Vol. 28 No. 2
March-April 2006

Novel Materials and Synthesis

by Yuping Wu

The International Symposium on Novel Materials and Synthesis (NMS) was initiated in 2005 and was held jointly with the International Symposium on Fine Chemistry and Functional Polymers (FCFP), held for the first time in 1985 in China and on a near-annual basis since. This year, the 15th symposium (FCFP XV) was held 16–20 October 2005 at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. The joint holding of these two important symposia was part of the celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of Fudan University.

Fudan University, established in 1905, is one of the most famous universities in China. The name “Fudan,” which means “unremitting effort,” comes from the Confucian classics. The university is situated in Shanghai City, on the west coast of the Pacific. Shanghai City is one of the most dynamic metropolises in China and recently won a bid to host the 2010 World Expo.

NMS-I was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, IUPAC, the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, and the Shanghai Society of Chemistry and Chemical Industry. Cochairman Professor Yingyan Jiang, vice president of Fudan University, Professor Xiaoman Chen, and IUPAC representative Professor S. Penczek delivered welcome and opening addresses on the morning of 17 October 2005.

Professor Yuping Wu and his group group of Fudan University acted as secretariat of FCFP-XV

Joining the symposium were 188 participants, including 117 from outside China. Foreign participants included industry representatives from Sony Corporation, Sanyo Chemical Industries Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Givaudan Schweiz AG, DSM Pharma Chemicals, and Givaudan Ltd. Speakers from companies introduced their latest development on novel materials. The symposium concentrated on novel polymers with various functions, novel organic chemicals, asymmetric synthesis and other synthesis methods, and other novel materials and synthesis related to energy, environment, medicine, fragrance, and nanotechnologies. Prominent scientists who lectured on their research work included Professor Robert Ballini (Italy), Professor Heinz Berke (Switzerland), Professor Shohei Inoue (Japan), Professor Ming Jiang (China), Professor Yusuke Kawakami (Japan), Professor Shun-Ichi Murahashi (Japan), Professor S. Penczek (Poland), Professor Makoto Shimizu (Japan), Professor James M. Takacs (United States), Professor M.G. Voronkov (Russia), Professor Changchun Wang (China), and Professor Peter Zugenmaier (Germany).

The symposium discussion was active, and participants highly evaluated the symposium and its organization, regarding it as a good high-level platform for exchanging academic ideas on novel materials and synthesis.

The organization committee arranged wonderful social programs such as a night tour by boat along the Pujiang River, a Shanghai Opera, and a city tour. Participants left the symposium knowing more about Fudan University, Shanghai, and China. Organization activities were shouldered by Professor Yuping Wu’s group.

The NMS-I International Organizing Committee has decided to hold this symposium in Shanghai biennially, with the next symposium scheduled for 21–25 October 2007.

Yuping Wu <[email protected]> is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials at Fudan University in Shanghai, China.