Symposium Editors: H. Pasch, R.D. Sanderson
Wiley-VCH, 2003, pp. 1-304
ISBN 3-527-30697-8

> Contents

Preface

UNESCO Chemistry for Life Division in Paris has 13 Associated Centres for research in chemical science and education. One of these is the UNESCO Associated Centre for Macromolecules & Materials which is part of the Chemistry Department of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. As part of its activities, UNESCO encourages and sponsors UNESCO Schools and scientific conferences in collaboration with scientific associations such as the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The UNESCO School and Conference on Macromolecules & Materials Science is held annually in Stellenbosch, South Africa (website : http://www.sun.ac.za/unesco/unesco.htm) Leading scientists in various fields of macromolecular science are invited to give tutorials at the UNESCO School and informative plenaries at the conference. The exposure to new ideas and advanced concepts in macromolecular science is of great importance for South African students and senior staff alike coming from different universities and research institutions. It is particularly valuable that with the support of UNESCO generous concessions can be made for attendees from disadvantaged communities and from countries with emerging technologies. The 5th UNESCO School & IUPAC Conference focused on new polymeric materials, polymer characterization, and recent developments in polyolefins. Abridged versions of a number of papers are compiled to create the present volume of Macromolecular Symposia. The content of the papers is also available in the Virtual Teaching Encyclopaedia which contains papers from previous UNESCO conferences as well (website: http://www.sun.ac.za/unesco/unesco.htm)

Harald Pasch UNESCO Associated Centre for Macromolecules & Materials University of Stellenbosch, Chemistry Department, Private Bag XI Matieland 7602, South Africa and German Institute for Polymers Schlossgartenstr. 6, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany E-mail: <[email protected]>.