1.

Molecular Characterization

• Size exclusion chromatography, combined with light scattering and viscosity detectors

• Multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance methods for determining chain architecture

• Millisecond time-resolved ultraviolet/visible, Fourier transform infrared, and Raman spectroscopies

2.

Solutions, Melts, and Elastomers

• Many new techniques for measuring diffusion

• Simultaneous rheological and optical/X-ray/neutron measurements

• New nuclear magnetic resonance and optical techniques for measuring local polymer dynamics and tertiary structure of biopolymers

• Neutron spin-echo techniques for measuring intermediate-scale polymer motion

• Neutron-scattering methods for determining the thermodynamics of polymer blends

3.

Solid-State Structure and Properties

• Environmental scanning electron microscopy

• Near-field optical microscopy

• Simultaneous X-ray and calorimetry measurements

• Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance techniques

• Molecular imaging with transmission electron microscopy

• Confocal optical microscopy

• Transmission electron microscope image-processing techniques

• Techniques using synchrotron radiation sources for solution of the phase problem in solving the structure of large biomolecules

4.

Surfaces and Interfaces

• Many new deuterium depth-profiling techniques with complementary depth resolutions

• Surface forces apparatus to characterize the forces between adsorbed polymer layers

• Atomic force microscopy of surface topology

• Neutron reflectometry of surfaces and interfaces

5.

Biopolymers

• Improved separation and purification methods and capillary zone electrophoresis for separating small amounts of biopolymers

• Polymerase chain reaction technique for amplifying very small quantities of DNA

• Multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance methods for obtaining high-resolution structures in solution

• Mass spectroscopy that quickly sequences biomolecules

• Computer database technology for comparing informational macromolecules