Farah Halsaad

As a technical director, I used my chemistry knowledge to test paint quality and to develop new paints. I would design tests to check how our paints reacted in different situations. I would also work with colleagues in our research and development department to test out formulas to prepare new paints. Most people don’t give paint much thought but the development and use of paint involves a lot of chemistry. In this role, I made use of my knowledge of chemistry but also mathematics. We would develop new paint formulas and then have to scale it up to quantities produced in industrial production. We would use the same processes you might be familiar with from doing stoichiometry calculations. We had to make sure that the right amounts were added at the right time. We also had to make sure that the chemicals being used were done so in a safe manner.