SAM MORELL
President, samMorell.com
Could you please share your current role, what it entails, and what excites you most about it?
I’m president of samMorell.com, a specialty chemicals consultancy that builds technical competence across the coatings supply chain. I design and deliver courses, onsite or virtual, for R&D, sales, and marketing teams. We also elevate our clients’ visibility through conference presentations, instructional videos, and data-driven email campaigns. What excites me most is turning complex chemistry into practical solutions that empower professionals to innovate faster while giving companies a sharper competitive edge.
What brought you to the coatings industry? Was it part of the plan, or did you discover coatings along the way?
I entered the specialty chemicals field in 1970, right after earning a degree in Chemical Engineering from New York University. Coatings surfaced on my radar nine years later, when I joined Air Products and Chemicals’ Specialty Chemicals Division and began working with performance additives. The sector wasn’t part of my original roadmap, but its blend of rigorous chemistry, fast-paced innovation, and immediately visible results captured my interest and has held it ever since.
How do you stay current with advancements in coatings technology?
I stay on the leading edge of coatings technology by attending industry symposia almost every month. Hearing the same topic dissected by multiple presenters, from formulators to raw material suppliers, sharpens my technical perspective and reveals nuances that a single source might miss. These regular touchpoints not only keep me current on emerging chemistries and application methods but also spark the cross-disciplinary conversations that often translate theory into real-world innovation.
Are there any misconceptions about your role or industry that you’d like to correct?
Absolutely. Many people hear the word “paint” and picture a simple commodity, yet a single gallon embodies advanced science. It blends polymers, reactive carriers, engineered pigments, and precision-tuned additives all orchestrated for durability, aesthetics, and sustainability. Harmonizing these components calls for deep expertise in chemistry, physics, optics, and mathematics. Coatings, therefore, is a proving ground for multidisciplinary innovation: master this field and you’re equipped to excel in virtually any technology-driven industry.
How has the coatings industry changed since you entered it?
Since I entered coatings in 1979, the environmental mandate has radically reshaped the field. Solvent-heavy paints and coatings have yielded to waterborne, high-solids, UV-curable, and powder technologies that cut VOCs by orders of magnitude. Lead, chromate, and other legacy hazards have been eliminated, and the industry is now phasing out APEO surfactants and PFAS surface modifiers in favor of safer alternatives. Life-cycle analysis, carbon accounting, and circular-economy thinking are embedded in R&D, ensuring that every performance gain is matched by measurable sustainability metrics.
What keeps you motivated and eager to come to work each day?
What energizes me each day is the chance to turn complex chemistry into insights others can apply immediately. Preparing and presenting technical papers at conferences pushes me to stay curious and refine my own understanding, but the real reward comes when attendees tell me a concept clicked or a solution now feels within reach. That instant feedback loop (watching knowledge spark innovation) is deeply motivating and reminds me that our shared learning accelerates the entire industry’s progress.
Sam Morell is a Chemical Engineering graduate of New York University and founder of samMorell.com, a specialty chemicals consulting firm. His work experience includes both technical and marketing positions at Rohm and Haas, BASF, and Air Products and Chemicals.
Morell has authored numerous technical articles on additives, pigments, and resins in a wide array of publications. He has also presented technical papers, short courses, and workshops at various regional, national, and international symposia, including the American Coatings Show, the Waterborne Symposium, the European Coatings Show, ChinaCoat, and Coatings Trends and Technologies.