Polychar 26 World Forum on Advanced Materials

Tbilisi, Georgia, September 10-13, 2018

With agreat pleasure we would like to invite you to Georgia for the next Polychar meeting in 2018. The 26th Annual World Forum on Advanced Materials will take place fromMonday, September 10, until Thursday, September 13at the Ivane Javakhishvili University in Tbilisi.

Polychar is a series of annual conferences which were originally limited to polymer characterization (hence the abbreviation in the name) but which are now the most worldwide conference series on advanced materials.The conferencesup to Polychar 11 were held in the USA, # 12 in Portugal, # 13 in Singapore, # 14 in Japan, # 15 in Brazil, # 16 in India, # 17 in France, # 18 in Germany, # 19 in Nepal, # 20 in Croatia, # 21 in South Korea, # 22 in South Africa, # 23 in USA, # 24 in Poland and # 25 in Malaysia. At least 30 countries are represented each year.For reports from past conferences see

From the very beginning, one of the important aims of our Forum is providing young scientists and engineers an opportunity to present their results and to meet with accomplished scientists from all over the world. Prizes include those for Students and for Young Scientists (up to 32 years of age). Some of the winners of those prizes from earlier years are now getting into distinguished positions of responsibility.

Our Forum brings together professors, graduate and undergraduate students – as well as people from industry - involved in theory, experiment and computer simulations under one roof to improve our understanding of connections between structures, interactions, processing and properties in Materials Science and Engineering. This is along-term activity, not dependent on temporary fashions. An abstract template is attached; please indicate oral or poster. A presenter can present at most one oral paper, the other as posters. Students and young researchers have ‘equal rights’ to oral presentations. Participants who come to listen only are welcome as well.

The following areas will be important this year:

  • Predictive Methods and Simulations
  • Structure-Property Relationships
  • Surfaces, Interfaces, Adhesion and Tribology
  • Material Synthesis and its Molecular Characterization
  • Rheology and Processing
  • Mechanical Properties and Performance
  • Electrical and Dielectric Properties
  • Nanomaterials and Smart Materials
  • Biomaterials, Green Materials and Composites
  • Materials for Energy and Recycling

By tradition, the first day Monday there will be a Course of Polymer Characterization starting at 9 AM with the following Program (plus coffee breaks and a lunch break):

Victor M. Castaño: Viscoelastic behavior of polymers Tomasz W. Liskiewicz: Friction, scratch resistance and wear Sven Henning: Micromechanics by electron microscopy Masaru Matsuo: Electric and dielectric properties of polymer-functional filler composites Allison T. Osmanson: Flexibility in relation to other properties ofpolymers Janusz Grebowicz: Phase structures and thermodynamic properties of polymers Tomasz Sterzynski: Macromolecular orientation inpolymers Dusan Berek:Polymerliquid chromatography

We shall have a small number of invited lectures, alphabetically:

Marcus Vinicius Lia Fook, Federal University of Campina Grande Ondrej Kylian, Charles University, Prague Marino Lavorgna, Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials, Portici Rimantas Levinskas, Lithuanian Energy Institute, Kaunas Lola Olantunji, University of Lagos Jean-Marie Raquez, University of Mons Dirk W. Schubert, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Sabu Thomas, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala Sujitra Wongkasemjit, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok

Conference fees (until May 31, US$ 50 more June 1 - July 15):

Regular international participant: US$ 375 Regular Georgian participant: US$ 200 International student or young scientist (up to 32 years of age): US$ 225 Georgian student or young scientist: US$ 150 International participant in the Monday course only: US$ 120 Georgian participant in the Monday course only: US$ 80 Accompanying person: US$ 150

The conference fee covers the costs of the Monday course, attendance at all lectures and poster sessions, lunches, get together Monday night, coffee breaks, banquet Wednesday night, and a book of abstracts.The accompanying person fee covers get together, lunches and banquet. The payment can be made in advance, see

The oral presentations take 20 - 35 minutes including the discussion, invited lectures 40 minutes including the discussion. There will be two poster sessions.

The following Prizes are awarded:

Paul J. Flory Research Prize International Materials Research Prize Bruce Hartmann Prize for Young Scientists Jürgen Springer Prize for Young Scientists Carl Klason Student Awards (up to 3) Student Diplomas of Distinction (up to 4) Every student or young scientist has to state their status on the registration form to be considered for one of the prizes.

For each paper presented at the Forum, oral or poster, there is an opportunity – but not an obligation – to submit that paper for publication in Pure & Applied Chemistry(PAC) orin Nano-Structures & Nano-Objects. Each such manuscript will be subjected to at least two reviews. The manuscripts have to be brought to the Forum and submitted to the organizers.

Georgia is a country with some 2500 years of history. Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of about 1.5 million inhabitants. Tbilisi is known for its distinctive architecture, which reflects the city varied past and comprises an eclectic mix of Medieval, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Stalinist and Modernist structures.Present-day Tbilisi is one of the safest cities in Europe andranks among the most popular emerging destinations thanks to Georgia's growing tourism industry. World travellers rank Tbilisi among the most enchanting destinations, along with Rio de Janeiro, Stockholm, Vancouver, Venice and Tokyo. More specific information on getting to Tbilisi is included on the web site.There are hotels and dormitories at various prices close to the Ivane Javakhisvili University.

There are optional post-conference tours: Saturday to Mkheta, Gori (the birthplace of Stalin) and Ufliscikhe for US$ 35, or Saturday and Sunday to Batumi on the Black Sea, with one night in a hotel in Batumi, the cost currently under negotiation.

We hope to meet you all in Tbilisi!

Sincerely,

Omar Mukbaniani,
Chair of the POLYCHAR 26 Organizing Committee