FSCT hosts upcoming VLC on waterborne resin technology.

The FSCT has announced its latest offering in the 2005 series of Virtual Learning Conferences. Dr. Frederick (Fritz) Walker will present "Aspects of Waterborne Resin Technology" on April 21, 2005, from 2:00-3:30 (ET).

Register by April 14 to receive discounts on registration rates.

Course Description

Due to consumer preference for waterborne resin technologies, as well as increasingly stringent environmental regulations, there has been a tremendous shift toward waterborne technology in the coatings industry. Yet water is an unusual carrier for organic polymers, which yields many advantages as well as disadvantages in both resin synthesis and coating formulation and performance. This course discusses emulsion polymerization, polyurethane dispersions, water-reducible resin systems, and two-component waterborne epoxy resin technology. Emphasis is on providing a general understanding of how waterborne resins are prepared, with some discussion of the performance properties these resin technologies offer.

Learning Objectives

* Why water is such an unusual "delivery agent" for resins, and some of the properties it imparts to a formulation;

* Fundamental principles of emulsion polymerization;

* How emulsion polymerization processes are manipulated to yield complex structures at the nanoscale;

* The primary processes for the preparation of polyurethane dispersions;

* Fundamental aspects of water-reducible resin technologies including acrylics, polyesters, and cationic electrodeposition resins;

* How environmental and formulation variables affect the film formation process in WB two-component systems.

About the Instructor

Fritz Walker is a Research Associate with Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., in Allentown, PA. He received a B.A. Degree in Behavioral Biology from Bloomfield College, and the M.S. and Ph.D. Degrees in Physical-Organic Chemistry from Yale University, where his dissertation on the chemistry of small, strained ring propellanes won the Wolfgang Prize.

Dr. Walker started his industrial career in 1982 with Rohm and Haas, and in 1988 became Director of the Michigan Polymer Laboratory for Akzo Coatings. In 1993 he joined Air Products and Chemicals.

Dr. Walker has broad experience in the synthesis and development of novel polymeric materials for use in coating and related products. Most recently his efforts have been focused on the development of new amine curing agents for high-solids and waterborne epoxy coating applications, the study of the process of film formulation in waterborne epoxies, the synthesis of acrylic/urethane hybrid dispersions, and the development of new methods for the polymerization of epoxy resins.

A first place winner of an FSCT Roon award, Dr. Walker holds over 15 patents in diverse areas of coatings technology, has authored chapters in two ACS Symposium Series, and lectures regularly on various aspects of coatings chemistry. He authored the FSCT Series monograph, "Introduction to Polymers and Resins," published in 1999.

Dr. Walker currently serves as the FSCT President, and has served on the Professional Development and Publications Committees, and is a member of the Editorial Review Board for JOURNAL OF COATINGS TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH. He is also a member of the American Chemical Society, and the Society for Protective Coatings.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for formulators and polymer chemists working in coatings and related technology who wish to broaden their knowledge of waterborne resin technology. It will also be of interest to many people who work in sales and marketing functions, as well as people who work in the environmental field, who seek a deeper understanding of the technology that underpins the industry. An undergraduate-level knowledge of polymer chemistry is assumed.

Registration

Early Bird Fees: Register by April 14 to receive the discounted rate of: $349 FSCT member; $399 nonmember.

Regular Fees: After April 14, the registration fee is: $399 FSCT member; $449 nonmember.

Only one fee is charged per location, regardless of how many participate.

To register, visit www.coatingstech.org/Programs/Shows/Schedule.cfm; or phone: [phone] from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm Mountain Standard Time.