Dean Webster is Professor and Chair in the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials at North Dakota State University. He is also director of the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites. He received a B.S. in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering Science both from Virginia Tech. Prior to joining NDSU in 2001 he worked for Sherwin-Williams and Eastman Chemical Company. He is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. His research is in the area of new high performance polymer systems for coatings and composites, high throughput methods, marine antifouling coatings, and use of renewable resources in polymers and coatings systems.