This award will enable Dr. Charles Han of the National Bureau of Standards to conduct collaborative research with Professors Mitsuro Nagasawa and Ichiro Noda of Nagoya University, Japan. They will use electron microscopy, small angle x-ray scattering and small angle neutron scattering techniques to characterize the morphology and conformations of deuterium - labeled block copolymers. This study will advance our knowledge of chain behavior in polymers, a scientifically and commercially important class of substances. Dr. Han's skills with the small angle neutron scattering work at the National Bureau of Standards and with block copolymer chain conformations are well established, as are the synthetic skills and sample preparation abilities of the Nagoya researchers.
