Prize Winners

Ediger wins the 2015 Polymer Physics prize

Mark Ediger (University of Wisconsin) is cited “For pioneering fundamental studies of dynamics in polymer glasses.”

The Polymer Physics Prize has been endowed by a generous matching grant from the Dow Chemical Company, and contributions from LG Chemical Company, and former Polymer Physics Prize winners.

Osuji wins the 2015 Dillon Medal

Chinedum Osuji (Yale University) is cited “For fundamental insights into self-assembly of soft matter under applied fields.”

The Dillon Medal is sponsored by Elsevier, publisher of Polymer.

Carbone selected by UK’s Polymer Physics Group to be the 2015 APS DPOLY Exchange Lecturer

Paola Carbone (University of Manchester) is recognized for multiscale simulation of macromolecules and soft matter. Carbone will speak at the March Meeting.

DPOLY members within six years of their Ph.D. can be nominated to give an invited talk at the next UKPPG meeting in September 2015. Nominations are due December 31, 2014.

Elections

Candidates for Vice-Chair are:

• Ali Dhinojwala (University of Akron)
• Sanat Kumar (Columbia University)

Candidates for Member-at-Large are:

• Ryan Hayward (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
• Chinedum Osuji (Yale University)

Many thanks to the nominating committee (chaired by Jan Genzer and comprising Sindee Simon, Ken Schweizer, Timothy Lodge, and Zhen-Gang Wang) for preparing this slate of candidates.

Please forward additional nominations (with supporting signatures from a total of at least 14 DPOLY members) by Wednesday, October 15, 2014 to Steve Hudson, DPOLY Secretary/Treasurer. Candidate bios and statements will be provided when the elections are announced thereafter.

APS March Meeting 2015

Abstract submission for the 2015 APS March Meeting is now open.
The next APS March Meeting will be held March 2-6, 2015 at the Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX. Please submit your abstracts by Nov 14, 2014. View the DPOLY sorting categories.

Our March Meeting program includes two features of note:

• A poster session on midday Wednesday co-sponsored by DPOLY, FIAP, GSOFT, GSNP, and DBIO with student/postdoc poster prizes sponsored by the Journal of Polymer Science: Polymer Physics.
• An FIAP-led joint symposium with DPOLY titled “Industry Day” that will include a series of invited, focus, and contributed sessions on topics related to polymer physics and industry. There also will be a panel session geared toward student careers and faculty interactions with industry. This symposium will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.

Please contact the DPOLY programming chair, Thomas Epps, with any questions or input. If you are interested in chairing a session at the March Meeting, please contact Thomas as well.

Please contact Thomas Epps if you would like to help sort abstracts and assemble the scientific program. Sorting will occur on Thursday December 4.

Padden nominations should be submitted by November 14 to Wesley Burghardt using the subject line "Padden_name of student". Candidates MUST submit their abstracts through the regular APS system, as well as sending it in with the application.

The Short Course this year is organized by Greg McKenna on Polymer Glasses. More details to follow.

Resources to help you attend the meetings.
Short course scholarships are available. Please contact Greg McKenna.
Need help getting a visa to the US? See helpful info or a letter of invitation
Need childcare?

Upcoming meeting of interest

Macromolecular Materials GRC, January 11-16, 2015, Ventura, CA; the registration deadline is December 14.

DPOLY membership benefits

Thank you for your participation in the division. As you refer others to our division, please let them know about the value of membership. Thank you.

Membership vote approaching on APS governance changes

The APS Council has endorsed a proposal to significantly modify the governance structure of APS. A vote on the proposal by all APS members is scheduled to begin on October 6, 2014.

What is being proposed and why? Many of the proposed changes are designed to bring APS into compliance with Washington D.C. law and to allow more efficient decision-making. Here is a summary of the most important changes: 1) The APS Council will become the Council of Representatives and will no longer be the official governing body of APS. 2) A Board of Directors will be the official governing body, to include the Presidential line and nine members elected from the APS Council of Representatives. 3) A Chief Executive Officer will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of APS. 4) A Treasurer will serve on the Board of Directors and provide financial oversight.

How will the proposed changes influence DPOLY? Short answer: Probably not at all.
DPOLY will be represented along with the other APS divisions on the APS Council of Representatives. The composition of the Council of Representatives will largely be the same as the current APS Council. DPOLY could also be represented on the Board of Directors if the DPOLY Councilor were elected to that position. In the new scheme, the conditions for membership on the Council of Representatives can be changed by the Council itself; under the current structure, this would require a vote by the APS membership. The leadership of the current Council has repeatedly stated that there is no plan to change the composition of the Council of Representatives. In principle, a more powerful Council could work to the detriment of DPOLY, if a majority of the Council decided to eliminate representation of the small divisions. On the other hand, the new Council of Representatives could also decide that small divisions could continue to serve on the Council even if their membership fell below the current threshold for representation.

Where to get more information? See this issue of APS News.

What is the recommendation of the DPOLY Executive Committee? We expect that the new APS governance structure will work well for the society as a whole and also for DPOLY. We encourage our members to support the proposed changes.

New Early Career Award

The Topical Group on Soft Matter (GSOFT) is delighted to announce that they are in negotiations for a new Early Career Award for Soft Matter Research.

GSOFT anticipates a deadline for nominations of 1 December 2014, to be awarded at the 2015 APS March Meeting. More news to follow.

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This DPOLY newsletter was prepared by: Steve Hudson, Secretary-Treasurer; Venkat Ganesan, Publicity Committee Chair; Nitash Balsara, Executive Committee Chair; and other members of the DPOLY Executive Committee. The articles in this newsletter represent the views of their author(s) and are not necessarily those of the Unit or APS.