The 2018 American Coatings Conference will return to the Indianapolis Convention Center in Indianapolis, IN from April 9–11. Geared to the theme of “Building a Lasting Future: Innovation for the World,” presentations will be offered in 16 thematic sessions that will spotlight important innovations in the industry. Beginning on Monday afternoon, April 9, and run-ning through Wednesday morning, the sessions include:

Monday, April 9

SESSION 1: SCIENCE TODAY— COATINGS TOMORROW
Developed with the National Science Foundation, this session will highlight the work of globally renowned scientists on novel materials and new applications. Among the topics to be covered are polymer/surfactant supramolecular assembly, ultrapure lignins recovered from paper-mill black liquors, liquid charging in electrostatic atomizers, self-stimulating antimicrobial photo- catalytic coatings, and colloids with programmable surfaces.

SESSION 2: WOOD COATINGS
The latest advances in coatings for wood, including waterborne alternatives for industrial wood, coatings for mass timber products, and new generation binders for deck finishing, are detailed.

SESSION 3: FUNCTIONAL AND SMART COATINGS
Presentations focusing on this popular topic area include smart, temperature- triggered on-demand release catalysts; novel photocatalytic coatings for industrial coil systems; graphene in conductive coatings; and waterborne superhydrophobic coatings.

SESSION 4: GRINDING & DISPERSING
Speakers will present the latest advances in grinding and dispersing technology, including details on ultra- high solids grinding resins, reactive dispersant technology, easy-dispersing inorganic pigments, and new polymeric dispersants for industrial coatings.

Tuesday, April 10

SESSION 5: ARCHITECTURAL COATINGS I
With a focus on this major market segment, presentations will detail the latest advances in architectural
coatings, including early rain resistance and surfactant leaching-resistant bind- ers, technology advances to enhance versatility of VAE, latex film formation by OCT-gravimetry video method, and the impact of coalescents on deck restoration products.

SESSION 6: POLYURETHANES I
Polyurethanes are one of the most versatile classes of organic coatings. This session presents recent developments, such as polyamide-based polyurethane coatings, self-crosslinking PUD for low-VOC coat- ings, new concepts for high-performance polyol dispersions, and polyamide-based polyurethane coatings.

SESSION 7: RADIATION CURING
Environmental and economic benefits of EB and UV curing has led to the growing pop- ularity of this technology. These six papers focus on the concepts of UV LED-curable resins for industrial wood coatings, hybrid floor coating technology, low-VOC colorants for UV-cured coatings, and silyl-(meth)- acrylate additives for improving waterborne UV-curable coatings.

SESSION 8: MEASURING & TESTING
Testing, analysis, and characterization of raw materials and coatings are essential. This session details such subjects as com- posite particle technology for wax addi- tives; degradation in a stress, mechanism, and response framework; comprehensive stability analysis, and surface and interfa- cial interactions of silane coatings on paper substrates.

SESSION 9: ARCHITECTURAL COATINGS II
Participants can expect to learn about innovative materials and techniques for better performing architectural coatings, such as the use of hollow microspheres in elastomeric cool roof coatings, thermochro- mic additives applied to water-based acrylic coatings, the role of opacifiers in abrasion resistance, and novel silicone additives.

SESSION 10: POLYURETHANES II
The six papers presented explore highly resistant polyurethane dispersions for
high-performance coatings, 1K PUR disper- sions with comparable performance to 2K waterborne coatings, low viscosity polyester polyols for high solids 2K polyurethane coatings, and the application of vinyltri- methoxy silane as moisture scavengers for highly reactive 2K polyurethane coatings.

SESSION 11: EPOXY COATINGS
This session focuses on such topics as new waterborne systems for fast return- to-service, waterborne epoxy systems for anticorrosive and 2K zinc-rich primers, a new waterborne acrylic-epoxy hybrid polymer for metal protection, metal-free catalysts for epoxy-carboxy coatings and polyamine curing agents, and improving the weathering of epoxy-based coatings.

SESSION 12: MEASURING, TESTING & AUTOMATION
Among the compelling topics discussed will be dynamic mechanical analysis of paints for offshore wind towers, aerial robotic (drone) nondestructive testing at height, applications of confocal micros- copy techniques, high throughput experimentation, and robots reading recipes—a semantic framework for coatings science.

Wednesday, April 11

SESSION 13: PROTECTIVE COATINGS
Presentations highlight advances in pro- tective coatings, such as the use of versa- tile high-performance polyol chemistry for broad industrial use, maximizing the performance of low-VOC acrylic metal coatings, advances in polysilazane, and
a new water-based binder for thin film intumescent coatings.

SESSION 14: NOVEL MATERIALS
Responding to increasing interest in novel materials, this session focuses on new industrial minerals, dicyclopentadien- based acrylic resins, next generation thickeners, achieving cobalt performance without the cobalt for waterborne and solventborne systems, and improving adhesion—a continuing challenge with modern, compliant coatings.

SESSION 15: BIOBASED COATINGS
Facing demands for sustainable solutions, the industry is seeking to address such issues without sacrificing performance. Among the topics covered will be low emission, high-performance polyols for wood coatings; soy-based low-temperature powder coatings; new CNSL-based waterborne Zn-rich and epoxy primers; sugar-based neutralizing agents for ecolable certified paint; and novel biobased hybrid resin systems for hygienic coatings.

SESSION 16: BIO-FOULING AND MICROBIAL PROTECTION
Recent research highlighted includes polymerizable surfactants: n-chloramine reservoirs for microbial protection, initiator influence on the encapsulation and leaching of Ag nanoparticles, a new biological antifoulant for marine paints, and a new approach for the preservation of coatings formulations.

REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION
Visit www.american-coatings-show.com/conference for the full Conference program and registration options.