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Pure Appl. Chem., 2013, Vol. 85, No. 3, pp. iv

Preface

Hassan S. Bazzi

The 14th International Conference on Polymers and Organic Chemistry (POC 2012) was held 6-9 January 2012 in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar. This conference followed the 13th edition of this series, which was held in Montreal, Canada in 2009, and is a biannual meeting that travels from one continent to another since its inception in 1982 in Lyon, France to discuss recent results in the fields of polymer and organic chemistry in order to promote their importance in our everyday lives. This was the first IUPAC-sponsored meeting ever in the State of Qatar and the first time this meeting (POC) took place in the Arab world since it was established. POC 2012 was a very successful event, attended by approximately 300 chemists from over 15 countries.

The conference featured Dr. Robert H. Grubbs, Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology and 2005 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, as keynote speaker. His lecture was titled “The synthesis of large and small molecules using olefin metathesis catalysts”.

The conference consisted of eight oral sessions, which focused on:

- Polyolefins (Chair: Dr. Abbas Razavi, Total Petrochemicals Research Feluy)
- Responsive and smart polymers (Chair: Dr. David E. Bergbreiter, Texas A&M University)
- Polymers in energy (Chair: Dr. Hiroyuki Nishide, Waseda University)
- Polymers as therapeutics (Chair: Dr. Karen L. Wooley, Texas A&M University)
- Advances in polymer synthesis (Chair: Prof. Brigitte Voit, Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden)
- Orthogonal chemistry: organic and polymer synthesis (Chair: Dr. Craig Hawker, University of California Santa Barbara)
- Macromolecular engineering with biomolecules (Chair: Dr. Hanadi F. Sleiman, McGill University)
- Polymers from renewable resources (Chair: Dr. Joe Kurian, Dupont Company).

In addition to the keynote lecture, the conference featured an impressive 43 invited lectures by prominent chemists from all over the globe. The oral sessions featured an additional 29 contributed talks. The poster session showcased the latest results presented by 71 faculty and students attendees.

The organizers of the POC 2012 would like to thank the sponsors who generously supported this event. Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) was the premier sponsor. The organizers are also grateful to the following sponsors: Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO), Qatar University, Qatar Foundation, Texas A&M University at Qatar, and Qatar Airways.

I would like finally to acknowledge all the members of the POC 2012 Organizing Committee and International Advisory Committee for their immense contributions. Special thanks are extended in particular to Hala El-Dakak and G. Benjamin Cieslinski for their outstanding efforts.


Hassan S. Bazzi
Conference Chair