Progress in Pacific Polymer Science

This book is a collection of the addresses of the keynote speakers and invited lecturers as well as manuscripts of a few outstanding papers which were delivered at the First Pacific Polymer Conference organized by the Pacific Polymer Federation in Maui, Hawaii, 12-15 December, 1989. The First Pacific Polymer Conference covered a wide variety of topics in macromolecular science, demonstrating the emphasis given to polymer research in the Pacific Rim countries. The keynote speakers and invited lecturers are excellent scientists and leaders of effort who covered their fields expertly and in many cases gave their own perspective on the future of polymer science and engineering. A panel discussion on the role of polymers in the arts interested the attendees and emphasized the pervasiveness of polymers in all facets of life. The meeting was attended by over 500 scientists from all over the world. The participants left the meeting with renewed feeling for the importance of polymers in the material sciences and impressed by the progress in polymer research and development. This book, therefore, provides a wide -angle snapshot of the polymer research as we enter the 1990's. It is a useful book for all scientists interested in polymers and the progress of our science in the countries of the Pacific Rim. We hope that many attendees were stimulated by the meeting and that new ideas and new collaborations will result which will further enrich research, and lead to new useful polymers for all countries.

Welcoming Addresses.- The Pacific Polymer Federation.- Message from the Society of Polymer Science, Japan.- Message from Governor John Waihee.- Message from Mayor Hannibal Tavares.- The Role of Science in a Changing Society.- Scientific Papers.- Future Aspect of the Science of Matter, and Macromolecules.- Polymer Science and Technology: An Industrial Perspective.- Macromolecular Design and Architecture.- New Frontiers of Polyolefins and Advanced Olefin Based Alloys.- Recent Progress in Fluoropolymers.- Macromonomers with Activated Allyl End Groups: Synthesis and Copolymerization.- Condensation Macrocyclic Oligomers: Synthesis and Polymerization.- Recent Progress in Living Cationic Polymerization.- The Use of Free Radical Ring-Opening Polymerization to Produce Biodegradable Polymers.- Effect of Dopants and Solvents on Chronoamperometry of Polypyrrole.- Recent Developments in the Field of Engineering Plastics.- Solution Associations in Hydrophobically-Modified Polyethylene Oxides.- Preparation of Random, Block and Graft Copolymers of High Stereoregularity and their Characterization.- Condensation Block Copolymer Synthesis via Decarboxylation.- Polymeric Solid Electrolyte and Ion-Conduction.- Cure of High Performance Epoxy Resin Systems.- Functional Polymers Derived from 2-0xazolines.- Conducting Polymer Fibres with Excellent Mechanical Properties and High Electrical Conductivity.- Nonlinear Optically Active Polymers for Waveguide Application.- Free Radical Polymerizations in Compartmentalized Systems: The Role of Preformed Polymer.- Miscibility Behavior in Polyethersulfone/Polyimide Blends with and without Solvents.- SIMS Depth Profiling of Polymeric Materials Having Concentration Gradient.- NMR Studies of Copolymerizations of Acrylonitrile.- Methacrylate Star Polymers via Group Transfer Polymerization.- Hydrogen Bonding in Aromatic Polyamides.- Synthesis and Properties of Some Characteristic Elastomers.- Modifications of Natural Rubber.- Positive Photoresist Chemistry.- Electronic Energy Transport in Vinyl Aromatic Polymers.- Technological Trend of Polymer Industry in the Age of New Chemistry.- Petrochemicals for Malaysia.- Recent Advances in the Determination of Crosslinking and Scission in Irradiated Polymers.- New Polymer Coating for Reducing Ice and Snow Damages in Railways.- "What Can Polymer Chemistry Do to Other Fields of Chemistry?"- Direct Examination of Solution Structure and Collision Theory by Visual Imagery.- Update on Technology of Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Polymers.- Light Switching Effects of Polymer/(Liquid Crystal) Composite Systems.- Priorities for Research and Economic Development in the Polymer Industry in Australia.- Control of Addition and Ring-Opening Polymerizations with Metalloporphyrin Catalyst.- Synthesis and Properties of a New Fluoropolymer Obtained by Cyclopolymerization.- Some Hypothetical Allotropes of Carbon.- New Challenge of Polymer Industry Towards the 21st Century.- Polymer Science and the Arts.- Panel Discussion.- The Violin.- Lining Adhesives Used in Paintings Conservation, An Introduction.- Author Index.