Preface

The IUPAC International Symposium on Ionic Polymerization (IP 2011), was held in Akron, Ohio 10-15 July 2011. We welcomed 165 participants from 18 countries. This was a "homecoming"-the symposium series was initiated by Prof. Joseph P. Kennedy in 1976. This biannual event travelled around the globe, and after 35 years it came back to the University of Akron, the global leader in polymer research. The symposium was co-chaired by Judit E. Puskas from the University of Akron and Robson F. Storey from the University of Southern Mississippi. It started with a mini-symposium honoring the honorary chair, Prof. Kennedy, with international leaders as speakers.The symposium covered a broad range of topics. A unique feature of the symposium was a session devoted to "rising stars" in the field of ionic polymerizations. This volume presents papers based on presentations from that session. We hope to see the rising stars as the next leaders in the field.Judit E. PuskasConference Co-Chair