Pacific Polymer Federation: A Model for International Cooperation

Chapter 9

Pacific Polymer Federation: A Model for International Cooperation Downloaded by EMORY UNIV on March 20, 2016 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date (Web): September 2, 2015 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2015-1195.ch009

William H. Daly* Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70803-1804, United States *E-mail: [email protected].

The Pacific Polymer Federation (PPF) was conceived at Pacifichem 1984, when an organizing committee for PPF was formed, which drafted a constitution expanding the bilateral agreements between SPSJ and POLY to include RACI and outlined the objectives of PPF. The founding members (Jim O’Donnell and David Hill, RACI, Takeo Saegusa and Akihiro Abe, SPSJ, and Otto Vogl and Joe Salamone, POLY) became the first PPF council. The first Pacific Polymer Conference (PPC) meeting was held in Maui in December 1989, establishing a tradition of relating the PPC meeting to Pacifichem. Since 1989, PPF has grown to a membership of 17 societies from 15 countries bordering the Pacific Rim. PPC is hosted by one of the member nations and held biennially in venues selected by the host since 1991. In addition to the biennial PPC conferences, many smaller conferences have evolved, thanks to the interactions promoted by PPF membership. PPF is fulfilling the objectives of the founding committee of facilitating interactions among polymer organizations and promoting the exchange of scientific knowledge through specialized polymer meetings and visits by polymer scientists around the Pacific Rim.

© 2015 American Chemical Society Cheng et al.; Jobs, Collaborations, and Women Leaders in the Global Chemistry Enterprise ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.

Downloaded by EMORY UNIV on March 20, 2016 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date (Web): September 2, 2015 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2015-1195.ch009

History of PPF In the early 1970’s polymer scientists of Japan and the U.S. began to interact and cooperate with each other, both professionally and personally. Universities of both countries recognized similar interests on common subjects, and the polymer communities of Japan and the U.S. began communicating through their professional organizations, exchanging ideas and scientific knowledge. In 1974, these interactions were formalized through a cooperation agreement, signed by the President of the Society of Polymer Science, Japan (SPSJ), Yoshio Iwakura, and the Chairman of the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry (POLY) Otto Vogl. Four years later, the two societies held their first joint symposium in Palm Springs, California, with Teiji Tsuruta and William Bailey as co-chairman. It was a meeting of broad implications and was considered a substantial success. In 1984, during an ACS meeting in Hawaii, Jim O’Donnell, Chairman of the Polymer Division of the Royal Australian Chemistry Institute (RACI) was approached by Takeo Saegusa of the SPSJ regarding regional cooperation. It was believed that what could not be achieved by the SPSJ and POLY on a bilateral basis might be possible on a regional basis. This established the concept of the Pacific Polymer Federation (PPF), a regional organization of polymer scientists from the Pacific Rim countries. Together, the three organizations came to an informal cooperation agreement, which was drafted into a constitution for the PPF soon after (1). A year later, the SPSJ-POLY cooperation held their second symposium in Kyoto, Japan, with Takeo Saegusa and Otto Vogl as co-chairman. The symposium was attended by the six founding representatives of PPF (Figure 1). In July 1988, at the first PPF council meeting in Kyoto, Japan, seven more organizations were added to the PPF: the Macromolecular Science & Engineering Division of the Chemical Institute of Canada, the Polymer Society of Korea, the Polymer and Industrial Section of the Institute of Chemistry of Malaysia, the Polymer Division of the Chinese Chemical Society, the Plastics and Rubber Institute of Singapore, and the Division High Polymer Physics, American Physical Society. These additions expanded the PPF’s representation to include six more countries and over 6,500 new members. In December 1989, the first official Pacific Polymer Conference was held in Maui, U.S.A. (Figure 2). Pacifichem, a pan-Pacific conference focused collaborations in chemistry, was being held a week later in Honolulu. This established the tradition of linking the PPC meeting to Pacifichem In 1993, two years after Takeo Saegusa became president of the PPF, membership grew to 17 organizations from 14 countries around the Pacific Rim and Pacific Islands. The 1993 additions to the PPF included the Macromolecular Division of the Chemical Society of Chile, the Hong Kong Chemical Society, the Indonesia Polymer Association, the Division of Polymers and Organic Materials, Mexican Academy of Materials of Sciences, the Polymer Society of Thailand, the Polymer Society of Taipei, and the division of Polymer Science, Chemical Society of Vietnam. 98 Cheng et al.; Jobs, Collaborations, and Women Leaders in the Global Chemistry Enterprise ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


The PPF Constitution The name of this cooperative effort between Pacific Rim countries is the Pacific Polymer Federation, otherwise known as the Federation. The Federation’s objective is to advance polymer science and technology by facilitating interaction between Pacific polymer organizations, exchanging scientific knowledge, participating in national polymer meetings, and conducting visits by polymer scientists. The exchange of ideas between scientists of different backgrounds and different countries, in particular, is a great contributor the advancement of polymer science, and is indispensable for the development of new technologies. The objectives are mutually beneficial for both science and industrial technology. Membership is open to all societies and associations of scientists and engineers, geographically situated near the Pacific Basin, which have part of their activities devoted to polymer science and/or technology. Member organizations are not committed by any action in conflict with their charters, constitutions, or bylaws – or those of their parent organizations.

Figure 1. The founding representatives of the PPF. From the top-left, clockwise, Otto Vogl (President), James H. O’Donnell (Deputy Vice President, Membership Chair), Takeo Saegusa (Vice President), Joe C. Salamone (Secretary Treasurer), Akahiro Abe and David J.T. Hill. (Courtesy of the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. Used with permission.) 99 Cheng et al.; Jobs, Collaborations, and Women Leaders in the Global Chemistry Enterprise ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


Meetings which garner international interest are conceived and promoted by the council. The meetings are organized by the council members of the chosen host country and may be financed (with the acceptance of profit or loss) by the participating body (or bodies) of the hosting country. Pacific Polymer Conferences, which are international meetings between the member organizations, are organized by the Council and held every two years. Pacific Polymer Conferences have traditionally been held in a relaxed atmosphere at business facilities that offer recreational opportunities nearby. There have been 13 PPCs so far, which have been held in major cities in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand, and the U.S.A. Participation in these conferences has been steadily rising over time, with the last three conferences gathering over 800 participants. The number of papers contributed for each program has followed a similar trend over time (Figure 3). The Federation’s policy towards publicizing the proceedings of its meetings is determined principally by the publication policy of the organizing national body or bodies. Prominent recognition of the Federation’s sponsorship accompanies all such publications. For the first three conferences, extended abstracts were published after the meeting in “Progress in Polymer Science”. The fourth PPC switched to a preprint book, and the thirteenth now makes the preprints available on USB drives.

Figure 2. PPF Members at PPC-1 in Maui, U.S.A., December 1989. (Courtesy of the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. Used with permission.) 100 Cheng et al.; Jobs, Collaborations, and Women Leaders in the Global Chemistry Enterprise ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


Figure 3. PPC registrants and contributed papers over time. (Courtesy of the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. Used with permission.)

The Federation may distribute a bulletin (or other forms of information) to its members and other interested organizations. These include newsletters as reports for each conference, minutes of Council meetings, Council member introductions, and upcoming workshops and symposia. The members of the current PPF Council are shown in Figure 4. Professor Krzysztof Matyjaszwski, Carnegie Mellon University, currently serves as the President of PPF.

Joint Symposia The PPF has held bi-national, U.S.-Mexico symposiums on advances in polymer science, known as MACROMEX. MACROMEX 2008 took place in Los Cabos, Mexico, and approximately 200 papers and posters were presented. This number rose to 250 in the second U.S.-Mexico symposium, MACROMEX 2011, which took place in Cancun, Mexico. MACROMEX 2014, which Canada is invited to participate in, is scheduled for December 3-6, 2014 at the Paradise Village Resort in Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico. 101 Cheng et al.; Jobs, Collaborations, and Women Leaders in the Global Chemistry Enterprise ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.

PPC 14


The 14th Pacific Polymer Conference is scheduled for Wednesday, December 9 to Sunday, December 13, 2015 at the Grand Hyatt Resort and Spa in Kauai, Hawaii, U.S.A. (2). The Conference will take place immediately prior to the International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies (Pacifichem 2015), which will be held from Tuesday, December 15, to Sunday, December 20 in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. It will feature 21 symposia on macromolecules and 35 symposia on materials and nanoscience.

Figure 4. The current PPF Council. (Courtesy of the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. Used with permission.)

The objective of PPC-14 is to develop an outstanding technical program which features international intellectual diversity in polymer science, create a pleasant social atmosphere for all participants, and promote future productive interaction among members of the Pacific Polymer Federation.

References 1. 2.

For more information on the history of PPF, see Polymer Chemistry Division History Page; http://www.polyacs.org/46.html (accessed Jan 27, 2015). For information on PPF 2015, see Polymer Chemistry Division Workshops Page; http://www.polyacs.net/Workshops/PPC14/home.htm (accessed Jan 27, 2015).

102 Cheng et al.; Jobs, Collaborations, and Women Leaders in the Global Chemistry Enterprise ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.

Pacific Polymer Federation: A Model for International Cooperation

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