from the past to the future
TRANSCRIPT
Essay
From the Past to the Future
G. Wegner
Synthetic polymers were portrayed a
mere curiosity by the leading organic
chemists. They were considered an
interesting but rather exotic play-
ground by physical chemists and
physics was barely interested in
materials which showed such a com-
plex and parameter dependent beha-
vior as were polymers available in the
years 1950–1970. And yet, polymers
had become a major field of growth
for the chemical industry worldwide
and increasing amounts of polymers –
frequently called ‘‘plastics’’ in a sim-
plifying and generalizing context –
were thrown into a seemingly unsa-
turable market. The reason was that
synthetic polymers had developed
into the growth engine for mass
production of advanced technology
products in rapidly growing markets
of the automotive, aero space, electro-
nics and packaging industries, just to
mention a few of the important areas.
In consequence, industry was in need
to find scientifically trained experts
and contacts to research groups who
could assist in understanding the
materials properties in response to
the ever growing complex requests of
the markets. This was particularly
true in Germany where the chemical
industry had become a major supplier
of polymer materials for the world
market in the late 1970s.
The landscape of academic research
in the field of polymers was rich but
extremely scattered into small and
highly specialized individual groups
at the time. It was felt by the scientific
community that the critical mass was
lacking to bring the field of polymer
science to a similar level of compe-
tence, international competitiveness
Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2009, 30, 649–652
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and excellence as was seen for other
fields in Germany. This was the
background for deliberations started
by the Max Planck Society around
1978 which eventually led to the
foundation of the Max Planck Insti-
tute for Polymer Research on June 1st,
1983 by the Senate of the MPG.
The mission of the new Institute
was to carry out research in all fields of
polymer science with the aim to
explore and establish fundamental
insights into the properties of polymer
materials and their performance in the
context of the relevance of polymers
for the development of advanced tec-
hnologies. Moreover polymers were
understood to become a platform to
study complex behavior of matter in
very general terms. The latter req-
uested a strong contribution of theo-
retical physics and gave the stimulus
to develop the new Institute soon into
an internationally leading center for
‘‘soft-matter’’ research. This included
certain aspects conventionally covered
by biophysics and molecular biology,
where typical research questionnaire
centered around the nature and con-
eim
sequences of ‘‘molecular recognition’’
among alike and dislike macromole-
cules, biocompatibility of materials in
medicine and similar issues.
Professor Erhard W. Fischer and
Professor Gerhard Wegner were
appointed as the founding directors
representing physics and chemistry
of polymer materials. The campus of
the Johannes Gutenberg University
of Mainz was selected as the site of
the new institute in the light of an
expected close cooperation with both
the departments of chemistry and
physics.
In fact, Mainz had won a competi-
tion of several cities for the install-
ment of the new Institute, among
them Hamburg, Braunschweig, Bayr-
euth and Darmstadt. The option was
taken for Mainz in the light of the
excellent offer of the Johannes-Guten-
berg University for a building lot in
close neighborhood to the Mainz
Campus and for the reason that there
existed a strong research activity in
both polymer chemistry and physics.
A fertile ground for cooperations was
prospected. Moreover, Mainz was in
DOI: 10.1002/marc.200900167
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650
geographical neighborhood to the
major industrial research and devel-
opment centers with which coopera-
tions were foreseen.
Scientific work at the institute
started in autumn of 1984 in tempor-
ary laboratories. At the same time,
Professor Hans Wolfgang Spiess was
appointed as a further director at the
institute to develop the field of poly-
mer spectroscopy. The fourth depart-
ment covering the area of synthetic
macromolecular chemistry was estab-
lished by Professor Klaus Mullen at the
end of 1989. In 1993, Professor Wolf-
gang Knoll joined the institute as a
director for surface science of polymer
materials. In 1995 the originally
intended number of six departments
was completed with the appointment
of Professor Kurt Kremer as the director
of the institute’s Theory Department.
Professor Erhard W. Fischer retired
from his official duties in 1997 and
holds an emeritus status at the
institute. In 2002 Professor Hans-
Jurgen Butt succeeded him as director
of the institute’s Polymer Physics
Department.
Additionally, two external mem-
bers of the Max Planck Society,
Professor Kurt Binder, theoretical
physicist at the University of Mainz,
and Professor George Fytas, chemist
and director at F.O.R.T.H. and the
University of Heraklion, Crete, Greece
were appointed by the President of
the Society.
When Professor Gerhard Wegner
retired in February 2008, his position
was endowed to Professor Katharina
Landfester. She was firmly installed in
September 2008. Her department was
renamed as ‘‘Physical Chemistry of
Polymers’’.
The institute is located at the edge
of the campus of the University of
Mainz on its own premises since 1988,
when the first part of the present set
of buildings was completed. Exten-
sions to adopt to the growing number
of staff, instrumentation, and scien-
tist activities became available at the
end of 1990 and in early 1998. A
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further building to accommodate
the strong Theory group and give
more space to NMR-facilities and
academic support forces was finished
late 2007. The available laboratory
space including mechanical, electrical,
and electronic workshops amounts
to roughly 6,000 m2. There is also a
conference center with a lecture
hall that seats an audience of more
than 400 people, lecture and seminar
rooms, a library, and a small cafeteria.
Science at the institute was to be
organized in research projects in
which scientists of different groups
and of different expertise interact
with each other, with students, and
with visiting scholars. From the very
beginning the mission statements
included that the Institute should
develop and perform as a platform
to give young scientists the chance to
become independent in fields relevant
to the overall scientific goals of the
Institute. Besides training of doctoral
students in cooperation with the
local university but also other inter-
national universities postdoctoral
research associates were attracted to
the Institute and installed as project
leaders for a limited number of years.
They were given the chance to build
their own research groups with the
understanding that they would con-
tribute to the well-defined portfolio of
the Institute for the time of their
membership to the Institute. This
policy has been academically most
successful in raising highly qualified
academics which have spread poly-
mer science research and teaching at
the professorial level not only across
German universities but also inter-
nationally.
The scientific objectives of the
institute as a whole are directed to
synthesis of macromolecular systems
and their exact structural character-
ization as to the development and
application of new methods to reveal
and understand the relationships
between microscopic and macro-
scopic properties and functions of
polymer materials. Besides the analy-
eim
sis of already technically relevant
polymers, new materials with uncon-
ventional properties are made and
investigated for their functional prop-
erties. A number of new experimental
and theoretical methods have been
developed since the institute came to
life which serve towards a better
understanding of structure property
relationships and have helped to gain
a quantitative theoretical description
of polymer systems. Work at the
institute thus contributes signifi-
cantly to the advancement of poly-
mer-based technologies.
Major research topics include
� S
ynthetic macromolecular chem-istry (new synthetic methods,
polymers with unconventional
structures, systems of selective
functionality, e.g. electronic or
ionic conductivity, polyelectro-
lytes, hybrid polymers containing
organic, inorganic or biological
components)
� S
tructure and dynamics of macro-molecular systems with special
emphasis on polymer theory
� T
hermodynamics, phase transi-tions, and critical phenomena
(including the physics of polymer
blends, block copolymers, and glass
transition phenomena)
� S
urface and interface science ofpolymers
� S
upramolecular architectures ofmacromolecules (stiff macromole-
cules, liquid crystalline polymers,
model membranes, ultrathin films,
polymers at surfaces)
� N
anoscopic structures, their self-assembly and function
� S
pecial physical properties (electri-cal and electrooptic phenomena,
nonlinear optics, deformation beha-
vior of glassy polymers, surface
properties)
� M
ethodological developments(solid-state NMR spectroscopy, EPR
spectroscopy, mass spectrometry,
dielectric spectroscopy, nonlinear
optics, surface plasmon optics, scan-
ning probe microscopy, i.e. STM,
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From the Past to the Future
AFM, and SNOM, scattering meth-
ods including, neutron and X-ray
reflectometry, light-scattering and
chromatography methods for the
characterization of polymer solu-
tions, computer-based simulations)
The institute has maintained a
large activity in research projects
supported by sources other than the
Max Planck Society including direct
interactions with interested national
and global industry ever since it was
founded.
The institute is considered as a
national and international center of
scientific and academic training ever
since it was founded. It rapidly grew
to be a leading place in Europe for the
training of graduate students in all
polymer related fields except polymer
engineering and processing.
Along these lines, the institute is
home to the ‘‘International Max
Planck Research School for Polymer
Material Science’’ (IMPRS-PMS) and it
hosts the European fellowship pro-
gram Early Stage Research Training
(EST) ‘‘Analytical Methods in the
Development of Science and Technol-
ogy of Polymers’’. In 2008 it won a
national competition for excellence
in graduate research training and
was awarded with special support
together with the departments of
chemistry and physics of the local
university (‘‘MAINZ’’). All these means
allow the Institute to attract and
select the very best students for its
graduate research and training activ-
ities across Europe. In consequence
the Institute hosted constantly ca. 150
graduate research students per year in
its premises.
More than 660 doctoral theses have
been completed since 1984 based on
research work carried out in the
institute, frequently in close coopera-
tion with the departments of Chem-
istry and Physics of the University of
Mainz and (external) members of
university institutes. Former gradu-
ates from the institute are found
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throughout German and European
industry in leading positions.
Similarly, the very active program
in postdoctoral training of interna-
tional scientists has led to a situation
that many of the former research
associates hold now chaired academic
positions internationally, including
the United States and Canada, Japan,
and Europe. Over the last two decades
the institute has typically hosted fifty
to sixty post-doctoral research associ-
ates per year.
Among the former research staff
scientists (‘‘project leaders’’), approxi-
mately forty gained the habilitation
or similar qualifications while work-
ing with the institute and hold now
professorships at German or European
universities, in the USA, Canada or in
Asia.
The strong connection with the
University of Mainz is not only
reflected in the considerable number
of graduated students who are work-
ing with the institute but are regis-
tered with the University’s Biology,
Chemistry and Physics Departments,
but is also manifested by cooperative
research projects.
Noteworthy is the joined activity
in the DFG supported center of
excellence (Sonderforschungsbereich)
‘‘From Single Molecules to Nanoscopic
Structured Materials’’ (SFB 625). An
additional center of excellence is
concerned with ‘‘Structured Colloidal
Media’’ (Transregio SFB) including
further academic institutions in Ger-
many in addition to the University of
Mainz.
The important role of nanosciences
and nanotechnology is marked by
an integrated EU project entitled
‘‘NAIMO’’. Structural and dynamical
properties are also central to the
renewed German-French special
research grant ‘‘LEA’’ between the
Institute Charles Sadron, Strasbourg,
and our institute (‘‘Macromolecules in
Nanoscopically Structured Media’’).
The short history of the institute is
rich of scientific developments which
nucleated from here or were at least
eim
significantly influenced by contribu-
tions from this place. Most note-
worthy is the foundation of modern
interest in surface science of poly-
meric materials which started here in
the mid-eighties when the institute
organized a national research project
on ‘‘Ultrathin Layers of Polymers -
‘UDS’ as Novel Materials in Optics,
Electronics, and Biomedicine.’’ Simi-
larly, modern interest in the phenom-
ena related to the glassy state of
polymers and organic materials
started here with the foundation of
a now terminated ‘Center of Excel-
lence (SFB)’. The contributions to the
methodology of NMR spectroscopy
which are key to today’s knowledge
on the dynamical properties of poly-
mers need to be mentioned as well.
Contributions to the synthetic meth-
odology, notably in the area of poly-
conjugated and all-aromatic macro-
molecules were basic to further
significant work concerning uncon-
ventional electrical and optical
including nonlinear optical properties
of polymers. More recently strong
computer simulation efforts in con-
junction with analytic theory comple-
ment the experimental activities lead-
ing to new joint developments.
Cooperation with industry has
always played an important role
and was significantly supported over
the years by the materials research
programs of the Federal Ministry of
Education and Research. In addition,
numerous direct interactions with
larger and smaller industries have
always been common and character-
istic for the institute’s research strat-
egy. The latter was based from the
very beginning of the institute on the
fact that the production, processing,
application, and technology of poly-
meric materials are rich sources of
most intriguing phenomena worth to
excite scientific as well as academic
interest.
For the future we expect the
institute to gain further strength from
its established interaction between
theory, method development in
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G. Wegner
652
characterization and feed back to the
design of innovative synthetic
approaches, all combined towards
even more complex macromolecular
structures and assemblies of both
synthetic and biological origin. The
original mission statement of the
institute namely to be an internation-
ally highly visible and nationally
leading center of modern research
on polymeric materials and thereby
be also a training center for experts in
this important field of industry and
advanced technology may for good
reasons continue to serve as a guiding
principle to the future.
Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2009, 30, 649–652
� 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinh
The institute is particularly grateful
to J. Wiley-VCH-Publishers for dedica-
tion of a special issue of ‘‘Macromo-
lecular Rapid Communications’’ to the
occasion of the 25th anniversary of the
foundation of the Max Planck Insti-
tute for Polymer Research. The scien-
tific mission of the institute is ref-
lected in the 16 contributions to this
special issue. Each of the pertinent
research directions is addressed in the
reviews, feature articles and commu-
nications. The authors were invited as
to reflect the contribution of former
research associates to the develop-
ment of these general topics. They
eim
moved on to further highly visible
academic positions with universities
since then. As was pointed out earlier,
the very large number of former
associates to the institute who have
gained widespread acceptance with
their academic positions was much
too large to include a contribution
from everyone. Instead the board of
the directors had to choose just a few
in the attempt to mirror the breadth
of the topics and the impact on the
international scientific community.
DOI: 10.1002/marc.200900167