make them – whether it comes from listening to a customer’s suggestion or making space for a team member’s insights.”
Tapping into her former life as a coach of children’s league baseball, Josette says innovation has a lot to do with getting the right team on the field – just like it does on the baseball diamond.
“It’s about empowering people to be the best they can, to help them come up with ideas and think outside of the box,” Josette says. “Together, our goal is to develop solutions that will make sure that in the future, we will continue to deliver aluminium that’s more and more sustainable.”
And if they’re successful? Well, as they say in baseball, that’s a grand slam.
How we process personal data provided or obtained through this website.
With the exception of the use of cookies, Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of our Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
With the exception of the use of cookies (explained below), Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
Part 1 of this Privacy Policy contains the Rio Tinto Data Privacy Standard, which provides an overview of Rio Tinto’s approach to personal data processing. There is additional information in the appendices to the Data Privacy Standard, including information about disclosures, trans-border data transfers, the exercise of data subject rights and how to make complaints or obtain further information relating to Rio Tinto’s processing of your personal data.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us at digital.comms@riotinto.com).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of this Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
These Cookies are used to provide a better user experience on the site, such as by measuring interactions with particular content or remembering your settings such as language or video playback preferences.
These Cookies allow us to analyse site usage in order to evaluate and improve its performance. They help us know how often you come to our site and when, how long you stay and any performance issues you experience whilst you are on our site.
These Cookies are used by advertising companies to inform and serve personalised ads to your devices based on your interests. These Cookies also facilitate sharing information with social networks or recording your interactions with particular ads.