The POLY division of ACS is dedicated to the spread of information and education about polymers to scientists, engineers, and the greater general public. Specific resources are listed below.
Macromolecular Alliance of Community, Resources, and Outreach: MACRO
MACRO is a newly created committee that is being support by both the POLY and PMSE divisions of ACS. Current leadership includes, Philip Costanzo from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Co-chair: POLY), Dominik Konkolewicz Miami University, OH (Co-chair: PMSE), and Liz Sterner from Lebanon Valley College, PA (Lead on cirriculum)
Our goal is grow and develop the polymer community by supporting three distinct initiatives, which are : 1) curriculum; 2) professional development; 3) outreach.
Polymer Ambassadors
Polymer Ambassadors are talented and dedicated K-12 classroom teachers located coast-to-coast who arrange, organize, and present workshops and demonstrations. Typical venues for their presentations are National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) national, regional, and STEM conferences, American Chemical Society (ACS) meetings, as well as many local – state conferences. Their workshops generally relate polymer science to topics that interest K-12 students.
Sci Cafes
POLY provides financial support for Sci Cafes which bring the science of polymers to audiences of the general public.
Other Resources
K-12 Resources
- Kitchen Science Experiments
- Home Science Experiments
- Terrific Science Programs and Press
- Calculators for unit interconversions
- **New additions: Special Thanks to Hannah and her Girl Scout Troop for pointing these out! We hope you got the STEM badge!
Chemistry, Polymers, and Science Resources
- ACS Guide to Careers in Chemistry
- ACS Younger Chemists Committee
- Science History Institute
- WWW Chemistry Guide– search engine of chemistry related resources
- Macrogalleria– general polymer information
- Polymer Science Learning Center– general polymer information
- Polymer Networks Group– an independent international organization for the promotion of international contacts and stimulation of research in the field of polymer networks
- NIST Materials News, Publications, and Projects
- Nanoparticles.org: The Information Resource of Particle Technology
- Polymers-Search: A Science Teacher’s Polymer Education Guide
- Polysort: A Portal for the Plastics and Rubber Industry