The rapidly-developing field of confined polymers is reviewed in this volume. Special emphasis is given to polymer aspects of this interdisciplinary problem. Taken together, the contributions offer ample evidence of how the field of polymer science continues to evolve with the passage of time. The topics revolve around the tendency of surfaces to impede chain relaxation and to stimulate new sorts of chain organization. These have been implicated in a variety of spectacular phenomena. Here is a listing of authors and affiliations: K. Binder (Johannes Gutenberg-Universit t Mainz, Germany); P.-G. de Gennes (College de France, France); E.P. Giannelis, R. Krishnamoorti, and E. Manias (Cornell University and University of Houston, USA); G.S. Grest (Exxon Research and Engineering Co., USA); L. Leger, E. Raphael, and H. Hervet (College de France, France); S.-Q. Wang (Case Western Reserve University, USA).

Soft matter science is nowadays an acronym for an increasingly important class of materials, which ranges from polymers, liquid crystals, colloids up to complex macromolecular assemblies, covering sizes from the nanoscale up the microscale. Computer simulations have proven as an indispensable, if not the most powerful, tool to understand properties of these materials and link theoretical models to experiments. In this first volume of a small series recognized leaders of the field review advanced topics and provide critical insight into the state-of-the-art methods and scientific questions of this lively domain of soft condensed matter research.

The rapidly-developing field of confined polymers is reviewed in this volume. Special emphasis is given to polymer aspects of this interdisciplinary problem. Taken together, the contributions offer ample evidence of how the field of polymer science continues to evolve with the passage of time. The topics revolve around the tendency of surfaces to impede chain relaxation and to stimulate new sorts of chain organization. These have been implicated in a variety of spectacular phenomena. Here is a listing of authors and affiliations: K. Binder (Johannes Gutenberg-Universit t Mainz, Germany); P.-G. de Gennes (College de France, France); E.P. Giannelis, R. Krishnamoorti, and E. Manias (Cornell University and University of Houston, USA); G.S. Grest (Exxon Research and Engineering Co., USA); L. Leger, E. Raphael, and H. Hervet (College de France, France); S.-Q. Wang (Case Western Reserve University, USA).

Soft matter science is nowadays an acronym for an increasingly important class of materials, which ranges from polymers, liquid crystals, colloids up to complex macromolecular assemblies, covering sizes from the nanoscale up the microscale. Computer simulations have proven as an indispensable, if not the most powerful, tool to understand properties of these materials and link theoretical models to experiments. In this first volume of a small series recognized leaders of the field review advanced topics and provide critical insight into the state-of-the-art methods and scientific questions of this lively domain of soft condensed matter research.