David Fairhurst Presented with ACA’s 2025 CoatingsTech Best Paper Award

The American Coatings Association (ACA) presented its 2025 CoatingsTech Best Paper Award to David Fairhurst, Ph.D., president of Colloid Consultants, Ltd. Fairhurst received the honor at the 2025 CoatingsTech Conference for his paper, “Low Field (LF)-NMR Relaxation – A Useful Technique for QC and to Determine the Equivalency of Materials for Coatings Formulations,” coauthored by Ravi Sharma, Ph.D., and principal research fellow at Mageleka Inc.; and Ralph Jan Wörheide, M.Eng., and president and founder of Metromation Inc.

The CoatingsTech Best Paper Award recognizes the best overall paper contributed to the CoatingsTech Conference and is accompanied by a cash prize. Criteria considered includes the technical nature of the content, originality, and relevance to the conference theme as well as to improving the state-of-the-science pertinent to the coatings industry.

Fairhurst and his co-authors’ paper presents the application of Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LF-NMR) relaxation as a powerful, fast, and non-destructive analytical tool for evaluating and routinely characterizing the performance of aqueous and non-aqueous dispersions of colored materials, particularly in the context of coatings formulations.

Utilizing a small, benchtop LF-NMR spectrometer, the case studies presented emphasize how meaningful physicochemical information and insights can be obtained under real-use conditions, without the need for dilution, extensive sample preparation or destructive testing.

The paper highlights how LF-NMR relaxation supports improvements in formulation efficiency and establishes robust, quantitative metrics for quality control. Notably, traditional methods often struggle with opaque, high-solid suspensions; LF-NMR circumvents these limitations and enables direct assessments of wettability, dispersibility, surface treatments, and batch-to-batch equivalency.

This research demonstrates that LF-NMR can distinguish subtle yet significant differences in commercial paint batches, making it a useful tool across all stages of formulation.

Fairhurst received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Liverpool John Moores University in 1967 and his decades-long career has focused on applying the principles of colloid and interface chemistry to elevate formulation from a black art to a science.

His interest in the field began in 1960 as a laboratory assistant with Shell Research, U.K and he retired in 2015 as executive vice president of Particle Sciences, Inc. (a CRDMO division of Lubrizol Life Sciences, USA). He developed the first commercial instrument to measure the zeta potential of colloidal suspensions, as well as a wide range of other particle characterization devices and holds 10 patents.

Through a series of specialized lectures from notable industry experts and focused technical sessions, ACA’s CoatingsTech Conference provides a forum for all levels of coatings professionals and students to participate and learn from each other.

Embracing the theme, “Coatings and Technologies for a Resilient Future,” the 2025 conference featured the latest science and technology developments to help industry set a sustainable trajectory for the future.