This text is the published version of many ofthe talks presented at two symposiums held as part of the Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS) in Knoxville, TN in October, 1999. The Symposiums, entitled Solution Thermodynamics of Polymers and Computational Polymer Science and Nanotechnology, provided outlets to present and discuss problems of current interest to polymer scientists. It was, thus, decided to publish both proceedings in a single volume. The first part of this collection contains printed versions of six of the ten talks presented at the Symposium on Solution Thermodynamics of Polymers organized by Yuri B. Melnichenko and W. Alexander Van Hook. The two sessions, further described below, stimulated interesting and provocative discussions. Although not every author chose to contribute to the proceedings volume, the papers that are included faithfully represent the scope and quality of the symposium. The remaining two sections are based on the symposium on Computational Polymer Science and Nanotechnology organized by Mark D. Dadmun, Bobby G. Sumpter, and Don W. Noid. A diverse and distinguished group of polymer and materials scientists, biochemists, chemists and physicists met to discuss recent research in the broad field of computational polymer science and nanotechnology. The two-day oral session was also complemented by a number of poster presentations. The first article of this section is on the important subject of polymer blends. M. D.

This text is the published version of many ofthe talks presented at two symposiums held as part of the Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS) in Knoxville, TN in October, 1999. The Symposiums, entitled Solution Thermodynamics of Polymers and Computational Polymer Science and Nanotechnology, provided outlets to present and discuss problems of current interest to polymer scientists. It was, thus, decided to publish both proceedings in a single volume. The first part of this collection contains printed versions of six of the ten talks presented at the Symposium on Solution Thermodynamics of Polymers organized by Yuri B. Melnichenko and W. Alexander Van Hook. The two sessions, further described below, stimulated interesting and provocative discussions. Although not every author chose to contribute to the proceedings volume, the papers that are included faithfully represent the scope and quality of the symposium. The remaining two sections are based on the symposium on Computational Polymer Science and Nanotechnology organized by Mark D. Dadmun, Bobby G. Sumpter, and Don W. Noid. A diverse and distinguished group of polymer and materials scientists, biochemists, chemists and physicists met to discuss recent research in the broad field of computational polymer science and nanotechnology. The two-day oral session was also complemented by a number of poster presentations. The first article of this section is on the important subject of polymer blends. M. D.

This book examines the meso- and nanoscopic aspects of fluid adsorption in porous solids using a non-invasive method of small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). Starting with a brief summary of the basic assumptions and results of the theory of small-angle scattering from porous media, the author focuses on the practical aspects and methodology of the ambient and high pressure SANS and SAXS experiments and corresponding data analysis. It is illustrated with results of studies of the vapor and supercritical fluid adsorption in porous materials published during the last decade, obtained both for man-made materials (e.g. porous fractal silica, Vycor glass, activated carbon) and geological samples (e.g. sandstones, shales and coal). In order to serve the needs of broad readership, the results are presented in the relevant context (e.g. petroleum exploration, anthropogenic carbon capture and sequestration, ion adsorption in supercapacitors, hydrogen storage, etc.).