Mohamed S. El-Aasser of Lehigh University has been named recipient of the American Chemical Society's Roy W. Tess Award in Coatings 2002 for his pioneering work in developing miniemulsion polymerization, a technology with important industrial applications in paints and pharmaceuticals, among others. 

Featuring small droplet size and exceptional stability, miniemulsions have many important industrial applications, such as pill coatings and encapsulation of pigments in latex paints.

Coined by El-Aasser in 1980, the term "miniemulsions" refers to a type of oil-in-water emulsion characterized by small droplet size (50-500 nanometers) and much higher stability than conventional emulsions (with a typical droplet size of 1-10 microns, i.e., 20 times larger).  El-Aasser's NSF-supported research has contributed to fundamental understanding of the mechanics of emulsion polymerization.  Industrial interest in his work on miniemulsions has produced nine patents, including for coatings for pharmaceutical pills as well as encapsulation of paint pigments. 

El-Aasser also played a leading role in the development of Lehigh University's Emulsion Polymers Institute, considered the leading organization of its kind in the world.  Among the many honors received by El-Aasser is a NASA award for his contributions to the design of a reactor that synthesized the first products ever made in space: polymer microspheres used as a standard reference for calibrating microscopic objects.