Mike Grady and Jeff Johnson have been recognised for their significant accomplishments, technical leadership and commercial contributions.
Axalta Coating Systems has elevated Mike Grady and Jeff Johnson to Axalta Fellow – the highest honour that a scientist or engineer can earn within the global Technology function of the company – for their significant scientific accomplishments, the technical leadership and also the commercial contributions.
Grady, who has been developing and improving resin processes for many coatings technologies of Axalta, earned a doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zürich (Switzerland) and currently serves as an adjunct professor at Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania and Rowan University. He is an expert in reaction engineering, polymer processing, reactor design, modelling and optimisation and has also initiated and driven fundamental research to advance higher temperature acrylic free-radical chemistry. His process innovations include significant improvements for making many key acrylics, polyesters and oligomers for low VOC materials.
Johnson, an expert in resin synthesis with 89 granted patents spanning 14 countries, has earned a doctorate in Organic Chemistry from UCLA and for more than 30 years has developed innovative resins that enable multiple generations of new product development and commercialisation, with broad customer and commercial impact across many original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and industrial clients. His deep knowledge and fundamental understanding cover a variety of polymer architectures including acrylic, epoxy, polyester, polyurethane and silane chemistry.
“Our Axalta Fellows have a strong track record of translating scientific knowledge into solutions for our customers and delivering commercial success across our business. Mike and Jeff are Technology Ambassadors and truly exemplify our purpose to innovate smarter surface solutions for better living and a sustainable future. Their outstanding leadership inspires the scientific community,” has commented Robert Roop, the senior vice-president and CTO of Axalta.