Conference report - Sundus Alghamdi, Physical Aspects of Polymer Science 2024

I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the Physical Aspects of Polymer Science conference, which took place in Edinburgh from September 9th to 11th. The event was rich with valuable lectures and talks in the field of polymer physics, and there was also a poster session that provided an engaging platform for sharing research.

The conference featured talks and presentations focusing on the latest developments in understanding and controlling the physical behaviour of a variety of polymer systems. It highlighted the role that polymer physics takes in areas such as sustainable energy, healthcare, and materials science, and the ways in which machine learning is contributing to advancements in the field.

One of the presentations that I found particularly interesting was delivered by Professor Rodney Priestley from Princeton University. They shared their research which focused on developing advanced water purification technologies aimed at providing safe drinking water. They presented a rapid-response solar absorber gel membrane, produced at room temperature using an ethylene glycol (EG)-water mixture, which combines the properties of poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAm), polydopamine, and poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate). This innovative membrane is designed for off-grid water purification, featuring an enhanced photothermal response and resistance to oil and bio-fouling. Their work demonstrated that this technology could produce clean water from different contaminated sources at a rate of about 26 kg m⁻² h⁻¹, which is adequate to satisfy daily water needs!

I am grateful for the opportunity to attend this conference and wish to extend my appreciation to the SMP group for the funding support, as well as to my supervisors, Johan Mattson, Simon Connell, and Olivier Cayre, for their encouragement in attending such events.