Name: Jane
Education History: B.S. Texas Tech University, M.S. University of Pittsburgh, PhD University of Pittsburgh
Role: Associate Director, Performance Coatings R&D
Location: Coatings Innovation Center - Allison Park, PA
Business: Aerospace, Architectural Coatings, Protective and Marine Coatings and Automotive Refinish
PPG Start Date: December 1986
Current Position:
I am currently managing the Performance Coatings R&D at the Coatings Innovation Center at Allison Park. This team is responsible for developing resins and coatings for the Architectural, Aerospace, PMC and Refinish coatings businesses. Low chrome/no chrome electrocoat, light weight fillers, waterborne basecoat and topcoat, ice release coatings, exterior stains, tank lining alternatives are a number of the areas under investigation.
Career Path:
My entire career has been spent at CIC. I have worked in a number of departments: Automotive APA formulation, Analytical, Automotive OEM Clearcoat formulation, and Automotive Refinish formulation. Also, I have had the opportunity to work at the Cleveland Plant early in my career as part of the Chemist Trainee Program.
Career Highlight:
One of my favorite projects to date has been wind turbine blade coating development.
Why I Like Working for PPG:
The people, the technologies and the opportunities.
Name: Terri
Education History: PhD, Organic Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh; B.S., Chemistry, Allegheny College
Role: Coatings Research (Senior Research Chemist)
Location: Coatings Innovation Center - Allison Park, PA
Business: Automotive Coatings
PPG Start Date: 2004
Current Position:
Group Leader for Automotive Substrate Protection Formulation Research Team. I oversee a team of chemists and technicians working on multiple research projects to develop new electrodeposition coatings and pretreatments for the automotive and industrial coatings markets.
Career Path:
Prior to PPG, spent 1 year teaching organic chemistry and general chemistry
PPG Career Path:
Synthesis Chemist in Discovery Research and Industrial Coatings team for 2 years.
Project Leader in Industrial Coatings Research on ambient cure coatings for 1 year
Group Leader for Automotive Substrate Protection Formulation Research the past 2 ½ years
Career Highlight:
Recent launch of our new electrocoat at an automotive plant. The product was developed in just over a year’s time and it is rewarding to see success with a new coating that everyone on the team put a lot of effort in to develop.
Why I Like Working for PPG:
With so many diverse areas of technology, there is always something new to learn and work on at PPG. As a leader in the coatings industry, we are always engaged in the development of breakthrough technologies. Coatings research combines so many areas of chemistry; synthesis, materials science, polymers, analytical, physical, etc. that there is always something new to learn from the other associates working on your team.
Name: David
Education History: BS, Rochester Institute of Technology ’95, Ph.D. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, ‘01
Role: Automotive OEM Topcoat (Senior Research Chemist)
Location: Coatings Innovation Center - Allison Park, PA
Business: Automotive Coatings
PPG Start Date: July 2001
Current Position:
As a chemist in the OEM Topcoat Group, I work to provide automotive companies with clearcoats that protect and enhance a car’s appearance. It is our group’s job to work with our resin synthesis chemists and outside suppliers to develop, select, and balance the components of a paint formulation. A typical paint formulation can have as many as 20 different components and needs to provide an optimal balance of physical properties and appearance that will vary from customer to customer.
Career Path:
Started 2001 in Optical Materials, in synthesis of new lens materials for ophthalmic devices. In 2004, I moved to Discovery Synthesis, producing novel pigment dispersants and colorant technologies. I moved to my current formulation position in 2008 to get a better understanding of how the materials I had been inventing are used to produce a marketable product.
Career Highlight:
So far its been seeing a TV commercial for a customer’s product knowing that I helped develop the colorant technology that enabled the design team to achieve the color shown.
Why I Like Working for PPG:
I get to work on many different types of projects and technologies all at the same company.
Name: Hongying (HY)
Education History: BS in Chemistry ---Lanzhou University, China; Ph. D in organic chemistry--- Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Role: Senior Research Chemist
Location: Monroeville Chemical Center - Monroeville, PA
Business: Optical Material
PPG Start Date: September 2006
Current Position:
I am a senior research chemist working in the SSG (Specialty Synthesis Group) at the Monroeville Chemicals Center (MCC) to develop different processes for making small molecules, such as OLED dopants and photochromic dyes for Transition® Lenses.
Career Path:
I obtained my Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics in China before working as a Senior Research Associate at Northwestern University focusing on asymmetric catalytic reactions utilizing chiral catalysts. In 2004 I joined Cambridge Major Laboratories where I conducted research on the process development of pharmaceutical intermediates. I began my career at PPG as a synthetic chemist in 2006, gaining experience in the synthesis of a variety of coating resins and the use of several renewable materials. In 2007, I moved to the Industrial Coating Group to develop the abrasion resistant UV clear coating and bio-based UV curable clear coating. In February of 2009, I was promoted to senior research chemist (I) and moved to SSG at MCC to develop different processes for making OLED material and photochromic dyes.
Career Highlight:
Ph D in organic Chemistry, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, 1997
• Asymmetric catalytic carbonylation of alcohols and olefins
Postdoctoral Fellow and Senior Research Associate at Northwestern University, 1998
• Asymmetric catalytic reactions
Research Scientist, Cambridge Major Laboratories, 2004
• Multiple steps organic synthesis
Research Chemist (I) at PPG Industries, 2006
• Resin synthesis
• Formulation of the UV clear coat
Senior Research Chemist I at PPG Industries, 2009
• Process development
Why I Like Working for PPG:
PPG, a diversified organization, is the world’s leading maker of coatings, flat and fiber glasses, optical materials, as well as other chemicals. People with different races, experience, education and cultural background operate PPG’s businesses in more than 60 countries around the world. For example, we have over 15 countries represented at MCC alone! I enjoy the diversified working climate PPG values and foresters for its employees.
PPG provides a spectrum of exciting opportunities for its employees’ career interest development. Since joined PPG, I have had the opportunities to make coatings resins, formulate surface coatings, and develop new chemical process. PPG encourages continuous learning and growing, which is crucial to meet PPG’s business goals and unlock employees’ potential.
Science and technology have been the core piece of PPG’s business in its 125-year innovation history. As a member of technical community, I like PPG’s commitment to developing breakthrough technologies to address the challenges human society is facing, such as energy and the environment.
Name: Jun Deng
Education History: PhD in Computational Chemistry
Role: Research Associate
Location: Allison Park
Business: Corporate
PPG Start Date:
Current Position:
I support research activities at PPG’s Coatings Innovation Center using computational chemistry/molecular modeling – chemical innovation from virtual lab
Career Path:
I’ve worked in the Science and Technology area. My goal is to advance in the scientific ladder focusing on project/program management in a global R&D setting.
Career Highlight:
I am a co-inventor of six patents in the area of Transitions lens, Teslin sheet, metal free catalysis for coating cure and OLED material; I’ve also contributed to different SBUs on diverse coating platforms to enhance properties, lower the cost and enable greener technologies.
Why I Like Working for PPG:
PPG is a company that offers steady, consistent career growth. I also like the stability of PPG.