WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dr. John Hook, retired Senior Research Fellow at Dow Coatings Materials (formerly Rohm & Haas), will deliver the Mattiello Memorial Lecture at the American Coatings Conference (ACC), April 7-9, 2014, in Atlanta. Held in conjunction with the American Coatings Show, which will take place April 8-10, the ACC is the leading scientific event for the coatings industry. The American Coatings Association organizes the event in partnership with Vincentz Network.

Hook is a distinguished scientist who has made significant contributions to the paint and coatings industry over the course of his 32-year career. He joined Rohm & Haas in 1979 as the applications lead for the development and commercialization of the ROPAQUE™ opaque polymer platform, which he led through its first two generations: ROPAQUE™ OP-42 AND OP-62. This early work led to the first of his two Roon Foundation Awards in 1984.

During his career, Hook focused his efforts on the evolution of a computer program that would become an expert system for paint formulation and accelerate the adoption of opaque polymers. The resulting expert system remains in use today, helping formulators predict paint properties and take the guesswork out of formulation.

Hook returned to the work he had done for the opaque polymer platform and subsequently led the launch of the breakthrough EVOQUE™ pre-composite polymer technology, which was designed to help formulators further optimize the hiding efficiency of titanium dioxide.