Dr. Neil McMurdie has been tapped to head MAPEI’s R&D efforts for the Americas. A graduate of Yale University with a Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry, McMurdie will be responsible for developing new products that both perform and offer real green benefits.

“I am very excited at the opportunity to be part of such a dynamic organization as MAPEI,” McMurdie said. “I knew of [MAPEI Americas’ president and CEO] Rainer Blair’s reputation in the coatings industry and was, therefore, assured that I was joining a management team that values honesty, integrity, hard work and a single-minded focus on the customer.”

Since leaving Yale, McMurdie has worked the last 14 years at PPG Industries. There he  researched anti-corrosion and substrate protection for coatings and helped develop organic and inorganic compounds to enhance the products.

Plans call for McMurdie and the R&D group to work on adapting MAPEI’s Dust-Free Technology to a number of tile and stone installation products in the near term. Currently, the company’s Ultraflex 2 polymer-modified thin-set mortar features the dust-eliminating technology.