Polymer Education
The core workshop topics will be assessed not only from a research perspective, but from the point of view of enhancing the education of researchers involved in polymer science and engineering. These core topics represent the chemical, physical, engineering and computational aspects of polymer science and engineering. In the chemical sciences, the combination of newly emerging techniques will be one of the central foci of the proposed workshop and will be considered both from the point of view of research and also how to introduce these topics into an advanced polymer curriculum. In complex polymer systems, much research gets its inspiration from biological systems. A challenge therefore is to identify means to equip young researchers with the needed skills from both biology and polymer science. Mastery of the modeling and theory of polymers is a powerful aspect of research competitiveness since it has the potential to drive new discoveries at an increasingly rapid pace. An educational challenge is identifying the correct level of skill new polymer scientists and engineers need in this powerful and still developing aspect of polymer research.
Education in polymer science and engineering will therefore be an important aspect of the workshop discussion. In order to emphasize the importance of these factors in sub-group deliberations, a panel discussion with key industrial and academic leaders will take place the first day of the workshop on the topic of industrial and educational competitiveness. From an educational perspective, “What skills are needed to enable these developments?” Discussion points will include the necessary skills for today’s researchers, education and research for a global economy, broadening participation in polymer research and education, the role of cyberinfrastructure in polymer research, translating research into technology and commercialization and bridging the “innovation gap”, that is, the growing gap between academia and industry. Individuals with expertise in polymer education will also be invited to take part in the discussion groups.