Washington ACS Meeting: Washington, DC; August 16-19, 2009

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ID: MPS/DMR/BMAT(7623) 0938713 PI: Xu, Ting ORG: California-Berkeley Title: Washington ACS MeetingINTELLECTUAL MERIT: This proposal seeks support for travel awards for graduate students, post-docs, and underrepresented faculty to attend the symposium on ?Hybrid Soft Materials of Natural and Synthetic Polymers? at the Fall ACS national meeting in Washington, D.C., August, 16-19, 2009 in the Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering. The organizers aim to capture recent developments and present research in both well-developed stages and in new directions. The proposed symposium is divided into four specific focus areas: (1) Peptide-directed self-assembly, (2) Amphiphilic peptides, conjugates and assemblies, (3) Hybrid responsive biomaterials, (4) Hierarchical assemblies toward biomaterials. The threefold objectives of the symposium are: (1) to highlight recent advances in the design, synthesis, phase behavior and application of hybrid soft materials combining polymers and natural building blocks, (2) to provide a platform for the polymer chemist, polymer physicist, material scientist and bioengineer to establish connections and exchange ideas, (3) to facilitate opportunities for minority and junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students to present their most recent research results and extend their horizon and knowledge base of hybrid materials. This symposium will provide opportunities for both leaders and young investigators working in these focus areas to share their recent advances, ideas, challenges, and solutions with the expectation that approaches being developed in one area can directly impact and facilitate advances in the others. In addition, the integration of polymer scientists, biophysicists and engineers, who may approach material design in different manners, may facilitate more rapid advancement of these technologies. Finally, the format of the symposium is intended to facilitate discussion among all scientists in attendance.BROADER IMPACTS: Because the symposium is under the auspices of the ACS Division of Polymer Materials Science and Engineering (PMSE), every oral presentation will be accompanied by a two page abstract in PMSE Preprints. These abstracts contain pertinent references and significantly support the impact of the oral presentation. Younger scientists and those from underrepresented groups will benefit from the opportunity not only to meet one another but to hear from and meet international leaders in the field. The symposium has a strong interdisciplinary character and will stimulate discussions among participants with a variety of scientific backgrounds.