This award will support a U.S.-France Workshop on the Chemistry of Macromolecular Materials to be held in Williamsburg, Virginia in April 1988. The workshop will be jointly organized by Dr. James McGrath, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and Dr. Ernest Marechal, Laboratoire de Synthese Macromoleculaire, University of Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, France. The meeting will focus on polymer synthesis and modification reactions that are necessary to produce important materials. Three subthemes will include (1) the chemistry of isotropic and anisotropic matrix resins, (2) the synthesis and characterization of multiphase polymers and (3) the utilization of reactive processing, particularly with regard to grafting reactions, segmented copolymer synthesis and block copolymer-homopolymer blend preparations. The program will be oriented toward the development of novel chemistry that can be applied to prepare and modify high performance engineering matrix resins in related systems. Given the significant growth and utilization of macromolecular materials, the workshop is very timely. Despite rapid growth, there has been insufficient emphasis placed on the important chemistry and structural characterization identified with this field. In particular, the development of advanced composite materials, which are useful in many industrial applications, such as the aerospace, automotive, and electronic industries, has proceeded to the stage where additional progress can only be made by new advances in the synthesis of matrix resins and related materials. France has been particularly strong in polymer synthesis, and the French co-organizer Dr. Marechal is an internationally recognized expert in the development of new polymeric materials. This seminar will provide an important forum for the exchange of information between U.S. and French polymer chemists.
