In memory of professor Edward J. Kramer

Abstract

This Special Issue is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Edward J. Kramer, who died peacefully on December 27, 2014 at the age of 75. Ed was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware where his father, Edward Noble Kramer was intimately involved in the chemistry, process engineering, physics and materials science of producing titanium dioxide nanoparticles for paint additives at Dupont. EJ Kramer graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1957 and went on to earn his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University in 1962. In 1966, he earned his doctorate degree in metallurgy and materials science from Carnegie-Mellon University under the supervision of Charles Bauer. After a NATO postdoctoral fellowship at Oxford University, Ed joined the faculty of Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University in 1967. In 1988, Ed became the Samuel B. Eckert Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. In 1997, he moved to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and held appointments in both Materials and Chemical Engineering. Although Ed spent the first approximately 15 years of his research career in the field of superconductivity, this Special Issue honors his numerous outstanding contributions across polymer physics. His experimental studies revealed profound insights that have shaped the modern understanding of polymers and advanced the polymer industry. In mechanical properties, Ed's in situ electron microscopy studies revealed the mechanisms of crazing in glassy polymers. His pioneering work on polymer diffusion adapted ion beam methods to directly measure concentration profiles of deuterated polymers to accurately determine polymer melt diffusion coefficients. These elegant experiments provided convincing support for the reptation model proposed by deGennes. Ed also made important contributions to understanding the thermodynamics of block copolymer self-assembly at interfaces, in thin films and with nanoparticles and how these structures impacted mechanical properties. Ed's abundant and contagious enthusiasm for high-quality science was evident in his enjoyment of lively scientific discourse in every venue. Around campus, Ed's generosity with his time and knowledge were legendary and extended to any student or colleague who approached with a question or idea. At conferences, he typically sat in the front of the room and was quick to ask probing questions to young students and senior colleagues alike. At poster sessions, year in and year out, Ed inspired a generation of young polymer scientists by scrutinizing their posters and encouraging them to dig deeper. Ed was also committed to maximizing the impact of fundamental polymer science on applications and served as a trusted collaborator and advisor to many companies, including Allergan, Asahi Glass, CSP Technologies, Dow, DSM, Dupont, GE, Kodak, Medtronic, Mitsubishi Chemical, Novomer, SiO2 Medical, and many others. Ed was highly decorated. He received the American Physical Society Polymer Physics Prize in 1985 along with Roger P. Kambour of General Electric “For pioneering and outstanding contributions to the understanding of crazing in polymers.” He received a Senior Scientist Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung in 1987 and was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1988. Ed was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1989 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012. His many prestigious accolades also include the Swinburne Medal of the Institute of Materials, the Polymeer Technologie Nederland Medema Award of the Dutch Polymer Society, the Cooperative Research Award from the Division of Polymer Materials: Science and Engineering of the American Chemical Society, and the Turnbull Award of the Materials Research Society. Ed Kramer was a pillar in the polymer science and engineering community. With his passion for excellence in polymer science Ed educated generations of students and postdocs who are now in academia, industry and national labs across the globe. Moreover, his exquisite experiments and scientific insights are eloquently described in his more than 450 publications, and this scientific output will continue to benefit all those striving to understand the intricacies of chemistry-processing-structure-property relationships in polymers. To recognize Ed Kramer's profound impact on our field of polymer science, we thank the Journal of Polymer Science for this special issue. These articles were submitted by special invitation and we regret that we were limited in the number of invitations that we were able to extend. The far-reaching topics in this issue reflect Ed's broad influence and we hope you enjoying reading the papers. We are grateful for the life and work of Ed Kramer, who was a great friend, mentor, and scientific hero and who is sincerely missed. Russell J. Composto, Karen I. Winey Department of Materials Science and Engineering University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA Rachel A. Segalman Departments of Chemical Engineering and Materials University of California, Santa Barbara, CA E. W. Meijer Institute for Complex Molecular Systems Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands