Nobel Laureate Speaks at Poly Symposium

Dr. Alan MacDiarmid, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was the plenary speaker at the 9th International Symposium on Macromolecular Metal Complexes hosted by Polytechnic University. The symposium, which drew scientists from Europe and Asia, focused on the role of metal ions, complexes and clusters in macromolecular systems. The macromolecule plays a pivotal role in a wide range of technologies including sensors, fuel cells, medical devices, toxic material recovery and fiber optic amplifiers.

MacDiarmid, the Blanchard Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, discussed recent research using synthetic metals for organic polymers. MacDiarmid won the Nobel Prize for the discovery and development of conductive polymers.

The symposium was held at Polytechnic from August 19 -23 and was the first ever International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry approved meeting in Brooklyn.