National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
Support for this project was provided by the National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Department of Army, Department of Energy (Grant No. DE-FG05-92ER-45478), E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Department of the Navy, and the Basic Science Fund of the National Academy of Sciences, whose contributors include the AT&T Foundation, Atlantic Richfield Foundation, BP America, Dow Chemical Company, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, IBM Corporation, Merck and Company, Inc., Monsanto Company, and Shell Oil Companies Foundation.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Polymer science and engineering : the shifting research frontiers / Committee on Polymer Science and Engineering, Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications, National Research Council.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-309-04998-9
1. Polymers—Research. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Polymer Science and Engineering.
QD281.P6P635 1994
668.9—dc20 94-21613
CIP
Copyright 1994 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
COMMITTEE ON POLYMER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
RICHARD S. STEIN,
University of Massachusetts at Amherst,
Chair
LESTER C. KROGH,
3M (retired),
Vice Chair
DOTSEVI Y. SOGAH,
Cornell University,
Vice Chair
C. JEFFREY BRINKER,
Sandia National Laboratory
KENNETH A. DILL,
University of California at San Francisco
ROBERT H. GRUBBS,
California Institute of Technology
EDWARD J. KRAMER,
Cornell University
SONJA KRAUSE,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
JAMES E. MARK,
University of Cincinnati
DAVID W. McCALL,
AT&T Bell Laboratories (retired)
JAMES E. McGRATH,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
JAMES E. NOTTKE,
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.
DONALD R. PAUL,
University of Texas at Austin
S. ELAINE PETRIE,
Eastman Kodak Company (retired)
DAVID A. TIRRELL,
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
C. GRANT WILLSON,
University of Texas at Austin
Staff
TAMAE MAEDA WONG, Study Director
MARIA P. JONES, Project Assistant
BOARD ON CHEMICAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY
PETER DERVAN,
California Institute of Technology,
Co-chair
EDWIN PRZYBYLOWICZ,
Eastman Kodak Company (retired),
Co-chair
PAUL S. ANDERSON,
Merck Sharp & Dohme
ALEXIS BELL,
University of California at Berkeley
DAVID C. BONNER,
Premix, Inc.
PHILIP H. BRODSKY,
Monsanto Company
GREGORY R. CHOPPIN,
Florida State University
FRED P. CORSON,
Dow Chemical Company
MICHAEL P. DOYLE,
Trinity University
BERTRAM O. FRASER-REID,
Duke University
JOSEPH G. GORDON II,
IBM Almaden Research Center
L. LOUIS HEGEDUS,
W.R. Grace & Co.
KENDALL HOUK,
University of California at Los Angeles
DOUGLAS A. LAUFFENBERGER,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
MARSHA I. LESTER,
University of Pennsylvania
W. CARL LINEBERGER,
University of Colorado
ROYCE W. MURRAY,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
JEANNE E. PEMBERTON,
University of Arizona
W. HARMON RAY,
University of Wisconsin at Madison
JOANNE STUBBE,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Staff
DOUGLAS J. RABER, Director
SCOTT WEIDMAN, Senior Program Officer
TAMAE MAEDA WONG, Program Officer
SYBIL A. PAIGE, Administrative Associate
MARIA P. JONES, Senior Project Assistant
KASANDRA GOWEN, Project Assistant
TANA SPENCER, Project Assistant
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS AND APPLICATIONS
RICHARD N. ZARE,
Stanford University,
Chair
RICHARD S. NICHOLSON,
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Vice Chair
STEPHEN L. ADLER,
Institute for Advanced Study
JOHN A. ARMSTRONG,
IBM Corporation (retired)
SYLVIA T. CEYER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
AVNER FRIEDMAN,
University of Minnesota
SUSAN L. GRAHAM,
University of California at Berkeley
ROBERT J. HERMANN,
United Technologies Corporation
HANS MARK,
University of Texas at Austin
CLAIRE E. MAX,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
CHRISTOPHER F. McKEE,
University of California at Berkeley
JAMES W. MITCHELL,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
JEROME SACKS,
National Institute of Statistical Sciences
A. RICHARD SEEBASS III,
University of Colorado
LEON T. SIL VER,
California Institute of Technology
CHARLES P. SLICHTER,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ALVIN W. TRIVELPIECE,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Preface
The last decade has produced dramatic changes in national scientific and economic issues. Environmental goals have led to new standards, and the end of the Cold War has shifted national priorities from military to economic security. These changes have had direct effects on priorities for research and development in both the public and the private sector. The growing economic and industrial sophistication of other countries also presents new challenges for our economic stability. If the United States is to maintain its leadership role and ability to compete in the global market, we must clearly understand the frontiers of research in order to plan for the future.
In 1992, a committee was established by the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology (BCST) of the National Research Council (NRC) to assess the research frontiers in polymer science and engineering. Given the scientific advancements in the field since the publication of the 1981 NRC report, Polymer Science and Engineering: Challenges, Needs, and Opportunities (National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.), it was clear that another look at polymer science and engineering was in order. The goals were to examine the recent advances in research and to identify new thrusts in the context of current and long-term national needs and concerns. The committee was charged to
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Identify ways that polymer research contributes to the solution of important national issues;
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Encourage the scientific and technological community to give increased attention to advancing the frontiers of research and education; and
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Recommend priorities to enable administrators, policymakers, and funding agencies to optimize the use of limited resources.
The study began with a workshop held in Washington, D.C., on March 26 and 27, 1992, at which invited specialists presented their views of their fields, outstanding scientific challenges, and areas that they thought should be emphasized. In addition, the committee surveyed other scientists, engineers, and industrialists by mail to obtain their views. Discussions among committee members were conducted over four meetings during 1992 and 1993, and consensus on the research priorities as identified in the recommendations was reached by the committee members. The broad state-of-the-art report that resulted is aimed at a diverse audience. For polymer research specialists, it offers a summary of current activities in research and commercial technologies. For investigators in other branches of materials science and fields applying polymers such as biomedicine and electronics, it reviews new directions in polymer research, emphasizing important interdisciplinary opportunites. Finally, for leaders in science policy and funding, this report presents topics chosen for their importance to society and delineates priority areas in polymer science and engineering.
The committee's chair is indebted to its members for the many hours that this able and conscientious group devoted to this effort. In particular, David W. McCall is recognized for his dedication and insight in editing the report into its final form. The efforts of BCST staff members Tamae Maeda Wong, Douglas J. Raber, and Maria P. Jones were also of major importance. The contributions of Douglas L. Smith of the California Institute of Technology, who edited the material for the vignettes, are very much appreciated. The appendix lists additional participants and writing contributors. All of us understood the importance of the task, whose results we hope will benefit the polymer community and the nation.
Richard S. Stein, Chair
Committee on Polymer Science and Engineering