PACIFIC POLYMER FEDERATION NEWSLETTER  No. 2   October, 1991

Co-Editors: G.S. Ki'rshenbaum and K. Hatada  Assistant Editor:J.C. Vogl                                

 

Otto Vogl, (Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.), President, Takeo Saegusa, (Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan), Vice President, James H. O'Donnell, (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia), Deputy Vice President, Joseph C.  Salamone, (University of Lowell, Lowell, MA, U.S.A.), Secretary/Treasurer

 

Members of the Council: Akihiro Abe (Tokyo, Japan), David J.T. Hill (Brisbane, Australia), Ramlee Karim (Kuala Lampur, Malaysia), Chung Yup Kim (Seoul, Korea), Martin Navratil (Mississauga, Canada) Renyuan Qian (Beijing, P.R. China)

 

President's Message: Otto Vogl

For almost 3 years I have had the honor of presiding over the activities of the Pacific Polymer Federation (PPF), an organi­zation that coordinates and integrates the common interests of polymer oriented organizations of the Pacific Basin. PPF has grown from the original 3 Founding Member Organizations to 10 Member organizations.  The last four organizations which became members of the PPF were the Polymer Division of the Chinese Chemical Society, the Polymer Group of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, the Singapore Plastics and Rubber Institute and the American Physical Society.  Much of this rapid build-up of our membership is due to the activities of our Membership Committee, initially chaired by James H. O'Donnell and now by Chung Yup Kim.

 

The Council is now assisted by a number of Committees to handle the various needs of the PPF. The main function of the Information Committee chaired by G.S. Kirshenbaum, is to keep abreast of the activities of the member organi­zations of PPF and to collect information about other polymer related activities in the Pacific and other parts of the world. The Committee produced the First Pacific Polymer Newsletter in the Fall of 1989 and this Second Pacific Polymer Newsletter.  The Publication Com­mittee under Burton C. Anderson and Y. Imanishi pro­duced the First Pacific Polymer Preprints. The first book sponsored by the PPF based on the First Pacific Polymer Conference: "Progress in Pacific Polymer Science" will be published by Springer Verlag.

 

A By-Laws Committee was created with Ramlee Karim as the Chairman, a Conference Committee under Kenneth Wynne and an Awards Committee with James H. O.'Don­nell as the Chairman were established.

 

Two Council Meetings were held during the last year, the official Council Meeting in Maui, at PPC-1 in December 1989 and a well attended additional Council Meeting in Montreal in July 1990.  In addition, several Mini-Council Meetings were held in Strasbourg, Oxford and twice in Vienna to check on all the activities of the PPF, especially the details of the preparations for the two Pacific Polymer Conferences.

 

Our next Council Meeting will be in Nagoya, Japan on October 20, 1990.  This will be the last official activity of PPF under my tenure as president.  The Pres­idency will pass to Takeo Saegusa, who will officially become President on January 1, 1991.

 

The most important activity of PPF was PPC-1 in Maui, December 1989.

In addition, PPF was co-sponsor of the Tutorial on "Advances of Chemical Synthesis," with the ACS Divi­sion of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. at the Miami ACS Meeting in September 1989.

 

For over 3 years, it has been a great pleasure for me to work with all the Officers, Council Members, Committee Members, as well as with the leadership of the Member Organizations of the PPF and many other colleagues of the Pacific Basin interested in polymer science.  I am indebted to all of them for their cooperation, their many useful sugges­tions and helpful advice.  One person has not been recog­nized in the past and I would like to recognize him now; Earl Tyner Esq., the attorney who checked the Constitution of PPF while it was drafted and gave his legal consent-all free of charge.

Otto Vogl, President

 

MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS OF PPF

Founding Members:

The Society of Polymer Science, Japan

The Division of Polymer Chemistry Inc., American Chemical Society

The Polymer Division, The Royal Australian Chemical Institute

 

Members:

Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division, Cheniical Institute of Canada

The Society of Polymer Science, Korea

Polymer and Industrial Section, Malaysian Institute of Chemistry

The Polymer Group, New Zealand Institute of Chemistry

Polymer Division, Chinese Chemical Society

Singapore Plastics and Rubber Institute

American Physical Society

 

Committees

Membership: C.Y. Kim, Chairman; T. Saegusa, R. Karim

Information: G.S. Kirshenbaum, Chairman; K. Hatada, G.A. George, J.C. Vogl, T. Takahiko

Publication: B.C. Anderson, Y. Imanishi, Co-Chairmen; A. Logathetis, J.C. Vogl

Finance: J. Nottke, Chairman; O. Vogl, Y. Furuyama

By-Laws:  R. Karim, Chairman; D.J.T. Hill

Awards: J.H. O'Donnell, Chairman; M. Navratil

Conferences: K. Wynne, Chairman; J.C. Salamone

Second Pacific Polymer Conference: T. Saegusa, Chairman, J.H. O'Donnell, J.C. Salamone, Vice Chairmen

 

First Pacific Polymer Conference

The First Pacific Polymer Conference (PPC-1) was held in Maui, Hawaii from December 12 to 15, 1989.  The Con­ference Committee consisted of O.Vogl, Chairman; T. Saegusa and J.H. O'Donnell, Vice Chairmen; it was organ­ized by the Organizing Committee, J.C. Salamone, Chair­man, with A. Abe, D.J.T. Hill, B.C. Anderson, S.C. Israel, J.C. Vogl and T. Takahiko as Committee Members. Jane C. Vogl was the Conference Manager and Barbara Hodsdon-Ullyot was the Conference Coordinator. PPC-1 was attended by 401 participants and 101 accompanying guests; 19 coun­tries were represented.  They came from over 100 Univer­sities and colleges and from over 100 different companies.

 

PPC-1 was held at the Royal Lahaina Resort in Maui, Hawaii.  It consisted of 5 key note addresses: two by the Nobel laureates of Chemistry in 1981: Kenichi Fukui, Institute of Fundemental Chemistry, Kyoto, Japan, and Roald Hoffman, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, U.S.A.; and by Alexander MacLachlan, Senior Vice President, Technology, of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, DE U.S.A.; Burton Christensen, Senior Vice President, Merck, Sharpe and Dohme & Co., Rahway, NJ U.S.A.; and Y. Ito, Chairman of the Board of the Toray Co., Tokyo, Japan.  The after dinner address was given by Norman Hackerman, the former President of Rice University, and Director of Re­search of the Welsh Foundation in Houston, Texas.  There were 35 invited and 120 Contributed Papers; 125 papers were presented in poster form.

 

The Conference covered the following topics: Polymer Synthesis: New Procedures, Synthetic Methods; Polymer Characterization:Characterization Methods, Structure/ Property Relationships; High Performance Polymers: Poly­mides, PEEK Type Polymers, New Materials, Fluorcarbon Polymers and Silicones; Functional Polymers: Polymer Reac­tions, Polymer Properties; Solutions, Gels, Networks; Electro­and Optically Active Polymers; Polymer Liquid Crystals: New Materials and Procedures, Structure/Property Relation­ships; Theory of Polymer Structures: Bio-Related Polymers: Natural Polymers, New Biomaterials, Biodegradable Poly­mers.

 

One of the highlights of PPC-1 was the panel discus­sion on "Polymer Science and the Arts" (actually art res­toration), with O. Vogl as the organizer and H. Hoecker as the Moderator. The discussions included Ceramics, Old Masters, Oriental Screens and Frescoes of the Silk Road in China, European Cathedrals and the preservation of ancient ships. The panel discussion was very succcessful and was covered by the Maui Newspaper in great detail. The Com­mittee concluded that a panel discussion on "Polymer Science and the Arts" should be included in subsequent Pacific Polymer Conferences.

 

The social events of the FPPC consisted of a Welcoming Party, a Banquet and a Farewell Party.  The location of the meeting on Maui, in the Kaanapali Beach Resort Complex, allowed excellent interaction between the participants on a scientific and social basis and was considered a great suc­cess.  The Pacific Polymer Preprints will become the first of a series; we expect that they will be abstracted by Chemical Abstracts.  A book based on the keynote addresses and invited lectures as well as the transcripts of the panel discus­sion is being prepared "camera-ready" by the co-editors B.C. Anderson and Y. Imanishi; it will be published by Springer Verlag.

 

PPC-1 received excelled press coverage; two articles were written in Chemical and Engineering News, the offi­cial Journal of the American Chemical Society; reports were also written in the Newsletter of the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry Inc., the home organization of PPC-1; in the Newsletter of the Australian Polymer Divi­sion, in the Newsletter of the Canadian Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division, and Kobunshi, the offi­cial journal of the Society of Polymer Science, Japan.  In Polymer News, there was also an extensive article about the PPC-1.

 

Shortly after PPC-1 was concluded, planning began for the Second Pacific Polymer Conference (PPC-2) which will be held from November 26 to 29,1991 in Shiga, Japan. In several Mini-Council Meetings, i.e., in Vienna and at the Council Meeting in Montreal, plans were outlined for PPC-2.  The Third Pacific Polymer Conference (PPC-3) is considered for 1993 on the Gold Coast of Australia.

 

Council Meetings

 

The third official meeting of the Council of the Pacific Polymer Federation was held in Maui, Hawaii on Saturday, December 16, 1989.  It was attended by all 9 Councillors of PPF: Vogl, Saegusa, O'Donnell, Salamone, Abe, Hill, Kim, Karim and Navratil.  Since January 1, 1990 the Polymer Division of the Chinese Chemical Society is also represented on the Council.  F. Xi, the Deputy Director of the Institute of Chemistry in Beijing, represented the designated Council Member, R.Y. Qian, at the meeting.

 

Other people attending the meeting were: P. Adams from Singapore, S.C. Israel, the Chairman of the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc., and E. Rizzardo, the Chairman of the Australian Polymer Division, T. Takahiko, the general secretary of the SPSJ, and J.C. Vogl, Secretary to the Presi­dent, Assistant Treasurer.

 

Of particular importance was the receipt of applications of three potential new member organizations.  Two of the applicants were accepted as new members: the Singapore Plastics and Rubber Institute and the American Physical Society were admitted as new members of PPF. The application of the Plastics Institute of Vietnam was tabled with the understanding that, if the application of the Vietnamese group is pursued, it will be reconsidered as soon as we have some first hand knowledge of polymer science of Vietnam.

 

Much of the discussion at the Council Meeting centered on the analysis of the PPC-1 in Maui and the early planning for the PPC-2.

 

The Newsletter, the First Pacific Newsletter, prepared by G.S. Kirshenbaum, K. Hatada and J.C. Vogl with 8 pages was found very attractive. It was concluded that the style of the Newsletter should be retained in this form for future issues.

 

A By-Laws Committee was established to continue to examine the wording of the Constitution of PPF and to determine the necessity of additions or deletions when found necessary.

 

The establishment of a Conference Committee to con­sider assisting with or holding smaller meetings such as Workshops on special topics in polymer science, in addition to the PPF Conferences (PPC's), was proposed and approved.  A possible Workshop in New Zealand was suggested. The Committee will also be asked to look into considering co­sponsorship of meetings in the Pacific Region under the PPF name.  The first co-sponsored meeting was a tutorial Symposium of the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc., in Miami, September 1989, entitled "Advances in Chemical Synthesis".

 

The creation of another Committee was proposed and approved by the Council; an Awards Committee.  The pur­pose of a PPF Award would be to recognize outstanding contributions in polymer science and in International cooperation in polymer science in the Pacific Region.

 

The Secretary/Treasurer reported that the incorporation for the PPF in the U.S.A. has been accomplished and an independent tax-free status has been established for the PPF.Inc., in the U.S.A.

 

Another meeting of the Council of the PPF was held at the Le Grand Hotel in Montreal on July 8,1990.  It was atten­ded by 9 Councillors: Vogl, Saegusa, Salamone, George (officially representing O'Connell), Abe, Hill, C.Y. Kim, Navratil and Qian.

 

The most important business was the further planning for the Second Pacific Polymer Conference (PPC-2).  PPC-2 will be held in Shiga at the Otsu Prince Hotel from November 26 to 29, 1991. The Conference fee was ap­proved as $300 or Y 45,000.  The important Committees for the PPC-2 were approved: Organizing, Scientific Advisory and Local Organizing Committee.  The Topics and the Schedule for the meeting were also approved.  The princi­ple of the Plenary and Invited Lectures was approved.  It was also agreed that the Preprints will be a continuation of the Preprints of the PPC-1, but the decision of whether or not to publish the "Proceedings" of the PPC-2 in book form has not been reached.

 

Considerable time was spent discussing the first report of the Awards Committee.  It appears that a PPF Award will be established but it will not be in effect until PPC-3.  Some time is needed for obtaining a concensus from the member organizations, because there are different practices involved in establishing and ad­ministering awards.

 

Time was also spent in discussing the publication of the book: "Progress in Pacific Polymer Science".  It appears that everything is on schedule, with the normal "terminal" pro­blems associated with the publication of a camera-ready book.

 

We were also informed in some detail as to the general situation in China by the Councillor, R.Y. Qian.  It appears that at this time a smaller meeting, perhaps in the form of a Workhop sponsored or co-sponsored by the PPF is the most feasible interaction with our Chinese colleagues.

 

We also had some comments from M. Raetzch, Dresden, as to the situation in Eastern Europe, and from A.C. Albertsson of Sweden, representing the European community.

 

The next official Council Meeting will be in Nagoya, Japan, on October 20, 1990, following the Annual Sym­posium of the SPSJ.  Since many of our Councillors will be in Melbourne, Australia next year, another Council meet­ing has been tentatively planned for February 9, 1991, in Melbourne.

.

MEET YOUR REPRESENTATIVES

Renyuan Qian

Professor, Academia Sinica

BORN: September 19,1917

EDUCATION: Zhejiang University, B.S. 1939; University of Wiscon­sin, Madison, WI, U.S.A., Ph.D.1947

POSITIONS HELD: Associate Professor, Xiamen Univer­sity, 1948-49; Zhejiang University, 1949-51; Professor, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Academia Sinica, 1051-53; Institute of Organic Chemistry, Academia Sinica, 1953-56; Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, 1956-present: Deputy Director, 1977-81; Director, 1981-85

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: Chinese Chemical Society: President, 1982-86; Polymer Division, Chairman, 1986-90, Chemistry Division, Academia Sinica, Member 1980-; Fellow, American Institute of Chemists, IUPAC Macromo­lecular Division, Associate Member, 1985-89; Phi Lambda Upsilon, Sigma Xi, U.S.A.

HONORS: Science Premium, Academia Sinica; Advanced Individual Award, Academia Sinica; Natural Science Award, Academia Sinica; Science Award, National Science Con­gress; State Invention Award; SINOPEC Science and Technology Progress Award; State Natural Science Award; State Science and Technology Progress Award.

PUBLICATIONS: Over 190 Papers; 2 Books; 2 Patents; over 30 Review Articles and Book Chapters.

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Polymer Characterization; Pro­cessing-Structure-Property Relationship of Polymers; Poly­mer Solution Properties and Condensed State; Conducting Polymers; Electrical and Photoconductivity in Organic Solids.

 

Neil Edmonds

Senior Lecturer, Auckland Institute of Technology

BORN: May 13,1947 in Tekuiti, New Zealand

EDUCATION: University of Auckland; BSc., MSc. 1972

POSITIONS HELD: Research Chemist, ICI Melborne 1971-1973; A.C. Hatrick (NZ) 1973-1975; Lecturer, Auc­kiand Institute of Technology 1975-1983; Senior Lecturer 1984-

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: Polymer Group, New Zealand Institute of Chemistry; Chairman; New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, Member Committee, Auckland Branch; Committee, OCCA (NZ) Inc.; Convenor, NZCS Prescription Review Committee.

PUBLICATIONS:Supervisor, about  25 New Zealand Diploma Research Projects.

PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS: Synthetic Resins; Polymers for Coatings and Adhesives; Instrumental Techniques.

 

Burton C. Anderson

Associate Director, Advanced Materials, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.,

PPF PUBLICATION COMMITTEE, Chairman

BORN: October 8, 1930 in Kewanee, Illinois

EDUCATION: University of Illinois, A.B. 1952, M.I.T, Ph.D. 1955

POSITIONS HELD: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.: Central Research Department, Research Chemist, 1955-1966; Elastomer Chemicals Department, 1967-1974; Division Head, Development Superintendent; Central Research and Development Department: Associate Direc­tor 1974-1979, Director, Polymer Science 1979-1981; Fin­ishes and Fabricated Products Department: Assistant Director 1981-1985, Technical Director 1985-1989; Central Research and Development Department: Associate Director and Manager of Corporate Polymer Development 1989-

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry: Executive Committee, Member-at-Large 1988-; Gordon Conference - Polymers: Chairman 1982; IUPAC, U.S. National Representatives 1984-87; National Bureau of Standards Evaluation Panel for Materials Science,1983.

PUBLICATIONS:15 U.S. Patents and over 20 Publications and a Number of Reviews

EDITORIAL BOARD: Macromolecules

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Synthesis, Characterization and Reactions of Polymers; Unusual Polymer Structures; Anionic Polymerization; Coordination Polymerization; Group Transfer Polymerization; Fluorine Containing Monomers and Polymers; Polymerization under Extreme Pressures; Chemistry of Organic Coatings

 

Gerald S. Kirshenbaum

Manager Engineering Plastics Division Hoechst Celanese Corporation

PPF INFORMATION COMMITTEE, Chairman Co-editor Pacific Polymer Federation Newsletter

BORN: December 6,1944 in New York City

EDUCATION: Case Insti­tute of Technology, B.S. 1966; Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, M.S. 1970; Ph.D. 1971

POSITIONS HELD: Research Chemist, Celanese Plastics Company, 1971-73; Sr.  Chemist, Soltex, 1973-75; Sr.  Chemist, Union Carbide, 1975-77; Hoechst Celanese Corporation, 1977-Sr.  Research Chemist, Development Associate, Super­visor, Manager

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry: Assistant Secretary, Editor Newsletter; ACS North Jersey Section: Secretary, Polymer Group; Pacific Polymer Federation, Co-Editor Newsletter

PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS: High Performance Poly­mers, Polyacetals, Polyolefins, Polyesters, Regulatory Af­fairs (FDA, UL), Packaging, Recycling, Thermal Stability and Flammability of Polymers

EDITOR: Polymer News

 

Koichi Hatada

Professor of Chemistry, Osaka University, Co-editor Pacific Polymer Federation Newsletter

BORN: December 5, 1934 in Osaka, Japan

EDUCATION: Osaka University, B.Sc. 1957; M.Sc. 1960; D.Sc. 1965

POSITIONS HELD: Daicel Co., Research Chemist, 1957­1964; Osaka University: Assistant Professor 1964-1967, Associate Professor 1967-1983, Professor 1983-

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: Chemical Society of Japan; American Chemical Society; Society of Polymer Science, Japan, Chairman, Kansai Section; IUPAC Commission on Macromolecular Nomenclature: Associate Member 1988­1990, Titular Member 1990-

EDITORIAL BOARDS: Several Scientific Journals

PUBLICATIONS: About 250 Papers

RESEARCH INTEREST: Mechanism of Polymerization Reaction, Synthesis of Polymers with Controlled Structure, Characterization of Polymers and Oligomers by NMR Spectroscopy

 

ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry: 15th BIENNIAL SYMPOSIUM ADVANCES IN NEW MATERIALS Fort Lauderdale, FL Nov. 17-21, 1990

This symposium will focus on new innovative chemistries in emerging polymer science fields.  Invited papers and con­tributed poster sessions will include topics on high perfor­mance polymers, optical properties of polymers, polymers for electronic applications, electronically conductive poly­mers and new polymeric materials. Chair: Joseph C. Salamone.

POLYMER '91, IUPAC INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM, 10-15 February, 1991, Melbourne, Australia

POLYMER MATERIALS: PREPARATION, CHARAC­TERIZATION AND PROPERTIES" 50 Intemational Review Lectures by lnvited Lecturers from 16 countries. Contributed Papers and Posters on all aspects of Polymer Materials.

Workshops: 1."NMR of Polymers". 2. "Applications of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy".3. "Thermal Analysis of Polymers".IUPAC Seminar: "Future Directions in Polymer Science and Technology: The International View" '

DITA(-)RACI Seminar: "Future Directions in Polymer Science and Technology in Australia" Further Information from: POLYMER 91 Secretariat, Dept. of Chemistry, University of QueenslandQLD 4072, Aus­tralia.

POLYMER TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE

in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. Wyndham Franklin Plaza, Philadelphia, PA June 3-5, 1991

Topical Areas: -Solvent Free Chemistry and Technology -100% Solids Coatings

-Water Born Coatings, -Melt Processing, -Enhancement of Polymer Properties Through Mechani­cal and Chemical Means, -High Performance Polymers, -Recyclable Polymers, -Polymers for Designed Applications, -Applications of Polymers for Biological Systems, -Barrier Polymers and Constructions, -Polymers for Hostile Environments.

General Chairman, J.C. Salamone. Co-Chairmen: N.G. Gaylord, B.C. Anderson, J.E. McGrath.