As New Orleans prepared for its first official Mardi Gras since the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States in early 2020, nearly 230 coatings industry formulators, scientists, chemists, and technical managers came together February 20–25 in Louisiana’s Crescent City for the 49th Annual International Waterborne, High-Solids, and Powder Coatings Symposium—better known as the Waterborne Symposium.

people in an exhibit halHosted by the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) School of Polymer Science and Engineering, the Waterborne Symposium offered attendees five days of short courses, technical presentations, a poster session, and in-person networking opportunities.

Three days of optional short courses kicked off the week, leading up to the opening of the symposium on Wednesday, when USM’s Dr. Robson Storey presented the plenary lecture, “Alternative Polyurethane Polymers Cured via Azide-alkyne Cycloaddition.”

Storey is professor emeritus at the USM School of Polymer Science and Engineering, where he has held a faculty appointment since 1983. He has served as chairman or co-chairman of the Waterborne Symposium since 1985.

Following Storey’s presentation, attendees gathered for coffee and networking in the Technology Showcase exhibit hall, where nearly 20 leading suppliers to the industry, including CoatingsTech, offered a firsthand look at related products, equipment, services, and expertise.

After the morning break, Dean Webster, professor and chair of Coatings and Polymeric Materials Department at North Dakota State University, presented the Sidney Lauren Memorial Lecture, “Alternative Crosslinking Polyurethanes (ACPU): Novel Synthesis of Epoxy Functional Polyurethanes.”

The Sidney Lauren Memorial Lecture is a staple of the symposium that memorializes Sidney Lauren, a scientific leader in the coatings industry who served as executive director of the Coatings Research Group and was active in the Coatings Industry Education Foundation, which supported educational programs and curriculums devoted to the sciences of coatings technology.

Following the opening lectures, the technical presentations split into two tracks—waterborne and high solids/general—for the remainder of the event. Organizers report that among the 39 presentations, 28 papers were presented.

At the conclusion of the conference, three presenters were recognized for their papers’ exceptional contributions to the technical program. Top honors for the Siltech Best Paper Innovation Award went to Matthew J. Gadman of King Industries for his presentation, “Unique Catalyst for Low Temperature Cure Epoxy Powder Coatings.”

Earning the PCI Award for Technical Excellence was Otto Soidinsalo of Borregaard for his paper “Microfibrillated Cellulose—The Effect of a Novel and Renewable Multifunctional Additive on Common Waterborne Coating Issues.”

Benjamin M. Alameda of USM was recognized for best student paper for “Hydrolyzable Poly(β -Thioether Ester Ketal) Thermosets via Acyclic Ketal Monomers.”

Image of USM students in New Orleans

(Photo courtesy of Waterborne Symposium) The students recognized in 2022 student poster session are, from left to right, Jonathan Gray, Valeria Collo, Maria Martinez, Catherine Sarantas, Samantha Daymon, and Logan Dugas.

 

Oher students from USM and Louisiana State University also participated in the event, sharing their research with attendees during the poster session that featured 22 student posters. Among the poster presentations, four graduate and two undergraduate student posters were honored in the 2022 Evonik Student Poster Competition:

  • “Diketoenamine-based Vitrimers via Thiol-ene Photopolymerization” by Logan Dugas
  • “A Comparative Study of Hydrogen Bond Organization Between Three Generations of Dendrimers Based on bis-MPA” by Samantha Daymon
  • “Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Frontal Polymerization in Thin Layers for Coatings” by Maria Martinez
  • “Bulky Amines for Covalently Adaptable Polyurethanes” by Catherine Sarantas
  • “Structure-property Relationships of Bioinspired Glycohydrogels for Transcuticalar Drug Delivery Applications” by Valeria Collo
  • “Synthesis and Evaluation of the Oxygen Barrier Properties of Polyisobutylene grafted Edge Oxidized Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Films” by Jonathan Gray

As a crucial component of the USM academic program, the Waterborne Symposium plays a central role in supplying the industry with qualified candidates to fill technical positions. Waterborne attendees meet with graduate and undergraduate students during the student poster session at the Waterborne Symposium in February. Twenty-two student posters were on display. Proceeds help the university recruit and retain students who show promise as future coatings industry innovators, supporting graduate student stipends and undergraduate student scholarships, acquisition and maintenance of equipment, and more.