2–5 September 2001, Dresden, Germany
The 14th in the popular series European Symposium on Polymer Spectroscopy, ESOPS-14, took place from 2 to 5 September 2001 in a baroque church building in a delightful quarter of Dresden. Although labelled European, this meeting like others in the series attracted participation from polymer spectroscopists from outside of the region; of the approximately 145 participants, about 8% were from non-European locations, including Australia, Japan and the USA.
This Symposium was very efficiently organised and the hospitality of the organisers and local hosts excellent. A stimulating scientific programme was put together by the Scientific Committee of Drs Klaus-Jochen Eichhorn, Dieter Fischer and Ulrich Scheler from the Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden, in collaboration with Professor Heinz Siesler, Universität Essen. It comprised 10 invited and 24 contributed lectures and 72 poster presentations covering most forms of spectroscopy applied to polymer characterisation, behaviour and analysis; topics extended from theoretical studies to time-resolved and relaxation measurements to orientation and ageing processes to industrial phase mapping and imaging through to process measurements. Proceedings from the Symposium will be published in a future issue of Macromolecular Symposia.
The weather in Dresden was kind and allowed participants plenty of opportunities to wonder at the remarkable restoration work that is being undertaken within the heart of this once again beautiful city. Most buildings have been or are in the process of being restored to their former splendour, and the centre of the city is a delight to stroll around. ESOPS-7 was in Dresden, and now ESOPS-14, and I hope that this trend continues and that ESOPS-21 will again visit Dresden, and that I too am there to see the city again after the restoration work is fully completed!
The Wednesday evening sightseeing tour was a visit to the spectacular Bastei overlooking the river Elbe in the Nationalpark Sächsische Schweiz. At the dinner following this, it was fun, as always, to listen to the irreverent, but good-humoured exchanges between the mentor Professor Dieter Hummel and the student Professor Heinz Siesler, which seems to have been initiated at the professor-to-post doc stage and continued ever since! Following in the footprints of Dieter Hummel, the originator of the ESOPS series, Heinz Siesler is now a prime custodian for the series.
ESOPS-15 will take place at the Knossos Royal Village Hotel in Hersonissos Crete on 8–12 June 2003; the meeting chairman is Dr Vasilis Gregoriou (gregoriou@iceht.forth.gr).
John Chalmers