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Vol. 29 No. 3
May-June 2007

Conference Call | Reports from recent conferences and symposia 
See also www.iupac.org/symposia

Advanced Polymers for Emerging Technologies

by Jung-Il Jin


The IUPAC International Symposium on Advanced Polymers for Emerging Technologies (PSK 30) was organized in Busan, Korea, 10–13 October 2006, by the Polymer Society of Korea in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of its foundation. This society organized the very successful IUPAC MACRO SEOUL ’96 conference just about 10 years ago. Once again, PSK held another excellently executed international conference with a high scientific standard. Since the meeting commemorated the 30th anniversary of PSK, the majority (87 percent) of the participants (1 935) were Koreans. However, the conference attracted 249 foreign participants from 26 countries: Japan (136), USA (23), China (15), Germany (14), Thailand (12), Iran (6), and Australia (5).

The four plenary speakers were Jean Fréchet (USA), Jung-Il Jin (Korea), Tisato Kajiyama (Japan), and Gerhard Wegner (Germany). Of the 84 invited speakers, 29 were Koreans, which reflected the international atmosphere of the celebration.

The 10 subsessions (Polymers for Electronics and Photonics, Smart Polymers for Sensors and Intelligent Systems, Biomedical Polymers, Polymers for Energy Conversion and Storage, Polymer Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, Polymer Syntheses and Reactions, Polymer Physics, Properties, and Characterization, Environmental and Green Polymers, Polymer Engineering and Processing, Industrial Polymers) encompassed the research areas of Advanced Polymers for Emerging Technologies and Contemporary Polymer Science and Technology, both of which dealt very much with futuristic subjects. A real contrast in audience participation was observed between the two types of sessions: Practically all of the first five sessions were packed with participants, whereas the second half attracted a much smaller audience. This strongly implied that, at least among Korean polymer scientists, polymer science is heading toward the development of high functional materials linked to advanced technologies in electronics, photonics, energy, and bio- and nanotechnologies.

Past Presidents of the Polymer Society of Korea

The scientific discussion in each session was very lively, especially those with internationally renowned invited speakers. Colorful poster presentations (936) by young scientists offered ample opportunities not only for heated discussion, but also for building friendships. The three IUPAC Poster Prizes were conferred upon Young-Jun Yu (Korea University, Korea) for “Photopatterning of Electroluminescent Polymers,” Shinichi Mochizuki (Kyushu University, Japan) for “Bioconjugates for Targeted Delivery,” and Sung-Kyoung Kim (Hanyang University, Korea) for “Elastic Modulus of Composite Nanofibers.” The prizes were given by Christopher K. Ober, vice president of the Polymer Division, during a banquet.

The outstanding arrangement of the scientific and other events was due to the meticulous preparations of the organizing committee members (Sung-Chul Kim, chairman; Doo-Sung Lee, secretary general; and Kwang-Duk Ahn, chairman of the Program Committee), for which all participants were very thankful. And the support of this event by PSK was exceptional as shown by the active participation of most of the past presidents.

During the opening ceremony, I had the honor of delivering a congratulatory message, including a presentation on the activities of the IUPAC Polymer Division. My congratulations to the organizers and the Polymer Society of Korea for their successful organization of the conference and the 30th anniversary of the society.

Jung-Il Jin <[email protected]> is the current president of the IUPAC Polymer Division. Jin is currently at Korea University, College of Sciences in the Department of Chemistry.


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