WASHINGTON — The American Coatings Association (ACA) presented its 2021 CoatingsTech Best Paper Award to Hamid Asemani, R&D scientist at Rust-Oleum Corp. and Ph.D. fellow at Eastern Michigan University. Asemani received the honor at the 2021 CoatingsTech Conference, held June 28-29 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for his paper and presentation titled, “Advanced Dual-curable Coatings Obtained from Multi-Functional Non-Isocyanate Polyurethane Oligomers.” This paper was co-authored by Prof. Vijay Mannari of Eastern Michigan University, who also directed this research as part of Asemani’s Ph.D. research endeavors.

The CoatingsTech Best Paper Award recognizes the best overall paper contributed to the CoatingsTech Conference, and is accompanied by a cash prize. Asemani’s paper addressed how solvent-based, two-component polyurethane (2k-NIPU systems) based on the reaction of cyclic carbonates and amines have emerged as a promising option to meet the on-site application and performance requirements for many coating applications. In his presentation, he also noted some drawbacks such as low reactivity at ambient temperature, higher usage of VOCs due to increased viscosity, and lower crosslinking densities, due to reduced functionality of the oligomers.

Asemani earned his Ph.D. in polymers and coatings from Eastern Michigan University. He also holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in polymer engineering from Tehran’s Polytechnic University in Iran. Asemani has six years of R&D experience in the fields of synthesis and characterization of polymers and resins, formulation of high-performance coatings, and development of corrosion-resistant coatings and chromium-free surface pre-treatments.

Through a series of specialized lectures from notable industry experts and focused technical sessions, ACA’s CoatingsTech Conference provides a forum for all levels of coatings professionals and students to participate and learn from each other. Embracing the theme, “Essential Coatings Technology: Supporting Tomorrow’s Sustainable Development Challenges Today,” the 2021 conference featured the latest science and technology developments, including advance notice on technology-forcing factors to help industry set a sustainable trajectory for the future.