Welcome to the second newsletter of 2011 from the Polymer Society, a Division of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3). 

This newsletter brings you updates on the activities of the Polymer Society, IOM3 and the wider polymer community. We hope that you will find it useful and informative and we would welcome any feedback, ideas for content or news from our membership that would be of interest to other members, so please feel free to get in touch by contacting Dr Matthew Thornton.

In this newsletter we outline some of the recent articles that you may have missed on the Polymer Society microsite, highlight some articles on innovation in the polymer industry from the Materials KTN and bring to your attention some forthcoming events and relevant reports that have been published.

The Institute has also recently launched IOM3 TV - the Institute’s latest online service – a facility to deliver video presentations from IOM3 events and lectures via a web-based auditorium. The videos are delivered in sync with any PowerPoint slides, which can be downloaded separately – find out more at http://www.iom3.org/iom3-tv

We hope that this newsletter is of interest to you now, and will continue to be more so in future editions. 

Regards

Stuart Patrick

Chairman, The Polymer Society
www.polymersociety.org.uk

News and Features

All of these, and more, can also be found online at www.polymersociety.org.uk

PVC conference hailed a success
More than 400 delegates attended the IOM3 conference PVC 2011, held from 12-14 April in Brighton.

Swinburne lecture delivered in Belfast
On 24 March 2011 Professor Ton Peijs from Queen Mary University of London delivered the prestigious Swinburne Lecture to an audience gathered at the International Conference on the Manufacturing of Advanced Composites (ICMAC) held in Belfast – download his presentation.

Pressing ahead - thermoforming advanced composites for transport applications
Work on thermoforming advanced composites and joining such parts form the core of a project at Queen’s University Belfast, UK, that investigates sustainable materials and manufacturing techniques in transport. Dr Saul Buchanan explains.

Part of the polyvinyl process
Responding to the need for sustainable production, Dr Detlev Keil, Project Manager, S-PVC licensing for Vinnolit in Ismaning, Germany, outlines methods employed in PVC manufacture.

The Materials KTN – Polymer Sector

All of these articles, and more, can also be found online at https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/polymers where you can also register to become a member of the Materials KTN for FREE, just click on the ‘Join this Group’ link in the top banner and follow the process.

The Materials KTN Polymer Sector regularly publishes articles on innovations that are taking place in the polymer sector, these can be read at: https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/polymers/articles. Some recent articles are:

• Recycling value of plastics plummets due to poor quality
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today released its "Strategic Plan for Regulatory Science,"
• Vegware becomes UK’s first completely compostable food packaging firm
• ‘Cling-film’ solar cells could lead to advance in renewable energy
• and many more...

New Guide Launched - Supplying Polymer Based Products to the Medical Industry – a ‘How to Guide’ for SMEs - Download a Free Copy

The Polymer Sector of the Materials Knowledge Transfer Network (Materials KTN) has produced a comprehensive guide for those companies involved with manufacturing products from plastics, elastomers or other polymers and who wish to access the medical sector. The guide seeks to provide SMEs in particular, with a useful and easily accessible reference source for any of the key considerations associated with diversification or early growth within the medical and healthcare sector.

Copies of presentations from recent events can also be downloaded for free at: https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/polymers/past-polymers-events. Recent events include:

• Polymers in Dentistry - 7 July 2011 - London
• Elastomers in Defence - 24 June 2011 - London
• Manchester Polymer Group - Still Bouncing Back - Rubber Seminar VI - 16 May 2011 - Manchester

Forthcoming Events

A full list of polymer related events can be found at: http://www.iom3.org/events/all/609+1923

Interplas 2011
27 – 29 September 2011
NEC, Birmingham, UK
http://www.iom3.org/events/interplas-2011?c=609
Visit the Polymer Society in the British Centre of Excellence

Thermoformed Packaging
27 – 28 September 2011
Brussels, Belgium
http://www.iom3.org/events/thermoformed-packaging?c=609

Polymers for Future Transport
28 September 2011
NEC, Birmingham, UK (during Interplas)
http://www.iom3.org/events/polymers-future-transport?c=609

Food Contact Plastics 
29 – 30 September 2011
Brussels, Belgium
http://www.iom3.org/events/food-contact-plastics-conference?c=609

Bioplastics Processing and Properties
6 October 2011
Hilton Hotel, Sheffield, UK
http://www.iom3.org/events/bioplastics-processing-and-properties-0?c=609

Polymeric Protective Technical Textiles
25 – 26 October 2011
Cologne, Germany
http://www.iom3.org/events/polymeric-protective-technical-textiles-2011?c=609
Materials KTN members get a 10% discount

Plastics Caps and Closures 2011 
2 – 3 November 2011
Brussels, Belgium
http://www.iom3.org/events/plastics-caps-and-closures-2011?c=609

Polymers for Implantable Medical devices
6 – 7 December 2011
Dublin, Ireland
http://www.iom3.org/events/polymers-implantable-medical-devices?c=609
Materials KTN members get a 10% discount

Textile Reinforced Rubber
9 December 2011
IOM3, London, UK
http://www.iom3.org/events/textile-reinforced-rubber?c=609

International Rubber Conference (IRC) 2012
21 – 24 May 2012
Jeju, South Korea
http://www.iom3.org/events/irc-2012?c=609

Materials Congress 2012
25 – 26 June 2012
London, UK
http://www.iom3.org/events/congress2012?c=609

Jobs

A full list of polymer related jobs can be found at: http://www.iom3.org/content/polymer-society

• Intellectual Property Assistant - Victrex
• Development Technician - Victrex
• Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Engineering Design – Sheffield Hallam University
• Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Materials Engineering – Sheffield Hallam University

Contact us

The Polymer Society is a Division of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining
www.polymersociety.org.uk

Contacts:
Stuart Patrick, Chairman
Email: S.Patrick@iom3.org

Dr Matthew Thornton, Society Co-ordinator
Tel: +44 (0)1484 604 465
Email: Matthew.Thornton@iom3.org

The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining,
1 Carlton House Terrace, London
SW1Y 5DB
UK
Tel: 020 7451 7300
Fax: 020 7839 1702
www.iom3.org

Registered Charity No. 269275