ROLLA, MO - Missouri S&T (formerly UMR) announced its short course and online course offerings for the spring.

"Basic Composition of Coatings" will be offered March 16-20. This course is intended for new personnel in the coatings profession. It targets the components of coatings (resin, pigments, extenders, solvents and additives), testing and specifications, general formulation, and manufacturing methods. It is primarily a lecture course with several laboratory demonstrations.

"Introduction to Paint Formulation" will be offered May 18-22. This course is intended to provide a fundamental knowledge of how to approach a starting formulation and troubleshoot it. The course involves both lecture and laboratory work.

For more information about these courses, visit http://coatings.mst.edu. To register, e-mail mstformulation@mst.edu or call 573/341.4419. These courses are held on the Rolla, MO, campus.

Missouri S&Tis offering its "Introduction to the Coating Systems" online short course. This course is targeted for automotive and aviation OEM companies. The self-paced seminar will cover the painting system from the composition of paints to the evaluation of the dry film. Pigments, resin, solvents and additives will be discussed including their influence on the coatings performance.  Color measurement, surface profile and other evaluation criteria will be related to composition. The importance of surface preparation and other manufacturing criteria will show the system complexity and each step's importance.

Missouri S&Tis also offering its "Surface Defects: Elimination from Human and Process Contaminants" online short course. This course addresses many of the issues in prevention and minimization of defects. The course covers defects caused by the coatings process, as well as human issues, including personal care product causes. Several surface defects are discussed, including basic principles and real-world automotive and aircraft examples. The highly practical approach of this course will help personnel involved in the painting operation to reduce and systematically approach issues.