140 Guests Attend the JCNS-Workshop “Polymers and Neutrons: Past and Future”
13 March 2015
Over 140 guests attended the workshop “Polymers and Neutrons: Past and Future” organized by the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS), which took place on 13 March in the main lecture theatre of Forschungszentrum Jülich.
Over 140 guests attended the workshop “Polymers and Neutrons: Past and Future” organized by the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS), which took place on 13 March in the main lecture theatre of Forschungszentrum Jülich. The event focused on contributions made to research with neutrons – especially from Jülich – in over 35 years of polymer research. During this time, neutron scattering has evolved into an essential tool for studying the structure and dynamics of polymers on a microscopic scale, as well as their correlation with macroscopic properties. Neutron research is thus seen as a key technology in the knowledge-based development of pioneering functional polymer systems.
Speakers, hosts and organizers of workshop (from left): Prof. em. Dr. Lewis. J. Fetters (Cornell University, USA), Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt (Member of the Board of Directors,Forschungszentrum Jülich), Prof. Dr. Andreas Offenhäusser (Jülich), Dirk Schlotmann (Jülich), Prof. Dr. Gerhard Gompper (Jülich), Prof. Winfried Petry (Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum), Prof. Dr. Monika Schönhoff (University of Münster), Prof. Dr. Jan K.G. Dhont (Jülich), Prof. Dr. Juan Colmenero (Donostia International Physics Center, Spanien), Prof. em. Dr. Albert Furrer (Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland), Prof. Dr. Tom McLeish (Durham University, GB), Prof. Dr. Helmut Schober (Institut Laue-Langevin, France), Prof. Dr. Dieter Richter (Jülich), Prof. Dr. Thomas Brückel (Jülich), Prof. Dr. Ferenc Mezei (European Spallation Source, Sweden), Prof. em. Dr. Ulrich Buchenau (Jülich), Prof. Dr. Kurt Binder (University of Mainz), Prof. Dr. Andreas Schreyer (Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht), Dr. Rainer Zorn (Jülich).
The lectures examined, amongst other things, the use of computer simulations of polymers for the development of neutron experiments or the emerging research area of single-chain soft nanoparticles. This class of materials opens up promising new opportunities for the development of polymer nano-composites, modelled on nature and suitable for use as carriers of medicines or contrast agents, for example. Perspectives on future, highly promising research opportunities, for instance at the European Spallation Source (ESS) currently being built in Lund, Sweden, rounded off the programme.