2024 Pre-Conference Tutorials
Prior to the American Coatings Conference kickoff, nine pre-conference tutorials will be offered to those seeking introductions and refreshers to topical coatings science.
Tuesday, April 30 | 8:00 am – 11:30 am
Tutorial 1:
RAY FERNANDO, CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY
This tutorial is designed for new coatings technology professionals and will introduce a broad range of practical coatings knowledge across product categories. Participants will be able to apply the learnings to tackle innovation challenges and reduce research & development cycle time.
TUTORIAL 2:
BRIAN SKERRY, CONSULTANT (FORMERLY OF THE SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY)
What principles govern the corrosion of metals, and how can protective coatings help in preventing corrosion? This tutorial will review the fundamentals of electrochemical processes, and typical ingredients and formulation characteristics of anticorrosive coatings will be outlined and discussed.
TUTORIAL 3:
MIKE JEFFRIES, COVESTRO
Their chemistry is very versatile, as is their application and application potential: Polyurethane (PUR) coatings and their typical components — polyisocyanates and polyols — will be reviewed and compared in this tutorial. This includes a discussion of the various PUR coatings technologies in use, their advantages and limitations, such as 1K and 2K solvent-borne, as well as waterborne chemistries, radiation-curing PUR coatings, and PUR powder coatings formulations, and their typical end-use applications.
TUTORIAL 4:
JAMES RAWLINS, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
This tutorial will present recent academic and commercial technologies that provide the basis for the development of functional films. A brief discussion of materials, characteristics for polymers and coatings, underlying principles, types and examples of functional films/coatings, approaches for their preparation and property performance, unique active properties, applications, and emerging markets will be discussed.
TUTORIAL 5:
Beth Ann Browne, LANXESS
Prevention of microbial contamination in the wet-state and microbial defacement of the dry-film are critical objectives for coatings manufacturers. Biocide selection is complex, and formulators need to consider global regulatory status, sustainability concerns, and impact on paint properties, in addition to antimicrobial efficacy spectra, including resilient microorganisms that thrive in manufacturing facilities. This tutorial will guide participants through the biocide selection process. Topics will include in-can preservation (including a bacteriology overview, detecting and enumerating contaminants, and in-can test methodologies), dry-film protection (including fungal overview, dry-film defacement, and test methods), biocidal chemistry overview, and regulatory overview. Microbial audits of manufacturing facilities and industrial hygiene will also be discussed.
TUTORIAL 6:
Erik Sapper, CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications are making broad and deep impacts in diverse fields and industries around the world. Polymer chemists are familiar with structure-property relationships that are used to describe the properties of macromolecules. Coatings formulators are becoming more adept at using principles of statistics and designed experiments to optimize their formulations and production processes. This tutorial will introduce attendees to a new way of approaching formulation science that augments traditional thinking with artificial intelligence and machine learning tactics and strategies. Strategies for implementing AI/ML workflows in the laboratory will be discussed, as will approaches for handling unstructured, textual data. No prior mathematical or computational background is expected of attendees.
TUTORIAL 7:
MIchael Dvorchak, Dvorchak Enterprises
This tutorial will introduce UV/EB-cure chemistry and its in-depth applications. Specifically, it will cover the fundamental principles of free-radical chemistry as it centers around the use of 100% solids UV Cure Aromatic/Aliphatic Polyurethanes, Epoxy, Polyesters, Polyether oligomers and their use with monomeric acrylates in combination with specific photoinitiators. The tutorial will look at the issues of surface inhibition on free-radical chemistries and techniques to limit this problem. UV light sources covered will include full spectrum UV light sources, UV-A light sources, fluorescent UV lights and UV-A LEDs. The tutorial will share techniques to ensure equipment and light sources are providing optimum performance, curing of highly pigmented UV Cure Coatings will also be described. The tutorial will highlight the development and use of UV-cure coatings for the automotive and aerospace industries. The session will examine some of the newest technologies that use water and high MW polymers, which are the ‘green of the green coatings’ technologies.
TUTORIAL 8:
Jamil Baghdachi, Eastern Michigan University
Smart Coatings include novel, high performance, multifunctional and sustainable coatings and are the most recent global trends in coating technologies. Coatings such as corrosion sensing, easy-clean, primer-less, superhydrophobic, color changing, self-healing/self-stratifying, shape-memory, etc., not only provide those functionalities; due to their unique attributes, they are also environmentally friendly, sustainable, high performance, and cost-effective. These coatings have been shown to provide novel properties and values. This tutorial will briefly discuss the most recent Smart Coatings technologies, coating properties, applications, benefits, and values.
TUTORIAL 9:
Darin Laird, PPG
PPG has been working toward public sustainability goals that focus on key challenges for us, our customers, and society at large. Since our first set of sustainability goals in 2012, we have focused our efforts where we can make the most significant impact. This tutorial will provide insights into establishing sustainability goals and identifying measurable targets that align with enterprise-wide priorities. Critical to this effort is understanding how sustainability practices impact our stakeholders, drawing on such global collaborations as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This tutorial will cover how sustainability is everyone’s responsibility, everyone is someone else’s customer, and why the needs across the value chain are similar. We will discuss why sustainability efforts require engagement and accountability across all points in the value chain including decarbonization, circular economy and material efficiency, sustainable product innovation, and the evolving regulatory environment.