Scott earned a BS in chemistry from Furman University and a PhD in chemistry from The University of Texas at Austin. He served as Professor of Chemistry at the University of Houston from 1994 to 2006, where he also held the position of Associate Dean for Undergraduate Research within the Honors College. From 2006 to 2018, he held the position of Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida. During his academic career, he pursued research interests in the field of interfacial science and engineering, studying materials ranging from metal carbides to hydrogels to thin-film lubricants. He is an author of more than 125 peer-reviewed publications and an internationally published chemistry textbook. During his career, he has also held positions at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the IBM Almaden Research Center, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. After many years of serving as a consultant to the development of composite materials, Scott joined InduMar full time in 2018 as Chief Technology Director, overseeing engineered repair solutions, in-house production, and the development, testing, and introduction of new composite repair products.