Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research Symposium: An Interdisciplinary and International Forum for Future Leaders in Polymeric Materials, March 22-26, 2009, Salt Lake City, UT

摘要技术优点：聚合物材料的进步继续催化我们国家未来的关键技术，从生物医学设备和水净化膜中的带电聚合物到传感器和替代能源解决方案中的导电聚合物。 多功能聚合物材料需要我们在从纳米到厘米的长度尺度上的基本理解。 我们对基本结构-性能-性能关系的持续关注对于我们的持续成功和社会影响至关重要，研究战略需要跨学科和团队的愿景，以实现快速和集成的解决方案。 正是这种跨学科的战略将使聚合物科学和工程的新发现。 这项研究计划将使我们未来的领导者，谁是目前来自美国各地领先大学的研究生，聚集在一个独特的高分子科学和工程的国际论坛。 口头报告和互动海报会议将解决关键的研究领域，包括理论和分子建模，聚合物设计和合成策略，聚合物表征使用最先进的技术，基于聚合物的设备的工程，以及聚合物化学，物理，生物学和工程接口的基本理解。 此外，该论坛将鼓励科学网络建设，并提高年轻聚合物科学家和工程师对跨学科研究的认识。 研讨会将在2009年春季美国化学学会全国会议在犹他州的盐湖举行。 建议的NSF资金将允许我们的一些领先的研究生出席，确保多元化的参与，并展示跨学科研究的重要性，以解决我们的科学界面临的一些更复杂的问题。更广泛的影响：大学和商业实验室立即认识到跨学科研究的重要性;然而，大学生真正体验科学和工程跨学科会议的机会仍然有限。 例如，许多年龄较小的学生没有机会在国际会议上作口头发言。 戈登研究会议（GRC）组织最近的关注使聚合物材料研究生研究研讨会（GRS）的形成成为可能;然而，由于其独特的教学法和更侧重主题的课程，出席人数往往有限。 一个名为“卓越的研究生聚合物研究”的研讨会将为国际科学家和工程师提供一个开放的论坛，以培养国际合作精神。 该论坛将有助于表彰研究生中的主要研究人员，并提供一种机制或重新建立伙伴关系，以基层方式发展。 研讨会将提供一个教育体验，学生将能够基准他们的研究策略和演讲技巧，参与者将提高他们对聚合物科学和工程新边界的新兴主题的认识。

AbstractTechnical Merit: Advances in polymeric materials continue to catalyze our nation's future critical technologies ranging from charged polymers in biomedical devices and water purification membranes to conducting polymers for sensors and alternate energy solutions. Multifunctional polymeric materials require our fundamental understanding at length scales ranging from nanometers to centimeters. Our constant attention to fundamental structure-property-performance relationships is critical for our continues success and societal impact, and research strategies demand an interdisciplinary and teamed vision for both rapid and integrated solutions. It is this interdisciplinary strategy that will enable new discoveries in polymer science and engineering. This research proposal will allow our future leaders, who ae currently graduate students from leading universities across the United Staes, to assemble in a unique international forum of polymer science and engineering. Oral presentations and interactive poster sessions will address key research areas including theory and molecular modeling, polymer design and synthetic strategy, polymer characterization using state-of-the-art techniques, engineering of polymer-based devices, and fundamental understanding of the interface of polymer chemistry, physics, biology and engineering. Moreover, this forum will encourage scientific network building and raise the awareness of the necessiry for interdisciplinary research to younger polymer scientists and engineers. The symposium will occur at the 2009 spring national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Salt Lake City, Utah. The proposed NSF funding will permit the attendance of some of our leading graduate students, ensure diverse participation, and showcase the importance of interdisciplinary research for solving some of the more complex questions that face our scientific community.Broader Impact: University and commercial laboratories immediately recognize the importance of interdisciplinary research; however, the opportunities for university students to truly experience an interdisciplinary meeting of science and engineering remain limited. For example, many younger students are not provided with the opportunity for an oral presentation at an international meeting. Recent attention from the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) organization has enabled the formation of Graduate Research Seminars (GRS) in polymeric materials; however, attendance is often limited due to their unique pedagogy and more thematically focused programs. An encompassing symposium entitled "Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research" will provide an open forum for international scientists and engineers to cultivate an international spirit of collaboration. The forum will serve to recognize leading graduate student researchers and provide a mechanismf or reasearch partnerships to evolve in a grass-roots fashion. The symposium will offer an educational experienc where students will be able to benchmark their research strategies and presentation skills, and participants will raise their awareness of emerging themes at new boundaries of polymer science and engineering.