Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on December 31, 2017 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: November 6, 2001 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2002-0801.pr001
Preface The diversity of research in polymer colloids continues to grow. Although the subject may seem narrow to those on the outside, it is witnessed by those of us inside as being rich in variety as can be seen by a glance at the chapter titles in this symposium book. It is an expanding field that can scarcely be contained in a single phrase or book. This book is based on the Polymer Colloids Symposium held at Lehigh University, June 19-21, 2000, as part of the 74 Colloid and Sur face Science Symposium. The former was organized to honor the memory of one of the leading figures in polymer colloids. John William Vanderhoff was a man of diverse interests. He had two careers: the first at the Dow Chemical Company, where he spent 20 years; then moving in 1970 to his second at Lehigh University, where he spent the remainder of his career until retiring with emeritus status in 1998. He was cofounder of the Emulsion Polymers Institute at Lehigh and director of the National Printing Ink Research Institute. He coauthored more than 200 papers, and held 12 United States and 30 foreign patents. Among many notable accomplishments, he was principal investigator for a joint univer sity-National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) research program, which in 1982 produced the first commercial product to be made in space: 10 micrometer monodisperse polystyrene latex particles. As a result of this work, he was named a corecipient of the 1984 Inventor of the Year Award given by N A S A . Besides his pioneering work of developing monodisperse latexes, other areas of notable accomplishment are in latex characterization, kinetics and mechanism of emulsion polymerization, com petitive growth, inverse emulsion polymerization, and film formation and drying. His formidable memory and wide-ranging interests were exhibited in his discourse on many subjects in and out of the field of polymer colloids. John Vanderhoff touched the lives of many, particularly the professors, postdoctorates, students, and colleagues with whom he inter acted. He will be remembered for his prolific research ideas, congeniality, and humor. He is missed by all of us. This book contains a wide variety of chapters ranging from the aca demic to the practical. Although most chapters originate in academic labs, the majority are oriented toward industrial interests. The continuing move toward environmentally responsible products is largely responsible for this. Many types of latexes are represented: homopolymers, copolymers, and th
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Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on December 31, 2017 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: November 6, 2001 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2002-0801.pr001
natural polymers, those made with reactive surfactants and polymeric stabilizers, surface modified, hybrids, and blends. Processes vary from batch to semicontinuous, free radical, and controlled free radical, disper sion, and suspension. Kinetics, on-line monitoring, and control are repre sented as well. During the past five years, more than the usual number of books have appeared with similar subject matter. This is evidence for the continuing growth in this field and the need to "keep-up" is part of the reason for this acceleration in published works. This book provides a snapshot of this field at this moment in time and should be valuable to those scientists and engineers engaged in polymer colloid research. We would like to thank all those participating in this publication: the authors for their prompt response to the demands of publication deadlines and especially the unnamed reviewers whose constructive comments and criticism helped to better shape the presented work.
Eric S. Daniels E. David Sudol Mohamed S. El-Aasser Emulsion Polymers Institute Iacocca Hall 111 Research Drive Lehigh University Bethlehem, P A 18015-4732
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