Polymers in Daily Life and Science

Katsumi IMADA (Graduate School of Science)

Course Objective
   Polymers, both natural and synthetic ones, are among the materials most frequently encountered in daily life. They are main constituents of our bodies, foods, clothes, houses, and so on. Advances in polymer science have contributed to the phenomenal growth of today's high tech age. This course will present an introduction to polymer science and a brief overview of modern polymer technologies. The main objective of this course is to introduce students who have little or no chemistry background on a college level but wish acquiring some familiarity with polymers to basic polymer science including polymer syntheses, structures, and properties.

Course Content
   The following five topics will be provided.

1. Polymer synthesis
2. Polymers in Solution
3. Functional polymers and supramolecules
4. Structure and function of bio-polymers
5. Polymer rheology

Textbooks
   To be announced.

Grading Policy
   Class participation: 50%; Brief report for each topic : 50%