Professor Satish Kumar and Professor Hadj Benkreira both to receive the 2026 Tallmadge Award

The International Society for Coating Science and Technology will present a dual 2026 Tallmadge award to Professor Hadj Benkreira of the University of Bradford and Professor Satish Kumar of the University of Minnesota.   The awards will be presented to both recipients at the upcoming ISCST Symposium in Minneapolis, MN on 2 September 2026.  The John A. Tallmadge award recognizes an individual’s significant contributions to the understanding and improvement of coating science and technology. The award is presented biennially, in even numbered years, and is sponsored by the International Society of Coating Science and Technology (ISCST) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). This year the ISCST is recognizing two accomplished professors who have collectively advised and educated dozens of advanced-degree-level engineers in the coating and related science communities.

Professor Hadj Benkreira

University of Bradford

Professor Hadj Benkreira is being recognized for his for extensive, pioneering studies in many variations of roll coating; innovative research in dynamic wetting lines, especially the role of gas viscosity; and editorship of symposia special issues. Professor Benkreira received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Bradford in 1981 and has served on the faculty of the same department since 1998.    Beyond his scientific contributions, Professor Benkreira has provided exceptional service to the coating-science community. He has served on the ISCST Board of Directors for around two decades, including multiple terms as Vice President for Europe. He initiated the collaboration between ISCST and European Coating Society (ECS) and played a founding role in establishing the ECS conference series, beginning with the Bradford 1992 symposium.

Professor Satish Kumar

University of Minnesota

Professor Satish Kumar is being recognized for path-breaking research on dynamic wetting failure in coating flows, liquid transfer in printing processes, and dynamics of droplets and thin liquid films. Professor Kumar received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Standford University in 1998 and has served on the faculty in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota since 2001.  Beyond his scientific contributions, Professor Kumar has also served as ISCST past president in 2014-2016, ISCST vice president of the Americas in 2012-2014, and has served as a long time ISCST board member.   He has also continuously contributed to the Coating Process Fundamentals short course and Rheology short course, both held annually at the University of Minnesota, as an instructor since 2006.

Categories: ISCST Symposium