KING OF PRUSSIA, PA — The American Coatings Association (ACA) has named Dr. Wenjun Wu, Research Fellow at Arkema Coating Resins and global waterborne technology and innovation leader, as the recipient of the 2021 Mattiello Memorial Lecture Award. Wu will present her award-winning lecture at the 2021 CoatingsTech Conference, to be held Tuesday, June 29 at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh.

"Dr. Wu continues to lead both Arkema and the coatings industry in terms of innovation and product development," said Richard Jenkins, Senior Vice President and Member of the Executive Committee at Arkema. "Her efforts help our customers worldwide tackle some of the greatest challenges of our industry. There is no one more deserving of this award."

Dr. Wu is a proven leader in the industry who has developed numerous technology platforms and successfully commercialized more than 20 new binders and rheology modifiers for applications in architectural coatings, personal care and aircraft anti-icing fluids. A certified Six Sigma Black Belt, she has also held positions such as Research Leader and Intellectual Capital Manager with leading global companies. Wu received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Peking University, and Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. She was a postdoctoral researcher at Henkel Corp. from 1995 to 1996.

Wu is the recipient of many other industry honors, including the Best Paper Award at the 2019 European Coatings Show, with coauthor Dr. Christopher Miller of Arkema, the Siltech Best Paper for Innovation Award at the 46^th Waterborne Symposium, the American Coatings Show Best Paper Award, the European Coatings Show Best Paper Award, a Roon Foundation Award, and Society of Cosmetic Chemist Award. In addition, Wu has received 41 internal awards including two-time Arkema CEO Performance Awards and two technology center awards from The Dow Chemical Co. She is a recognized expert on emulsion polymerization, colloid and surface science and latex polymer characterization, as well as design of experiment (DOE) and statistical analysis.