PACIFIC POLYMER FEDERATION NEWSLETTER  No. 5  December, 1995

Co-Editors: James E. McGrath and Laurie S. Good 

Assistant Editor: Joyce Moser                               

 

Joseph C. Salamone (University of Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA) President, Chung Yup Kim (Korea lnstitute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Korea) Vice President, James E. McGrath (Virginia Institute of Techology and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA) Secretary/Treasurer

 

Members of the Council: Akihiro Abe (Japan), Kazuyuki Horie (Japan), David J. T. Hill (Australia), Graeme George (Australia), Chung Yup Kim (Korea), Sung Chul Kim (Korea), Fosong Wang (China), Yu-Der Lee (Taiwan, China), Supawan Tantayanon (Thailand), Noer Surdia (Indonesia), Almeria Natansohn (Canada), Dang Van Luyen (Vietnam), Jeffrey T. Koberstein (U.S.A.), Chee-Chong Ho (Malaysia), Neil Edmonds (New Zealand), Hardy Chan (Singapore), Takeshi Ogawa (Mexico).

 

President's Message: Joseph C. Salamone

In October, 1987 the Pacific Polymer Federation was created at a meeting in Tokyo, Japan. The three Found­ing Organizations were the Polymer Division of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, The Society of Polymer Science, Japan, and The Division of Polymer Chemis­try, Inc., of the American Chemical Society. The first President of the Federation was Otto Vogl of the United States ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry; the second was Professor Takeo Saegusa of Japan; and the third was James H . O'Donnell of Australia. Unfortunately, the PPF and polymer science worldwide suffered a great loss this year with the death of our friend and colleague, J.H. O'Donnell.

 

As part of the vision of the three founding persons working in conjunction with the Membership Committee of the PPF Council and the Council as a whole, membership in the PPF has risen dramatically to in­clude a total of fifteen polymer oriented societies in the Pacific.  In addition to the three founding societies, PPF membership now includes The Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division of the Chemical Institute of Canada; The Polymer Division of the Chinese Chemi­cal Society; The Indonesian Polymer Association; The Polymer Society of Korea; The Polymer and Industrial Section of the Institute of Chemistry of Malaysia; Divi­sion of Polymers and Organic Materials, Mexican Acad­emy of Materials Sciences; The Polymer Group of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry; The Plastics and Rubber Institute of Singapore; The Polymer Society of Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China; The Polymer Soci­ety of Thailand; Division of High Polymer Physics, The American Physical Society USA; and Division of Poly­mer Science, Chemical Society of Vietnam.

 

This year the PPF has organized the Fourth Pacific Polymer Conference in Kauai, Hawaii, December 12­1 6, 1 995. The large program includes plenary lectures of J.A. Miller of the USA, T. Tachi of Japan, and Y. S. Kim of Korea in conjunction with approximately 592 oral papers and posters.

 

Indeed, since its inception the PPF has shown tremen­dous growth and vitality. The organization looks for­ward to continued and improved interaction of all poly­mer oriented scientifists and engineers in the Pacific region.

 

Fourth Pacific Polymer Conference (PPC-4)

The Fourth Pacific Polymer Conference was held on December 12-16, 1995 in Kauai, Hawaii.  The location of the meeting was the Hyatt Regency Resort which overlooks the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean.  The ambi­ance was wonderful and set the tone for the outstand­ing scientific program that was held.

 

There were almost 600 papers presented, which is a record number for the Confederation.  The meeting was based around 12 major symposium topics in polymer chemistry, which included: Adhesion Science: Surfaces and Interfaces, Enhancement of Polymer Properties, Biorelated Polymers, Emulsion, Suspension and Dis­persion Polymerizations, Mechanical Behavior of Poly­mer Blends, Membrane Technology, New Polymer Syn­thesis, Olefin and Diolefin Catalysis, Polymer Degra­dation and Stabilization, Polymers foradvanced Opti­calapplications, Water-Bome Coatings, Muldfunctional and Smart Matefials.  These symposia were organized by the outstanding polymer scientists in these specific areas of research.  In addition, there were Poster Ses­sions and General Oral Papers presented.

 

The meeting was opened on Tuesday afternoon, December 12, with remarks by the President of PPF, Joseph C. Salamone. His remarks were fol­lowed by Otto Vogl, who introduced Joseph A. Miller, Executive Senior Vice President of DuPont USA, the first of three plenary speakers, who spoke on "Polymers for the Twenty First Century-An Industrial Perspective" He was followed by Tadasu Tachi of Japan who discussed "My Life at Kaneka Corporation". The final plenary speaker, Youn Sik Kim, reported on "The Prospects of Polymer Industries in Korea". The session convened to a grand welcoming social in the verdant tropical gardens.

 

Six concurrent symposia sessions were held on the mornings of Wednesday through Saturday. In addi­tion, on Wednesday and Friday afternoons six concur­rent oral sessions were organized on general topics which included areas related to the symposia. The poster sessions were conducted on Wednesday and Friday evenings, during which time refreshments were served, making the program a wonderful scientific event with a pleasant social atmosphere.

 

On Thursday evening a delicious Luau was held as the banquet ceremony The dinner included native foods and entertainment, which was greatly enjoyed by all the attendants.  In addition to this wonderful evening, other events such as tours of the beautiful island of Kauai were enjoyed by the conferees, including Dis­cover Kauai and Alluring Hanalei.  The program ended on Saturday after the morning session of scientifi meetings. (Contributed by Ray Ottenbrite)

 

Fifth Pacific Polymer Conference (PPC-5)

October 26-30,1997, Kyongju, Korea

Organized by the Polymer Society of Korea for the Pacific Polymer Federation

 

Invitation

The Organizing Committee is pleased to invite all indi­viduals who are interested in the most recent progress in polymer science and engineering to participate in the 5th Pacific Polymer Conference.-the Conference will take place on October 26-30,1997 at Hotel Hyundai in Kyongju, Korea.  We believe the Conference will give you an opportunity to share and discuss ideas and per­spectives on polymer research and development.

 

Organizing Committee: Chairman: Chung Yup Kim, Program Committee:  Chairman: Jin Chu, Jung, Secretariat: Sung Chul Kim

 

Scientific Sessions:1.Polymer Synthesis and Reactions, Novel Synthesis and Reactions, Polymerization Catalysts; 2. Polymer Blends and High Performance Polymers, Polymer Blends, Polymer Composites, Liquid Crystalline Polymers, 3. Functional Polymers: Membranes, Polymers for Electronics/Photonics; 4. Biorelated Polymers: Biodegradable Polymers, Biomedical Polymers, 5. Physical Polymer Science, Polymer Solutions and Gels, Polymer Surfaces and Interfaces, Structure-Properties of Polymers; 6. Modification of Commercial Polymers

 

Venue: Hotel Kyondai

Kyongju was the capital of the ancient Shilia Dynas which had lasted for 1,000 years (57 B.C.-935 A.D.).  A the center of that golden period in Korean culture Kyongju has many royal tombs, pagodas, statures temples and other historical ruins which all bear wit ness to the grandeur of the Shilia culture.

 

Pacific Polymer Federation

 

The Pacific Polymer Federation (PPF) was founded in 1987 to encourage and facilitate interactions between polymer organizations involving the Pacific.  Current members are associations of Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States.  Since its foundation, four conferences were successfully held in Maui, USA (1989), Otsu, Japan (1991), Gold Coast, Australia (1993), and Kauai, USA (1995). The next conference (PPC-5) will be held in Kyongju, Korea, 1997.