Plenary Speakers
Professor Volker Abetz – GERMANY
Institute of Polymer Research
GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht
Presentation title: Membranes based on Block Copolymers: Design, Preparation, and Properties
BIO: Volker Abetz studied Chemistry (Diploma) at the University of Freiburg, Germany from 1982 till 1987. He received his doctoral degree for his work on spectroscopic polarimetry on multicomponent polymer systems at the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry in 1990 at the same university, having also spent time at Stanford University. He worked for 3 years on structure and dynamics of polymer blends in the Department of Physics in the Max-Planck Institute of Polymer Research, Mainz, before he investigated semi-interpenetrating polymer networks at the Institute Charles Sadron in Strasbourg, France until 1994. After that he joined Prof. Reimund Stadler in the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Mainz, then moving to University of Bayreuth, Chair of Macromolecular Chemistry in 1997. In 2000 he received his habilitation for his work on the morphological properties of triblock terpolymers. After a short stay at the University of Potsdam he accepted a position as a director of the Institute of Polymer Research at GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht GmbH, in combination with a full professorship at the Faculty of Technology at the University of Kiel in 2004.
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Professor Anna Balasz – USA
Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
University of Pittsburgh
Presentation title: Using Theory and Simulation to Design Smart Polymeric Systems
BIO: Anna C Balazs is the Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and the Robert von der Luft Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2000-2001 and 2007-2008, she was a Visiting Fellow at Corpus Christi College at Oxford University, UK. She received her BA in physics at Bryn Mawr College and her PhD in materials Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After postdoctoral work in the Polymer Science Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 1987. Her research involves developing theoretical and computational models to capture the behavior of polymer blends, nanocomposites and multi-component fluids. Balazs served as the Chair of the Division of Polymer Physics of the American Physical Society (APS) (2000-2001), Co-Chair of the Spring MRS meeting (2000) and served on the APS Public Policy Committee. In addition, she is a Fellow of the APS. She was Chair of the Polymers West Gordon Conference in 1999. Among her awards is the Special Creativity Award from the National Science Foundation.
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Professor Phil Coates – UK
Pro-Vice-Chancellor
Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer
University of Bradford
Presentation title:
Seeing Processes: in-process measurements on polymers
BIO: Professor Phil Coates is a Physics graduate (Imperial College), London; his PhD research was on solid phase deformation processing of polymers (Leeds University). Phil Coates is Pro Vice Chancellor for Research & Knowledge Transfer, and Professor of Polymer Engineering at the University of Bradford, UK. He is Associate Director of the internationally recognised Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) in Polymer Science and Technology, with some 30 researchers involved at the leading edge of in-process measurements for process monitoring, analysis and control, and validation of computer modelling. He is Director of the Polymer Centre of Industrial Collaboration, and the International Centre for Micro & Nano Moulding. His research has substantial support (over £24 million total grants and contracts) from UK Government sources and industry, with over 100 companies collaborating in the research programmes from the USA, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Japan. He was honoured by the award of the Institute of Materials Netlon Gold Medal for Innovation in Polymer Processing (2000) and the Swinburne Award (2008). Prof Coates also runs academic Networks for In Process Measurements. He has published extensively - some 280 papers, in scientific journals and has co-authored 67books, and edited 7 books. He is Chief Editor of the IoM3 international journal, Plastics, Rubber and Composites: Macromolecular Engineering. Prof Coates was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1995. He is married, with four children and two grandchildren; in addition to family, his chief interests are in music, and computers.
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Professor Tom Davis – AUSTRALIA
Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD)
School of Chemical Sciences & Engineering
University of NSW
Presentation title: Biomolecule-Polymer Conjugates as Building Blocks for Nanostructures
BIO: Professor Tom Davis has been an academic at UNSW for fifteen years 
following a stint in industry as a research manager at ICI in the UK. He has co-authored 280+ refereed papers, patents and book chapters. He is the Director of the Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD) at UNSW– a Centre with expertise in bio/organic polymer synthesis and polymerisation kinetics. He co-edited (with Professor Matyjaszewski) the Handbook of Free Radical Polymerization. In 2000 he was presented with the Esso Award for innovation in Industrial Chemistry. In 2001 he was awarded an Australian Professorial Fellowship by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and he served as the Chairman of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) Polymer Division. In 2004 he was awarded the prestigious H.G.Smith Medal by the RACI for his research work over the past decade. In 2005 he was awarded a Federation Fellowship by the ARC. He serves (or has served) on the editorial advisory boards of Macromolecules, the Journal of Polymer Science, the Australian Journal of Chemistry, the Journal of Materials Chemistry and the Journal of Macromolecular Science - Reviews.
Further Information on Professor Davis
Professor Steve Howdle – UK
School of Chemistry
University of Nottingham
Presentation title: Supercritical Carbon Dioxide - Putting the Fizz into Polymers
BIO: Steve Howdle was born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire in 1964 and his 
main interests are family and football (soccer). He holds a chair of Chemistry at the School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham and prior to this held a distinguished Royal Society University Research Fellowship (1991-1999). He was recipient of the Jerwood-Salters Environment Award (2001); The Corday-Morgan Medal and Award of Royal Society of Chemistry (2001); A Royal Society – Wolfson Research Merit Award (2003); The Interdisciplinary Award of Royal Society of Chemistry (2005) and The Max-Buchner Research Foundation DECHEMA Award (2006). Steve’s academic interests focus on the utilisation of supercritical carbon dioxide for polymer synthesis, polymer processing and preparation of novel polymeric materials for tissue engineering and drug delivery. A more detailed description of his research can be viewed at http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~pczctg/Index.htm. He has published over 230 academic papers, reviews and patents and is also the driving force behind a spin out company, Critical Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which was founded upon his academic work.
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Professor Buddy Ratner – USA
Department of Chemical Engineering and
Bioengineering
University of Washington
Presentation title: Polymeric Systems for Healing, Tissue Engineering and Regeneration: Intersection of Morphology and Chemistry
Dr Buddy D Ratner is the Director of University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB) Engineering Research Center and the Michael L and Myrna Darland Endowed Chair in Technology Commercialization. He is Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington. Dr. Ratner received his PhD (1972) in polymer chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. From 1985-1996 he directed the NIH-funded National ESCA and Surface Analysis Center for Biomedical Problems (NESAC/BIO). In 1996, he assumed the directorship of University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB). He is the editor of the Journal of Undergraduate Research in BioEngineering, an Associate Editor of Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, on the advisory board of Biointerphases and serves on the editorial boards of ten other journals. He is a past president of the Society For Biomaterials. He has authored over 400 scholarly works and has 17 issued patents. Ratner is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the American Vacuum Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the International College of Fellows Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUS-BSE). Ratner has served as president of AIMBE, 2002-2003. In 2002 Ratner was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering, USA. In 2003 he was elected President of Tissue Engineering Society of North America (TESNA). He is now on the council of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS). He has launched three companies. His research interests include biomaterials, tissue engineering, polymers, biocompatibility, surface analysis of organic materials, self assembly, nanobiotechnology and RF-plasma thin film deposition.
Professor Dr Hans W Spiess – GERMANY
Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research
Presentation title: Interplay of structure and dynamics in polymers and supramolecular systems as revealed by NMR spectroscopy
Hans Wolfgang Spiess, born in 1942, doctoral degree in physical chemistry from the University of Frankfurt (with H Hartmann, 1968), postdoctoral and staff positions at Florida State University (with RK Sheline, 1968-70) and at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research (with KH Hausser, 1970-1975), habilitation in physical chemistry at the University of Mainz (with H. Sillescu 1978), Professor of physical chemistry at the University of Muenster (1981– 1982) and of macromolecular chemistry at the University of Bayreuth (1983–1984), Director at the newly founded Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz since 1984.
Research interests: development of magnetic resonance techniques for elucidating structure, dynamics, phase behaviour, and order of synthetic macromolecules and supramolecular systems in order to relate microscopic and macroscopic behaviour of new materials.
He has served as chairman of the European Polymer Federation (1991–1992) and as chairman of the Capital Investment Committee of the German Science Foundation (1994 –1996). From 1999 to 2005 he was a member of the Scientific Council of Germany.
His achievements have been honoured, eg, by the Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation in 1987, the European Ampere Prize, the Liebig Medal of the German Chemical Society, and the Award of the Society of Polymer Science (Japan) in 2002. He is doctor honoris causa of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania (1997), and of Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland (1998).
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