As from this summer there are two new industrial partners within the Dutch Polymer Institute. The Belgian multinational Bekaert became participant in the technology area Performance Polymers and the German multinational Altana is from now on partner within the area of Coatings Technology.

On October 31, prof.dr. Dick Broer will be presented the Gilles Holst Medal 2011 in Amsterdam.

During the European Polymer Congress 2011 in Granada, Spain, on 29 June last, the Dutch Polymer Institute DPI presented the DPI Invention Award to Prof. Dr. Cor E. Koning. Cor Koning currently works at the Eindhoven University of Technology and received this award for his important contribution to the innovative capabilities of DPI.

As of June 21 Programme Area Coordinator Peter Nossin has been appointed chairman of the task force New Materials of SusChem Nederland. His first tasks will be to expand the task force with new members and to make an inventory of the current national and European programmes in the area of New Materials. The New Materials task force will set up a plan to match the current programmes with the Polymer Innovation Programme and the programme of the Dutch chemical sector.

DPI is at a crucial juncture in its development. The changing environment calls for a change in our strategy. Our ambition is to evolve into a global Centre of Excellence in polymers and broaden our financial base. To achieve this, we will expand our partnership base by looking for partners across the entire polymer value chain and internationalising our activities, and we will continue our commitment to excellence.

(New York City, 3 June 2011) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) named the Eindhoven Region of the Netherlands as the world’s Intelligent Community of the Year 2011 during its annual awards ceremony at Steiner Film Studios in Brooklyn, New York (USA).

Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology have developed a replacement for indium tin oxide (ITO), an important material used in displays for all kinds of everyday products such as TVs, telephones and laptops, as well as in solar cells. Unfortunately indium is a rare metal, and the available supplies are expected to be virtually exhausted within as little as ten years. The replacement material is a transparent, conducting film produced in water, and based on electrically conducting carbon nanotubes and plastic nanoparticles. It is made of commonly available materials, and on top of that is also environment-friendly. The results, which also provide new insights into conduction in complex composite materials, were published online yesterday 10 April by the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology.

This year's annual meeting, hosted by Teijin and Akzo Nobel, will be held on 15 and 16 November 2011. Please block these dates in your calender. More information will follow as soon as possible.

DPI is one of the sponsors at the European Coatings Show and Conference from 29-31 March in Nurenberg, Germany. In advance of the event a special journal was published, European Coatings Journal, issue 3/2011. An interview with Dr. Harold Gankema and prof. Claus Eisenbach is part of the special edition. Click here to read the article.

It is our pleasure to announce, on behalf of the DPI Executive Board, that we have appointed prof. Costantino Creton (ESPCI Paris) as the new Scientific Chairman for the area Performance Polymers.

The Cabinet wants to make the Dutch economy one of the world's top five economies and has therefore opted to focus on top sectors. Especially High Tech Systems & Materials, Chemistry and Agrofood are substantial contributors to the Dutch economy. These three sectors account for 68% of all private spending on research and development, and together make up almost half of all Dutch exports, the engine of the economic growth. World players, multinationals and small and medium sized enterprises with strong export positions in these sectors are located in Southeast Netherlands.

The Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI) and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) are going to cooperate with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil. This week the knowledge institutes DPI and TU/e and the Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) signed an agreement to this effect. The signing of the Letter of Understanding heralds the commencement of a three-year R&D cooperation in the area of nanotechnology and (bio-)polymers. It has been agreed that ten PhD candidates will be appointed.

Every two years ExxonMobil is organising a European award. The 2011 award deals with: 'Structure-Property-Relationships and Applications of Olefin Based Polymers' More information on the requirements and opportunities to apply can be found here.

The Young scientist Awards for the best oral communication were offered during the first European Symposium of Photopolymer Science (ESPS) in Mulhouse, France, from 28 November to 1 December 2010. The Advisory Board decided to attribute two awards for the best oral communication: to Astrid Gugg from University of Technology of Vienna and François Courtecuisse from the University of Haute-Alsace and the Dutch Polymer Institute.

The Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI) is currently preparing a Call for Proposals. The Call for Proposals will be launched in March 2011. The DPI Technology Areas participating in this Call for Proposals are: Large Area Thin Film Electronics (LATFE) Polyolefins (PO) Performance Polymers (PP) More details will be provided in March 2011.

Prof. Martien Cohen Stuart (Physical Chemistry & Colloid Science, Wageningen University, The Netherlands and scientific director DPI) has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant of 2.5 million euros for research on new biosynthetic amino acid polymers for synthetic biology. Proteins that can wrap DNA, undergo ATP-driven filament formation, or form hydrogels for soft tissue engineering will be designed, produced and tested by a team of about 10 scientists.

The German professor Klaus Meerholz was granted the Nordrhein-Westfalen Innovation Award in Dusseldorf on 15 November 2010. He receives this prize for his research in OLEDS. Klaus Meerholz is an active researcher in the Technology Areas LATFE and FPS. Click here for more information.

On 12 October the Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI) has organised a workshop on Biobased Polymers, where companies from both the supply side and the demand side have been brought together.

As from October Saint-Gobain is industrial partner of DPI in the Technology Area Coatings Technologies. The French company focuses on the development of sustainable homes. With their presence in 64 countries, it is again a multinational that joins the research of DPI. For more information about Saint-Gobain, click here.

Scientists of Maastricht UMC+ and the TU Eindhoven are working together with DPI on research to restore damaged peripheral nerves with a new kind of biodegradable polymer. At this moment the research focuses on the development of porous material with a honeycomb structure to force nerve ends in the right direction.

The DFG ('Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft') announced a new priority programme (SPP 1568) 'Design and Generic Principles of Self-Healing Materials' (2 M€/year, the programme is intended to run six years). This programme is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Ulrich S. Schubert (Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany), who is also scientific chairman of the High-Throughput Experimentation programme area of the Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI).

This summer the German small- and medium sized enterprise (SME) Microdrop became the first ‘basic participant' of the Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI). DPI noticed that more and more SMEs are willing to participate within the worldwide network. Therefore DPI introduced two participation possibilities for SMEs.

The French company SNF became participant in the Technology Area Emerging Technologies. They are primarily working on water-soluble polymers. SNF is the second industrial partner in the Technology Area Emerging Technologies. The first project within Emerging Technologies started in 2009 with Shell as first industrial participant.

As from this summer multinational Petrobras is one of the industrial participants of the Dutch Polymer Institute. The Brazilian energy company is interested in the fields of Bio-Inspired Polymers and Polyolefins. The participation of this globally acting company fits into the strategy of the Dutch Polymer Institute which seeks to strengthen its global position.

Due to the vulcanic ash we had to postphone the Bio-Based Polymers workshop. The workshop was originally planned on 21 April. The new date is 12 October 2010. For more information about the workshop and the possibillity to register for the workshop, please go to Events in the main menu.

An internationally renowned Dutch scientist responsible for several major advances in polymer and organic chemistry has won the 2010 AkzoNobel Science Award. Distinguished professor Bert Meijer, from Eindhoven University of Technology and active community-member of DPI, was conferred the honor after the jury cited his numerous achievements in materials science and polymer chemistry. These have included introducing patented technology which led to the development of the first nano-container (also called the dendritic box), and the synthesis and development of supramolecular polymers.

On May 27, 2010, the Van der Valk hotel in Eindhoven was the scene of a DPI workshop on nanocomposites. Over 30 people gathered to discuss the science and technology of these fascinating materials. After an inspiring lecture by professor Costantino Creton, PhD students and other scientists exchanged their problems, their experience and their ideas with the aim to learn from each other, and to strengthen the field of nanocomposites.

Han E.H. Meijer, Professor of Polymer Technology and Scientific Director of the Research School Eindhoven Polymer Laboratories at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, has been awarded the DSM Performance Materials Award 2010 in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the advancement of the materials sciences. Professor Meijer is one of the world's leading scientists in the field of predicting polymer structuring during processing and the relation between resulting structure and mechanical performance. His outstanding fundamental and applied research and his dedication to innovative science have earned him a high reputation in the academic world.

On Friday 25 June Theo Dingemans will give his inaugural speech at the Delft University. The title of which is: ‘Aerospace polymers are shaping up: Structural and functional properties can go hand in hand.’

The crisis as a springboard For DPI 2009 was a tough year – and at the same time also an exciting year. As a result of the economic crisis, many of our industrial partners were confronted with declining sales, profits and employment. To help companies maintain their R&D capacities, the Dutch government introduced the so-called Knowledge Workers Scheme (KWR), an initiative that we were able to take full advantage of thanks to our extensive network of universities and companies. The KWR initiative enabled us to set up a number of new projects involving 150 researchers from companies whom we linked to new international researchers at universities.

On Wednesday 9 June 2010 the report of the Hybrid Materials Workshop was handed to Renzo Tomellini and Helge Wessel of the Eurpean Commission. The report is the result of the workshop on 3 and 4 March 2010 in Luxembourg. Suschem organised this workshop in close collaboration with Dutch Polymer Institute and was sponsored by the European Commission.

The Belgian Polymer Group (BPG) awards the International BPG Award 2010 to Professor Ulrich S. Schubert, chairman of the Technology Area High-Throughput Experimentation of the Dutch Polymer Institute. Prof. Schubert is full professor at Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena and chair of the Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry. Every two years the BPG recognises outstanding contributions in the field of polymer science in combination with strong cooperations with Belgian polymer groups.

The Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI) has a new industrial partner. Solvay became a participant in the Technology Areas Functional Polymer Systems and Large-Area Thin-Film Electronics.

One of the major trends in polymer science that have received increasing attention relates to its growing environmental impact.

The Royal Institute of Engineers KIVI NIRIA awards the Speurwerk Prijs 2010 to Professor Rene Janssen.

Ton Peijs, professor at Queen Mary, University of London and active participant to DPI with several projects has been awarded the 2010 Swinburne Medal & Prize.

Unfortunately we have to inform you that we had to postpone the Bio-Based Polymers workshop planned for Wednesday 21 April at Amsterdam International Airport (Schiphol), as air traffic is not possible yet in Amsterdam and probably will not be possible until Wednesday.

The Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI) will organise a workshop on Bio-Based Polymers in Amsterdam (Schiphol Airport). The mission of the DPI is to foster the science and technology of polymers and polymer materials in all its facets. Scientific research and innovations by chemical manufacturers have revolutionized the processability and functionality of bio-based polymers.

The Dutch Polymer Institute scored a Citation-Impact factor of 2.19 for its scientific publications. The latest report of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science proves this result in Science and Technology Indicators 2010. The score of DPI is more than twice as high as the global average.

Katja Loos, associate professor at the University of Groningen, has been appointed DPI Fellow. The Dutch Polymer Institute is a top institute in which international universities and companies work together on the next generation of polymers and applications thereof. After Theo Dingemans of Delft University of Technology, Katja Loos is the second "rising star" in the DPI community, having been granted one million euros for research. The actual start of the projects will be negotiated between the Fellow and the DPI management.

On Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 March the ‘Hybrid Materials Workshop', took place in Luxembourg. The event was organized by the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem), in close collaboration with DPI.

The 2010 DSM Performance Materials Award is granted to Professor Han Meijer of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Polymer expert Meijer receives the award 'for outstanding achievements in research related to the properties, processing and engineering of polymers.'

The 2009 Borealis Student Innovation Award for the doctorate degree was granted to Dr. Amir Jabri, During his studies at the University of Ottawa (Canada) Dr. Amir Jabri was involved in a DPI project in the Polyolefins Technology Area. Click here to read the full press release which was sent out by Borealis.

Join a 2-day workshop with scientists, material manufacturers and end users and discuss the enabling role and contribution of hybrid, novel materials based on polymers.

The Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI) has a new industrial partner since January 2010. ExxonMobil is a participant in the Technology Area Polyolefins. Within this area participate 11 industrial partners and 13 knowledge institutes.

Rob van der Linde has been the initiator of Coatings Technology at the Eindhoven University of Technology. During his whole career he was considered as a leading scientist in his field of expertise.

At the start of 2010 we wish you a happy and healthy new year. We look forward to an interactive and innovative 2010. Click here to view our new year's wish.

To utilize the innovative capacity of Small and Medium/sized Enterprises (SME) and to facilitate technology transfer, DPI wants to stimulate participation of SME's to its programmes. Two new participation possibilities have been developed: Basic participation and Group participation.

The first ‘Polyolefins Research' course has been successfully completed. The DPI Value Centre sees the course as a step in the direction of the foundation of the World Polymer Academy.

First results of the brainstorms DPI organised during the Annual Meeting, on 26 November 2008.