As in previous years, the projects in this year’s report are quite varied. In addition to a wide range of topics, some projects are completed while others are in various stages of development. In fact, the oral reports at the annual meeting may be significantly different than the discussions in this report for several of the projects.

In terms of experimental techniques, inverse gas chromatography is the dominant procedure in the projects of this report. IGC data are presented in Chapters III, IV, V, XII, XIII and XIV. Extensions of the IGC techniques are presented in Chapters III and IV. In Chapter III, the technique is extended to high pressures to give the Center the capability of investigating diffusion and thermodynamic interactions at high temperatures and pressures. Potential applications are the use of high pressure or supercritical fluids such as carbon dioxide to extract low molecular weight species from polymers or to facilitate the adsorption of materials into polymers. In addition to significant impact on devolatilization methods, other potential applications include the development of co-blowing agents and high-pressure extraction operations.