Because of a lack of appreciation for his efforts in developing modern polymer science, the contributions of Hermann Staudinger were disregarded for decades. There have also been delays in recognizing the contributions of other pioneers in polymer science. Hence, it is gratifying to note that Professor Seymour chaired an American Chemical Society Symposium focusing on the contributions of these pioneers and that Kluwer Academic Publishers has published the proceedings of this important symposium. H.Mark v DEDICATION This book on Pioneers in Polymer Science is dedicated to Nobel Laureate...

The word Polyethylene was probably first pronounced in a lecture which M. P. E. Berthelot delivered on April,27, 1863 to the Chemical Society in Paris, reporting on the "polymerization" of various simple organic compounds (1). Much later this work appeared twice in the literature before the classical ICI breakthrough in the 1930's which is so colorfully described in Ballard's lecture. Once it came up at the end of the last century when H. von Pechmann obtained "a white flocculant material" from the decomposition of diazomethane which, one year later, was termed to be "polymethylene" - (CH ) -...

Because of a lack of appreciation for his efforts in developing modern polymer science, the contributions of Hermann Staudinger were disregarded for decades. There have also been delays in recognizing the contributions of other pioneers in polymer science. Hence, it is gratifying to note that Professor Seymour chaired an American Chemical Society Symposium focusing on the contributions of these pioneers and that Kluwer Academic Publishers has published the proceedings of this important symposium. H.Mark v DEDICATION This book on Pioneers in Polymer Science is dedicated to Nobel Laureate...