of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. of the American Chemical Society held its The Division 15th Biennial Polymer Symposium on the topic, "Advances in New Materials," November 17-21, 1990, at the Pier 66 Resort and Marina in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. A three and one half day program was presented by recognized leaders in major areas of new polymeric materials. The topics of the Biennial Symposium included new high performance polymers, polymers for electronic applications, electrically conducting polymers, nonlinear optics, new polymer systems, and polymers derived from biological media. These are the subject areas of this volume of "Contemporary Topics in Polymer Science." The intent of the Symposium was to focus on recent advances in polymeric materials. The technical sessions were complemented by an initial poster session which augmented the various technical sessions. A particular highlight of the meeting was the presentation to Professor Michael Szwarc of the 1990 Division of Polymer Chemistry Award by Dr. J. L. Benham, Chairman of the T Aymer Division. During his Award address, Professor Szwarc described how he had become a polymer chemist and later developed "living polymers." Without a doubt, Professor Szwarc has made a profound contribution to the polymer field, which has yielded many new forms of living polymerization."