Education
Received B.S., M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) in 1959 and 1961, respectively, and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Tennessee in 1964.

 Professional

Dr. Thames joined USM in 1964 as Assistant Professor of Chemistry and quickly advanced through the ranks to Professor.  In 1970, he founded the Department of Polymer Science and was its first Chair.  He served as Dean of the College of Science and Technology.  In 1976, he served as Vice President for Administration and Regional Campuses, and in 1982, advanced to the Executive Vice President of the University.  During his tenure in administration, he maintained his research group.  In 1986, he returned full-time to teaching and research and was bestowed the title of Distinguished University Research Professor.  In 2002, he accepted the position as President of USM and continues to work with the Thames-Rawlins Research Group. 

Recent honors include the 1998 NUC Wheeler McMillan Award and 1999 AAIC Anson Ellis Thompson Career Achievement Award.  Also in 1998, USM’s $30 million center was named the Shelby Freland Thames Polymer Science Research Center.  In Modern Paint & Coatings March/April 2003 edition, Dr. Thames was named the “2002 Coatings R&D Person of the Year.”  He has more than 160 scientific publications, over 300 presentations, and 16 U.S. patents.
 

Representative Publications and Patents

1)   “Weathering Studies of Epoxidized and Hydroxy-Fluoroester Pendent Guayule Rubber in Powder Coatings,” with Sandhya Gupta and Sharathkumar K. Mendon, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2004 Vol. 92(1), 493-497.

2)   “Radical Initiated Polymerization in a Bifunctional Mixture via Computer Simulation,” with Keri L. Diamond and Ras B. Pandey, The Journal of Chemical Physics, 120, 11905, 2004 and Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research, June 15, 2004.

3) “Synthesis and Phase Separation During Film Formation of Methyl Methacrylate/n-Butyl Acrylate/Methacrylic Acid (MMA/BA/MAA) Hybrid Urethane/Acrylate Colloidal Dispersions,” with Daniel B. Otts, Sandipan Dutta, Ping Zhang, Oliver W. Smith, and Marek W. Urban, Polymer, 45(18), 6235-6243, 2004.

4)   “Kinetic Investigation of Novel Vegetable Oil Derived Macromonomers in Both Bulk and Emulsion Polymerization,” with K. L. Diamond, S. N. Shah, and O. W. Smith, Proceedings of the Thirtieth International Waterborne, High-Solids, and Powder Coatings Symposium, New Orleans, LA, 2003, 431-444 and e-publication, International Journal of Coatings Science, 2003, Vol. 2, 40-49.

5)  “Real Time Curing Kinetics and Crosslinking Efficiency of UV Curable Powder Coatings,” with Gregory E. Booth and James W. Rawlins, Proceedings of the Twenty-Ninth International Waterborne, High-Solids, and Powder Coatings Symposium, New Orleans, LA, 2002, 409-430.

6)   “Oxidative Curing Profiles for CAM Based Acrylic Latexes,” with C. L. King, T. Williams, and O. W. Smith, Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Annual International Waterborne, High-Solids, and Powder Coatings Symposium, New Orleans, LA, 2000, 436-447.

7)   “Castor Acrylated Monomer (CAM) in Vinyl-Acrylic Latexes,” with E. H. Brister and Oliver W. Smith, Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Annual International Waterborne, High-Solids, and Powder Coatings Symposium, New Orleans, LA, 1999, 89-99.

·         “Latex Compositions Containing Ethylenically Unsaturated Esters of Long-Chain Alkenols,” with K. G. Panjnani and O. S. Fruchey, U.S. 6,001,913, issued December 14, 1999.

·         “Latex Compositions Containing Ethylenically Unsaturated Esters of Fatty Compounds and Applications Thereof,” with K. G. Panjnani and O. S. Fruchey, U.S. 6,174,948, issued January 16, 2001.

·         “Low MFT and High T_g, Internally Plasticizing, and Low VOC Latex Compositions,” with K. G. Panjnani, R. Hariharan, and Z. Wang, U.S. 6,203,720, issued March 20, 2001.

·         “Novel Internally Plasticizing and Crosslinkable Monomers and Applications Thereof,” with Z. Wang, R. Hariharan, and K. G. Panjnani, U.S. 6,235,916, issued May 22, 2001.

·          “Novel Internally Plasticized and Low VOC Latex Compositions and Applications Thereof,” with Zhiyu Wang, Rajan Hariharan, Kamlesh Gopichand Panjnani, Elizabeth Hyatt Brister, and Corey L. King, U.S. 6,624,223, issued September 23, 2003 and International Patent WO 01/44380, issued June 21, 2001.

·         “Latex Compositions Containing Ethylenically Unsaturated Esters of Fatty Compounds and Applications Thereof,” with K. G. Panjnani and O. S. Fruchey, U.S. 6,599,972, issued July 29, 2003.

·         “Cellulose Based Coating Composition Curable with Ultraviolet Ray,” with Kenichi Fujino, U.S. 6,303,670, issued October 16, 2001.

The University of Southern Mississippi, School of Polymers and High Performance Materials
118 College Drive #10037, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
Telephone 601-266-4080; Facsimile 601-266-5880

E-mail shelby.f.thames@usm.edu; Web site www.coatingscience.com

Read Dr. Thames research paper:
Hemp as a Potentially Important Crop and Area of Research

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