Sherwin-Williams’ Protective & Marine Coatings announces Mike Yajko as the recipient of the peer-nominated 2014 Innovation Excellence Neyman Award for global technical achievement. Protective & Marine Coatings has won this prestigious award twice since its inception in 2012.

“I’m honored to receive this award on behalf of my research colleagues,” said Mike Yajko, senior chemist for the Protective & Marine Coatings Technology Team. “This recognition is more than a symbol of technical achievements – it represents Sherwin-Williams’ commitment to progressive innovation and technical excellence.”

The award was presented to Yajko for his innovation and leadership on a cross-disciplinary team, which developed a method for visually determining the thickness of applied coatings.

Marine coatings applications typically require thousands of individual dry film thickness (DFT) readings during inspection. The team investigated the possibilities of a self-inspecting coating capable of providing a visual indication of film thickness during application.

Yajko demonstrated a novel non-contact inspection technique that will help applicators and inspectors identify potential defects. This results in returning assets to service quicker and extending the lifecycle of a marine vessel.