The Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) of the American Chemical Society recently announced that Gordon P. Bierwagen, Ph.D., will receive the Roy W. Tess Award in Coatings for 2013. The award will be given on September 9 during the 246th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Indianapolis, Ind.

Bierwagen is director of the Center for Surface Protection at North Dakota State University, Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials. He began his career in the coatings industry in 1969, working initially as a research chemist in the Electrochemical Engineering department of Battelle Memorial Institute Columbus, Ohio, labs. In 1969, he joined Sherwin Williams Co. as senior chemist and later became laboratory director. In 1987, he joined Avery Decorative Films Division as director of R&D. In 1989, he joined the Polymer and Coatings Department of North Dakota State University as professor.