NEW ORLEANS - The 38th Annual Waterborne Symposium, which took place February 28-March 4 in New Orleans, saw exciting growth in all areas of the conference. Sponsored by the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials at The University of Southern Mississippi, the event had 267 attendees and 24 exhibitors.

Plenary Speaker Michael Cunningham, from Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada, commented, "This was my first Waterborne Symposium. The conference was really impressive, excellent technical program, good balance of applied and fundamental research, superbly organized, and with great networking opportunities."

David Vanzin, Technical Manager Specialty Additives, Cytec Industries, commented, “As a first-time attendee/participant, I was extremely impressed with the overall technical content of the symposium and opportunity that it presented to network with numerous industrial and academic contacts. My knowledge of the industry, current trends and the challenges that the coatings industry faces was increased. Also, the training course that I attended, Reformulating to Waterborne Coatings, was extremely well organized and presented, and it provided significant knowledge and insight into the various coatings and additives technologies. I will definitely attend in future years.”

The 39th Waterborne Symposium will take place February 13-17, 2012, at the New Orleans Marriott.