Synthesis, Characterization, and Theory of Polymeric Networks and Gels

Polymer science is a technology-driven science. More often than not, technological breakthroughs opened the gates to rapid fundamental and theoretical advances, dramatically broadening the understanding of experimental observations, and expanding the science itself. Some of the breakthroughs involved the creation of new materials. Among these one may enumerate the vulcanization of natural rubber, the derivatization of cellulose, the giant advances right before and during World War II in the preparation and characterization of synthetic elastomers and semi­ crystalline polymers such as polyesters and polyamides, the subsequent creation of aromatic high-temperature resistant amorphous and semi-crystal­ line polymers, and the more recent development of liquid-crystalline polymers mostly with n~in-chain mesogenicity. other breakthroughs involve the development of powerful characterization techniques. Among the recent ones, the photon correlation spectroscopy owes its success to the advent of laser technology, small angle neutron scattering evolved from n~clear reactors technology, and modern solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy exists because of advances in superconductivity. The growing need for high modulus, high-temperature resistant polymers is opening at present a new technology, that of more or less rigid networks. The use of such networks is rapidly growing in applications where they are used as such or where they serve as matrices for fibers or other load­ bearing elements. The rigid networks are largely aromatic. Many of them are prepared from multifunctional wholly or almost-wholly aromatic kernels, while others contain large amount of stiff difunctional residus leading to the presence of many main-chain "liquid-crystalline" segments in the "infinite" network.

Katrin Kneipp received her Diplom and Ph.D. degree in Physics and Dr.sc. in Physical Chemistry from Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. Her current research interests at Harvard Medical School include single molecule and nanoscale spectroscopies and their broad interdisciplinary
applications.
Ricardo F. Aroca, obtained his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of Chile, PhD in Chemistry from Moscow State University. Presently he is University Professor at the University of Windsor.and fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada. His research is in surface-enhanced
vibrational spectroscopy and its analytical applications. Nanostructure fabrication and characterization.
Harald Kneipp received his Diplom in Physics from Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, and a Ph.D. degree in Physics from the Academy of Sciences in Berlin. He conducted research in the fields of plasma physics, nonlinear optics, and laser physics and development. His current interests include
applications of lasers and optical spectroscopy at the frontiers of science and medicine.
After graduating with a BSc (Hons) from University College Dublin (NUI) Edeline Wentrup-Byrne obtained her PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Her research interests include the use of vibrational spectroscopy to study naturally occurring biomaterials, the
surface-modification of fluorinated bone-repair materials (ePTFE) and the development of degradable polymeric scaffolds for use in bone repair applications. In addition, she is working with a multi-disciplinary team and a Brisbane-based industry Tissue Therapies to develop a novel skin
wound-healingbandage therapy. Currently she is a member of the Tissue Repair and Regeneration Program in the QUT Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation.