Conference: Short Course on Physics of Charged and Ion-Containing Polymers

NON-TECHNICAL AND TECHNICAL: This award will provide partial support toward travel and registration expenses for graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and early career researchers to participate in the Short Course on "Physics of Charged and Ion-Containing Polymers" at the 2025 March Meeting of the American Physical Society (APS). The course will introduce attendees to the physics of charged and ion-containing polymers, including (1) the fundamental physics of charge interactions in polymeric systems, (2) simulating the structure and dynamics of charged and ion-containing polymers, (3) major classes of charged polymers including ionomers, polyelectrolytes, and charged biopolymers, with special attention on methods for characterizing these systems, and (4) industrial applications of charged polymers. It will be taught by a group of speakers from academic institutions and national labs and will include a panel discussion with industrial R&D experts in these topics. Ionic and charged polymeric materials are at the forefront of research and applications in energy-related technologies, biomedicine, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, and others. The short course will offer an introduction across the forefront of this growing scientific area. It will prepare graduate students and early-career researchers for advances and potentially careers in these areas. The conference will aim for broad participation and extensive opportunities for participants to network with other early-career researchers and industrial scientists. The organizers also plan to work with the invited speakers and instructors to prepare a tutorial review on charged and ion-containing polymers based on the material presented in the short course and submit it for publication in a polymer journal. This could broaden the impact of the short course far beyond those able to attend in person at the APS Meeting. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.