Travel Support for Scientists to Participate ACS Symposium "Next-Generation Renewable Polymers", San Diego, CA March 25-29, 2012

University South Carolina Research Foundation, Columbia SC

Investigators

Abstract

TECHNICAL The development of renewable polymers is driven by the economic and strategic need to reduce the nation's dependence on petroleum based products. It is also driven by the environmental goal of reducing the carbon footprint. This symposium is being organized to cover the latest progress in developing next generation polymers from renewable biomass. Stemming from the biomass starting point, the program will include new monomer development, synthesis and polymerization, the chemical modification of natural polymers, structure property relationships, and new concepts on the synthesis and characterization of materials with new molecular architectures, functionalities and compositions. The request for funding is to cover travel/registration costs of invited speakers which include graduate students and postdocs. The symposium, "Next-Generation Renewable Polymers", will be held at the ACS American Chemical Society Meeting in San Diego CA, March 25-29, 2012. NONTECHNICAL The development of renewable polymers is driven by the economic and strategic need to reduce the nation's dependence on petroleum based products such as the vast array of synthetic polymers (e.g. polyethylene, polypropylene) in widespread usage today. It is also driven by the environmental objective of reducing the carbon footprint. The pursuit of these goals has led with increasing effort to the development of new renewable monomers (building blocks) from the biomass, and their polymerizations (chain-like end to end attachments) to yield polymers with desirable end properties, which after usage, can in turn be broken down into the reusable (renewable) materials. Examples of naturally occurring (biomass) sources are vegetable oils, sugars, cellulose derivatives. This symposium is being organized to cover the latest progress in developing next generation polymers from renewable biomass. The request for funding is to cover travel/registration costs of invited speakers which include graduate students and postdocs. The symposium, "Next-Generation Renewable Polymers", will be held at the ACS American Chemical Society Meeting in San Diego CA, March 25-29, 2012.