The Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology (FSCT) has announced that George R. Pilcher of Akzo Nobel Coatings Inc. will present the Joseph J. Mattiello lecture during the organization’s 82th annual meeting, Oct. 27-29. Held at the McCormick Place North, Chicago, IL, the annual meeting will be held in conjunction with the International Coatings Expo (ICE) and the International Coatings Technology Conference. The lecture will be given as part of the FSCT’s opening session on Oct. 27.
The lecturer, chosen from those who have made outstanding contributions to science, is selected to present a paper on a phase of chemistry, engineering, human relationships or other sciences fundamental to paint, varnish, lacquer or related protective or decorative coatings. Pilcher is currently Akzo Nobel’s technical director for coil and extrusion coatings in the Americas and the People’s Republic of China.
Pilcher’s contributions to the advancement of science and technology within the global coatings industry have been recognized by his election to the chairmanship of the Gordon Research Conference on the Chemistry and Physics of Coatings and Films in 1991; to the chairmanship of the Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Division (PMSE) of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in 1993, which went on to elect him a Fellow in 2001; and his appointment to the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Athens Conference in 1998.
In 1995 he became the first American to be elected Honorary “Corresponding Member” of the paint and pigment division of the Gesellschalft Deutscher Chemiker and, in 1996, Pilcher was presented with the FSCT George Baugh Heckel Award, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the coatings industry.