Professor Raymond Fernando Arthur C. Edwards Chair in Coatings Technology and Ecology Chemistry and Biochemistry Department California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) San Luis Obispo, California, USA
Professor Ray Fernando has been the occupant of the Arthur C. Edwards Endowed Chair in Coatings Technology and Ecology within the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) since 2002. He is also the director of Cal Poly’s Kenneth N. Edwards Western Coatings Technology Center.
Ray received his B.Sc. (Special) degree in Chemistry in Sri Lanka in 1979 and received his Ph.D. in 1986 from the North Dakota State University, USA in Polymers and Coatings, emphasizing studies in the coating rheology field.
He has fifteen years of industrial experience in coatings, with extensive knowledge in waterborne technology. He was a Lead Research Scientist in R&D at Air Products and Chemicals, involved with the rheology of a wide range of coatings and adhesives, coatings for electronics, and nanocomposites, and was a Program Manager for Armstrong World Industries, running the coating research program that supported global manufacturing and marketing needs of Armstrong Building Products Division. His current research at Cal Poly includes understanding relationships between rheology and syneresis of waterborne coatings and nanoparticle and other additive effects on coatings for industrial and packaging applications.
Ray has many publications and patents, and has been a presenter of numerous lectures, seminars, workshops, and short courses related to coatings science and technology. He is the co-editor of a book on the topic of Nanotechnology Applications in Coatings. He has served and chaired in various technical committees of the American Coatings Association and the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology (FSCT). He received FSCT’s President’s Award in 2005.