Preface

It is my pleasure to present the Proceedings of the Spring 2000 Meeting of the American Chemical Society's Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering. At this meeting in San Francisco, PMSE is sponsoring three sessions a day, Sunday through Thursday. This book provides information about Future Programs, Awards and Grants, Workshops, Membership, the PMSE Committee Structure and the Executive Committee. Below is a brief description of each of the PMSE sponsored symposia:

Structure, Dynamics and Organization of Polymers in the Solid State by Magnetic Resonance — Recent advances in NMR methods have made it possible to probe the structure, dynamics and organization of polymers in the solid-state over length scales ranging from angstroms to tens of nanometers. This symposium will feature the latest multiple-quantum NMR, fast magic-angle spinning, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and wideline NMR methods that can be used to establish the link between the molecular and the macroscopic properties of crystalline, amorphous and elastomeric polymers, as well as blends and composites.

Polymer Nanocomposites — highlights the rapidly growing field of polymer nanocomposites, comprised of nanoscale constituents (organic or inorganic) dispersed in polymeric resins. Among the topics to be covered are: general synthesis; characterization of mesoscale structures; theory and modeling of complex phase behavior and mechanical response; rheology of complex systems containing nanoscale dispersants; and the behavior of constrained polymer films relative to the interphase region within nanocomposites. Because of the multi-disciplinary aspects of the topic, a joint session is being held with the Division of Polymer Chemistry (POLY) Organic-Inorganic Hybrids symposium.

Polymer Surfaces and Interfaces: Spectroscopic Approaches — features spectroscopic approaches to analysis of polymers in constrained environments. Particular emphasis will be given to the question of how surfaces and interfaces are affected by the boundary conditions imposed by film thickness. The papers will be presented by leading scientists studying film formation near surfaces and interfaces as well as spectroscopists capable of non-destructive qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Molecularly Ordered Networks — highlights the unique behavior that occurs when a network structure is present in combination with molecular order. Among the topics to be covered are: polymerization in ordered phases; properties of liquid crystalline thermosets and elastomers; and assembly of ordered materials such as crosslinked Langmuir-Blodgett films and hydrogen-bonded networks.

General Papers/New Concepts in Polymeric Materials — features four sessions on new methods of synthesis; blends and other multicomponent systems, such as composites and block copolymers; mechanical properties and relaxation phenomena; and films, fibers and surfaces. In addition, a joint poster session is planned with POLY.

Rheology and Mechanical Properties of Metallocene Polyolefins — includes papers on linear and branched poly-olefins, effects of long chain branching, and issues related to miscibility.

PMSE is also sponsoring three Award Symposia:

ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science — The Award Symposium honors this year's recipient, Dr. Lewis Fetters of Exxon. Dr. Fetters is recognized for his pioneering work in anionic polymerization, well defined model polymers, and their application to the design of commercial block copolymers.

ACS Award in Team Innovation — The Award honors the Shell Corterra Team. Poly(trimethylene terephthalate), PTT, made from 1,3-propanediol, PDO, and terephthalic acid is a new polymer that is the basis for the new Corterra polymers. The symposium will include talks on PDO and PTT development, PTT processing into fibers, and other polymers that can be made from 1,3-propanediol.

Eastman Kodak Cooperative Research Award in Polymer Science — The symposium, "Recent Advances in Anionic Polymerization," is in honor of Professor Roderic P. Quirk of the University of Akron and Dr. James A. Schwindeman of FMC Lithium Division who will be receiving the Award. The symposium brings together leading researchers from around the world to discuss exciting new developments in the field of anionic polymerization, which will set the trends for novel polymer architectures in the dawn of the new millennium.

We have an outstanding technical program planned for San Francisco, as you can see by perusal of these Preprints. I thank the Symposium Organizers for their many hours of volunteer labor, using the on-line abstract submission system (OASys) for the first time in arranging their sessions, and collecting the preprints that form the body of this book. My special thanks go to PMSE Administrative Assistant, Eileen Ernst, who is responsible for arranging the preprint book and overseeing it along the path to publication. Eileen experienced a hard disk crash, necessitating installation of a new computer, just weeks before the publisher's deadline. She worked with exceptional diligence to get our book perfected and submitted on time.

, Number of access since October 07, 2000