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DPI Annual Meeting 2009

27 November 2009

The Annual Meeting, held last week at the University of Eindhoven, was a great success. Around 220 members of the DPI community attended the meeting, the theme of which was "Polymers and the Biosphere". There were several speakers throughout the day, all of whom shared their vision on the theme of this year's meeting.

Journalist and author Jesse Goossens gave us her vision on Polymers and the Biosphere by addressing the Plastic Soup. Her speech was truly eye-opening and showed the dramatic effects of plastic waste in our oceans.

Scientific Chairman of the Programme Area Bio-Inspired Polymers, Gerrit Eggink, showed the audience the possibilities of bio-based polymers and sustainable chemicals.  

Theo Dingemans shared with us his story on the future possibilities of high-temperature polymers. Over the next four years, he will be focussing on this kind of polymers as a DPI Fellow.

Green chemistry was the topic of Jan Roos' speech, during which he discussed the aramid materials Twaron, Technora, Teijinconex and Sulfron. He also mentioned the various aspects of bio-based materials.

The possibilities and opportunities of bio-inspired protein-based hybrid materials were discussed by Jan van Hest.

Finally, Andrew Burgess addressed the sustainability challenges facing the coatings industry. He not only explained the importance of sustainability but also the economic and quality effects of more sustainable coatings. 

More information on the different presentations and pictures from the day can be found on the intranet.

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