Group 1 - Tenneco's Clevite Elastomers business is participating in a research consortium to explore domestic production of natural rubber, aiming to reduce reliance on imports and enhance supply chain security [1][3] - The TARDISS project, funded by a $26 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, involves multiple universities and focuses on crops like guayule, Russian dandelion, and mountain gum [4][5] - Clevite Elastomers is a significant consumer of natural rubber from Southeast Asia and is involved in testing domestically produced rubber for manufacturing [2][5] Group 2 - The project addresses challenges in the current natural rubber supply chain, which is heavily dependent on Southeast Asian countries and faces issues like high costs and environmental risks [3][4] - Tenneco's Executive Vice President emphasized the importance of science in securing supply chains for U.S. industry [3] - The collaboration includes experts from various institutions, indicating a broad approach to solving the supply chain issues [4]