Special issue of POLY-CHAR 2023 and in memory of Professor Melissa Chan Chin Han

doi:10.1515/ci-2024-0319

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Special issue of POLY-CHAR 2023 and in memory of Professor Melissa Chan Chin Han

Published/Copyright: July 15, 2024

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From the journal Chemistry International Volume 46 Issue 3

Jianyong Jin and Holger Schönherr

Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2024

Vol. 96, no. 2, 2024, pp. 147-148

https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2024-0202

The IUPAC-endorsed conference POLY-CHAR [Auckland] was held at Auckland, New Zealand from the 22nd to the 26th of January, 2023. POLY-CHAR is a nonprofit, non-governmental organisation fostering a friendly environment for sharing information, establishing student exchange and strengthening international cooperation. An important goal of POLY-CHAR is offering a forum for PhD students and young researchers to create their own scientific networks and experience a vested scientific community.

After postponement from January 2021, POLY-CHAR [Auckland] 2023 was the first live conference to be hosted since the two purely digital events of POLY-CHAR [Venice] 2021 and POLY-CHAR [Halle-Siegen] 2022. The POLY-CHAR regular attendees and newcomers were able to gather in-person after years of suspension during the pandemic. About 180 scientists attended POLY-CHAR 2023 from 29 countries and the conference programme consisted of a total of seven plenary speakers, 15 showcase speakers, 27 keynote speakers, 43 oral speakers and 19 poster presenters. The four-day conference plus one-day pre-conference workshop covered the following technical topics:

Advances in polymer physical and structural characterisation
Advances in synthetic polymer chemistry
Biological functional polymers
Polymers additive manufacturing (3D/4D printing)
Polymers for molecular separation, energy, and environment

This special issue in PAC includes contributions presented at POLY-CHAR 2023 collectively showcasing the recent advance in polymer research from synthesis to applications.

Furthermore, the present special issue is complemented with selected papers that honor late Prof. Dr. Melissa Chan Chin Han (Faculty of Applied Sciences of University Teknologi MARA, Malaysia) and her invaluable contributions to polymer science and the wider community through her very active role in IUPAC and in POLY-CHAR. During the opening ceremony obituary to Prof. Dr. Melissa Chan Chin Han was observed. Her dedication and tireless efforts to develop POLY-CHAR as an inclusive organization spanning all continents with a focus on providing opportunities especially for young scientists and to actively support their education is unsurpassed. With a balanced mix of tutorial contributions on central aspects of polymers and polymeric materials as well as highlights of recent developments, we bow to honor Melissa Chan Chin Han and dedicate this issue to the memory and legacy of our dear colleague, companion and friend.

Published Online: 2024-07-15

Published in Print: 2024-07-01

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ci-2024-0319

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