Federally Funded Polymer Research

238th ACS National Meeting & Exposition
Washington, D.C., August 16-20, 2009

 

Co-organizers: Kate Beers (Polymers Division, NIST; 301-975-2113; beers@nist.gov ) Joe Pickel (Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, ORNL; pickeljm@ornl.gov ; 865-576-0329)

 

Description: The federal government supports polymer research through its various departments and agencies by means of substantial investments in the form of intramural and extramural sponsored research, as well as the operation of large User Facilities, including nanotechnology research centers and neutron and x-ray beam facilities with focus areas and instrumentation specific to polymer research. As the priorities of the federal investment shift to new areas of research, the community needs to understand the many mechanisms through which polymer research is supported as well as the missions and approaches of the various Federal programs which build infrastructure, fund academia, and employ researchers. The scale and scope of these efforts are rarely presented to the scientific community, although for those who have exposure it can provide important context for their research and advantage in their pursuit of support.

 

We are organizing a series of tutorials on the Federal R&D Landscape in Polymer Science and Polymer Research at National User Facilities. We plan to complement the tutorials with separate oral and poster sessions presenting a cross-section of the research that benefits from federal funding including that conducted at User Facilities, National Labs, and university based programs. Ideally these poster sessions will highlight graduate students and young faculty who are building their careers via access to these important national resources. If you fall into this category, we hope you will consider contributing to the Symposium.

 

Agency tutorials include: Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research Office, Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation, and Food and Drug Administration

 

User Facility tutorials include: several DOE Nanoscience Research Centers, NIST Center for Neutron Research, and many others Submission Deadline: March 18, 2009 (go to http://oasys.acs.org/acs/238nm/oasys.htm and click on POLY to submit)

 

Travel support for students, postdocs and assistant professors may be available; please contact the co-organizers for more information.