2019: Polymers for Sustainability and Energy
Back Row: Hugo Bronstein, Cor Koning, Stefan Mecking, Michael Shaver
Middle Row: Marc Hillmyer, Karen Wooley, Edmund Carnahan, James Hendrick, Charlotte Williams
Front Row: Kathryn Beers, Natalie Stingelin, Nitash Balsara, Tony Ryan, Ken Lewtas
Inset: Peter Scott, Andrew Dove
HPRG 59th Meeting
Sunday 28th April - Thursday 2nd May 2019
Shrigley Hall Hotel, Pott Shrigley, Cheshire
Programme Organisers: Professors Charlotte Williams and Ken Lewtas
PDF Programme (204kB)
Monday, April 29th
Professor Tony Ryan (University of Sheffield)
"Welcome to the 59th Meeting of the High Polymer Research Group"
Session 1: Sustainable Polymers
Chair: Professor Charlotte Williams (University of Oxford)
Marc Hillmyer (University of Minnesota)
"Degradable block polyesters from renewable resources"
Karen Wooley (Texas A & M University)
"Natural Product Based Polymers that Address Food-Energy-Water Challenges"
Session 2: Functional Polyethylenes
Chair: Professor Eva Malmström Jonsson
Stefan Mecking (University of Konstanz)
"Monomers and Main Chain Functional Polyethylenes from Catalytic Upgrading of Seed and Microalgae"
Session 3: Polyethylenes
Chair: Dr Gareth Crapper (GDC consulting Ltd)
Edmund Carnahan (Dow)
"Tuning Polymer Properties for More Sustainable Solutions: The Development of Olefin Block Copolymers"
Peter Scott (University of Warwick)
"New Polyolefin-Polar Block Copolymers. From Concept to Business"
Tuesday, April 30th
Session 4: Recycling Polymers and Polymer Electronics
Chair: Professor Darrin Pochan (University of Delaware)
James Hedrick (IBM)
"Upcycling of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) and Polycarbonate Refuse to Advanced Therapeutics"
Natalie Stingelin (Georgia Tech)
"Phase Diagrams of Complex Materials: From the Katana, Swiss Chocolates to Organic Energy-Harvesting Device Materials"
Session 5: Sustainable Polyesters
Chair: Dr Jerry Winter (Unilever Research)
Michael Shaver (University of Edinburgh)
"Monomer Design for Functional and Sustainable Degradable Polyesters"
Session 6: Surfaces
Chair: Professor Joe Keddie (University of Surrey)
Kathryn Beers (NIST)
"Polymer Characterization of Plastic Debris in the Central Pacific or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Smelly Trash"
Cor Koning (DSM)
"Sustainable Coating Systems Based on Polycarbonates Made From CO2 and epoxides"
Wednesday, May 1st
Session 7: Energy
Chair: Professor Rachel O’Reilly (University of Birmingham)
Nitash Balsara (University of California, Berkeley)
"Ohm's Law for Polymer Electrolytes"
Hugo Bronstein (University of Cambridge)
"Precise Control of Excited States in Conjugated Polymers"
Session 8: Biomaterials
Chair: Dr Janette Jones (Unilever)
Andrew Dove (University of Birmingham)
"Chemical Design of 'Smart' Degradable Biomaterials"
Session 9: Polymers in the Desert!
Chair: Professor Charlotte Williams (University of Oxford)
Tony Ryan (University of Sheffield)
"Polyurethanes as Synthetic Soils: Hydroponics and Aquaponics in the Desert"
The High Polymer Research Group is grateful to the following companies and organisations for their support of our 2019 conference Polymers for Sustainability and Energy, our 59th annual conference:
GOLD sponsor:
INFINEUM Formulating, manufacturing and marketing fuel and lubricant additives.
SILVER sponsor:
UNILEVER: Foods, personal and household care products.
BRONZE sponsors:
ASHLAND: Specialty chemicals.
Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron. The high brilliance of the insertion device sources on I22 (Small Angle Scattering & Diffraction) and I07 (Surface & Interfaces) allows structural investigation of materials under different conditions, including harsh and real-world environments.
Elsevier: Frontiers in Polymer Science: Sixth International Symposium. 5-8 May 2019, Budapest, Hungary.
Green Materials: focuses on polymers and materials, with an emphasis on reducing the use of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of products.
Nature Communications: is an open access journal from Nature Research publishing high-quality research in all areas of the physical, biological and chemical sciences. Submit your research at https://www.nature.com/ncomms and follow us @NatureComms.
Polymer Chemistry: RSC Journal publishing synthesis, characterisation and applications of polymers.
Polymers — Open Access Polymer Science Journal: Offers rapid publication in polymer science, with high impact factor.
Soft Matter: RSC Journal focussing on the interface between physics, materials science, biology, chemical engineering and chemistry of soft matter.
In addition to the above sponsors, HPRG also gratefully acknowledges the contribution of Evonik.
The banner for 2019: Polymers for Sustainability and Energy is a photograph of Dorycium fulgurans, a member of the pea family native to the Mediterranean. Its branching pattern is reminiscent of that of a carbon polymer. (Image courtesy of Ken Lewtas, Lewtas Science & Technologies, Warwick and Edinburgh.)