From its inception, the Waterborne Symposium has been organized and executed by faculty, staff, and students of the School of Polymer Science and Engineering (formerly the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials) at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). The mission of the Waterborne Symposium is: “To administer the preeminent educational/technical forum in the United States directed to the science and technology of surface coatings and to provide revenue to support and advance students at the School of Polymers and Engineering at The University of Southern Mississippi.”

Waterborne attendees typically include: coatings formulators, research and development scientists/chemists, technical managers, or technical sales managers in the coatings or related fields; management or marketing executives; owners of small paint companies; coatings end users; coatings applicators/technicians; academicians; and students in chemistry/polymers/coatings.