Macromolecular Symposia Vol. 349and350, March and April 2015
Editor: Tatsuki Kitayama, Sadahito Aoshima, and Masami Kamigaito
The Ionic Polymerization series of symposia have roots in the individually-held international symposia on cationic, anionic, and ring-opening polymerizations. In 1992, the European Polymer Federation Workshop on “Anionic Polymerization and Related Processes” was held in Mainz, Germany. Leading experts who attended the workshop recognized the closer relationship and interplay among these polymerization processes in view of precise control of polymer structures and macromolecular architectures. They prepared and distributed a circular letter through the international community to ask for opinions on the merger of these symposia. The decision to merge was made during the 11th International Symposium on Cationic Polymerization and Related Processes, held in Borovetz, Bulgaria, in 1993. The first “International Symposium on Ionic Polymerization” was held in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1995. Otto Vogl, a member of the International Advisory Committee of IP2013 who passed away on April 27, 2013, and Yusuf Yagci, the chair of the first IP, published the first conference report with a brief description of the history of the symposia [1]. After Istanbul, the IP series symposia have been held around the world in the following sequence:
Istanbul, Turkey (1995) → Paris, France (1997) → Kyoto, Japan (1999) → Crete, Greece (2001) → Boston, USA (2003) → Goa, India (2005) → Kloster Banz, Germany (2007) → Krakow, Poland (2009) → Akron, USA (2011) → Awaji, Japan (2013)
The latest International Symposium on Ionic Polymerization (IP2013) was held in Awaji Island, Japan, 23-28 September 2013. The scientific program of IP2013 consisted of 49 invited, 9 contributed oral, 20 short oral (for young researchers), and 70 poster presentations, which addressed contemporary research, both fundamental and applied, in the areas of anionic, cationic, and ring-opening polymerizations, as well as other techniques of living/controlled polymerizations. The program also incorporated papers on the analysis of polymeric materials. The quality of the posters was evaluated by an international task group (6 foreign and 3 Japanese professors). The task group awarded three IUPAC Poster Awards as well as three RSC Polymer Chemistry Poster Awards.
The steering committee, attended by 19 members, approved the next IP meeting, to be held in Bordeaux, France (see http://ip15.sciencesconf.org).
Among the 49 invited speakers, 6 were from industry, while 3 of the 9 contributed orals were from industry. These numbers are relatively large in this series of symposia, and reflect the high standard of the Japanese polymer industry. The topics from industry are also wide-spread, covering anionic synthesis of acrylic block copolymers, practical applications of controlled/living radical polymerizations, and ring-opening polymerizations.
Polymer News, 1996, 21, 352–359; Prog. Polym. Sci., 1997, 22, 1381–1395.
©2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
