Electrical Properties of Polymers and More

(From left) Professors A. Miniewicz, J. Sworakowski, S. Nespurek (chairman), J. -I. Jin (IUPAC representative), H. Inoguchi, N. Karl, and J. Pfleger (cochairman) in front of the historic Carolinum building of Charles University in Prague during the opening day of the conference.

by Jung-Il Jin

The 9th International Conference on Electrical and Related Properties of Polymers and Other Organic Solids (ERPOS) was held in the beautiful city of Prague, Czech Republic, from 14 to 18 July 2002. The opening ceremony was held in the afternoon of 14 July in the Carolinum, a historic building of the Charles University in the center of the Old Town. The symposium itself was held from 15 to 18 July in the auditorium of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry (IMC) at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, located in Heyrovskeho.

The opening ceremony began with a welcoming speech to all participants from Professor S. Nespurek, the conference chairman. This was followed by speeches by Professor J. Sworakowski, a member of the International Advisory Board, and myself acting as IUPAC Representative. Professor J. Pfleger, the conference cochairman, led the opening ceremony and introduced the details and itinerary of the symposium program.

Opening lectures were given by Professors H. Inokuchi (Japan) and N. Karl (Germany). Inokuchi presented an excellent review of 50 years of history in organic conductors. Karl delivered an illuminating and critical review of recent progress in organic field-effect transistors. The excursion through the historic rooms of the Carolinum after the two opening lectures helped participants wash out the tiredness accumulated by the long flight from Seoul to Prague; not to mention all the food and wine served afterwards during the welcome reception.

On the morning of 15 July, Professor K. Ulbrich, director of IMC, delivered a welcoming address before the technical session began. Ulbrich mentioned that this particular meeting was a combination of the 9th International Conference on ERPOS and the 21st Discussion Conference of the Prague Meeting on Macromolecules. He pointed out this was the 62nd Prague Meeting on Macromolecules—testament to how deeply rooted IMC is in the history of polymer science.

In addition, there were 10 main lectures, 25 special lectures, and 90 poster presentations. The list of the main lectures gives a glimpse of the major topics of the conference:

• Z. G. Soos and E. V. Tsiper (USA), Polarization Energies, Transport Gap, and Charge Transfer States of Organic Molecular Crystals
• H.Bässler et al. (Germany), Exciton Dissociation in Conjugated Polymers
• J. Zyss (France), Steering Molecules by Light: From NonLinear Optics (NLO) as a Goal to NLO as a Tool
• D. Haarer et al. (Germany), Charge Carrier Generation and Transport in Photorefractive Applications
• J. Kalinowski (Poland), Recombination Radiation from Organic Solids
• N. S. Sariciftci (Austria), Conjugated Polymer Based Solar Cells
• C. Flytzanice (France), Nonlinear Chiro-Optical Activity in Chiral Organic Molecular Complexes and Polymers
• J.-M. Nunzi et al. (France), Optical Structuring of Plastic Materials for Electronics
• M. Iwamoto (Japan), Interfacial Phenomena in Organic Polymer Films and the Generation of Maxwell Displacement Current
• J.-I. Jin et al. (Korea), Luminescence Properties of Novel PPV Derivatives and Low-Molar Mass Molecules Bearing Carbazole and Oxadiazole Moieties

All of the oral presentations were very high in scientific quality; the discussions that followed often times were very heated. The scientific quality of poster presentations also was very high. In particular, the panel discussion on "From Molecular Crystals to Polymers and Single Molecules," led by R. W. Munn (UK), J. Sworakowski (Poland), and R. M. Metzger (USA) brought up the importance of research cooperation among the scientists in different disciplines. It was concluded that a conference such as this could catalyze interdisciplinary research coworks that could result in scientifically, as well as technically, more significant contributions. Different approaches being taken among the scientists in different branches also were critically discussed. Such a panel discussion is very important in developing directions not only for research, but also for future conferences.

The excursion to the 15th-century Sychrov Castle and the 11th-century Detenice Chateau was memorable. The concert of the Telleman Quartet in the chateau concert hall took the participants to a different, more humane, and relaxing moment for a while. The informal dinner in the castle restaurant was another unforgettable experience.

The closing ceremony was held 18 July right after the 25th Special Lecture by G. Juska (Lithuania). At this time it was announced that the next meeting (10th International Conference of ERPOS) would be held in 2005 in Angers, France. Jean-Michel Nunzi (Université d’Angers, France) will be the organizer of the meeting.

The 9th conference was attended by 126 participants from 24 countries; just the right size and mix for this kind of conference on interdisciplinary research topics. The organization was superb and the meeting went as scheduled without a single interruption. Most of the credit for the success of this conference should go to Stanislav Nespurek, Jiri Pfleger, and their colleagues at the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry.

Jung-Il Jin is professor at the Korea University in Seoul, Korea, and vice president of the IUPAC Macromolecular Division.