Foreword: Special issue on papers presented at the de Gennes Discussion Conference, Chamonix, February 1st–5th, 2009

Abstract

The French Group of Rheology under the auspices of the European Society of Rheology organized the de Gennes Discussion Conference entitled “From reptation to glassy materials: de Gennes pioneering work in rheology and recent developments.” The organization of this conference strongly involved the French rheological community who wanted to pay tribute to Pierre Gilles de Gennes for the new ideas he brought to this field, especially in polymer science and complex fluids. This conference was held in Chamonix (France), a nice city at the foot of Mont-Blanc, as a reminiscence of the taste of our Nobel Prize winner for mountains. The format of the meeting was quite unusual, since it was based on invited lectures given by distinguished experts in different fields (polymer melt rheology and dynamics, polymers in solutions, polymers at surfaces and adhesion, and polymers and biology). Participants of the meeting were suggested to give a 4-minute oral presentation of their poster prior to the poster discussion. In addition, three industrial sponsors (Total, Saint-Gobain, and L’Oreal) agreed to give an afterdinner conference, emphasizing the importance of soft matter research in their companies. Besides 20 world renowned invited speakers, 64 participants took part of the meeting, presenting 42 posters. Fifteen countries were represented with large delegations from France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The participants were invited to submit papers presented at