DOHA • The Qatar Fertiliser Company-Texas A&M University (TAMUQ) Qatar Chemistry Conference recently held at Education City saw Dr Krzysztof Matyjaszewski discuss atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) and its applications. The conference hosted scientists from the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE and Qatar.

Matyjaszewski, the J C Warner University Professor of Natural Sciences at the Mellon College of Science (MCS), is recognised worldwide as a distinguished professor of chemistry. He is a professor, director of the Center for Macromolecular Engineering at MCS (1998-present), and director of ATRP and CRP Consortia (1996-present). He has held many visiting positions at universities in France, Poland, and Japan.

Earlier, Dr Hassan S Bazzi, Science Programme Coordinator at TAMUQ, in his welcome address said: "I hope this conference helps in instituting a culture of research and development that will occur in parallel with the industrial, educational and economic development that Qatar has been undergoing in the past several years".

Dr Mark H Weichold, Dean and CEO of TAMUQ, said: "This meeting of chemists from around the world is a tribute to the timeless tradition of scholars gathering to share, discuss and develop their ideas.”

Matyjaszewski presented research about ATRP and its various applications. He has published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers and 10 books and holds 33 US and 81 international patents.