2004 Joseph J. Mattiello Memorial Lecture.

The Joseph J. Mattiello Memorial Lecture, presented annually by the FSCT, commemorates the contributions of Joseph J. Mattiello, who served as President of the organization from 1943-44. Dr. Mattiello was instrumental in expanding the application of the sciences in the decorative and protective coatings fields. The Mattiello Lecturer, chosen from among those who have made outstanding contributinos to science, is selected to present a paper on a phase of chemistry, engineering, human relationships, or other sciences fundamental to paint, varnish, lacquer, or related protective or decorative coatings. Mr. Pilcher presented the Mattiello Lecture at the Opening Session of the FSCT's Annual Meeting, October 27-29 in Chicago, IL.

George R. Pilcher

Educational and Professional Background

Upon graduation from the College of Wooster in 1970 with a B.A. in Chemistry, Mr. Pilcher joined the Coil Coatings Laboratory of The Sherwin-Williams Company. Five years later, in 1975, Mr. Pilcher was named Leader of a special task group formed to study the degradation mechanisms of polyester and plastisol coatings exposed in a variety of exterior and accelerated environments. In 1977 he was appointed Manager of the Industrial Coatings and Stores Group for the company and later named Senior Group Manager of Plastisol Coatings in 1980.

In 1981, Mr. Pilcher joined the Hanna Chemical Coatings Corp. as Corporate Technical Director. The company experienced acquisitions by Reliance Universal (1985) and Akzo Coatings Inc. (1989), and mergers with Nobel (1994) and Courtaulds (1998). Now called Akzo Nobel Coatings Inc., Mr. Pilcher holds the position of Technical Director for Coil and Extrusion Coatings in the Americas and The Peoples' Republic of China. In this capacity, he is in charge of both research and technology development for new coatings in these geographical areas, as well as for technology sharing throughout Akzo Nobel's global coil and extrusion laboratories.

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Career Highlights

Mr. Pilcher has published over 20 invited papers in numerous U.S. and European technical journals, and has written several book chapters, including "Saturated Polyester Coatings," in Organic Coatings: Their Origin and Development, edited by Herman F. Mark and Raymond B. Seymour (Elsevier).

A much sought-after lecturer and industry spokesman, Mr. Pilcher has delivered several dozen papers to a global audience. As part of the Year 2000 celebrations, he delivered the Keynote Address at the Fall Meeting of the National Coil Coating Association (NCCA) in Chicago, which he repeated later in the year at the European Coil Coatings Association (ECCA), in Brussels. More recently, Mr. Pilcher delivered keynote addresses at the first Pan American Coatings Conference in Buenos Aires in 2001, and at FATIPEC in 2002 in Dresden, followed later that year by an address to the biennial meeting of InterZAC, an international organization dedicated to issues surrounding the manufacture and use of zinc-aluminum coated coiled metal, in Seoul, Korea.

Mr. Pilcher chaired both the Gordon Research Conference on the Chemistry and Physics of Coatings and Films in 1991 and the Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Division (PMSE) of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in 1993. In 1995 he became the first American to be elected an Honorary "Corresponding Member" of the Paint and Pigment Division of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker and, in 1996, Mr. Pilcher was presented with the George Baugh Heckel Award, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the coatings industry. Mr. Pilcher was appointed to the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Athens Conference in 1998, and was elected a Fellow of PMSE in 2001.

Industry Contributions

Mr. Pilcher served as Chair of the Professional Development Committee of the FSCT (1987-89), and as President of the Coatings Industry Education Foundation (CIEF) from 1989-95.

During the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Mr. Pilcher served as an instructor in a variety of short courses dealing with pigments and pigment dispersion at Kent State University. He also acted as an advisor during the planning stages of the National Science Foundation Coatings Center on the campus of Eastern Michigan University, and served on the Center's Board of Advisors from 1993-1996.

Mr. Pilcher is a member of the Coil Coating Subcommittee (D01.53) of ASTM and worked extensively with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency with respect to the use of lead and heavy metals in paints and coatings.

A member of the CDIC Society for Coatings Technology, Mr. Pilcher currently serves on the Editorial Review Board of JCT RESEARCH, as well as the Advisory Board for JCT COATINGSTECH.