Productive Partnerships

I was pleased to read the editorial recognizing the Case Western Reserve University conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of its department of macromolecular science and engineering (C&EN, June 10, page 3).

In addition to being the “first stand-alone polymer department,” it was also a partner with the department of polymer science and engineering at the University of Akron—the first university-university partnership in polymer R&D. This 1984 partnership was instrumental in forming the Edison Polymer Innovation Corporation, a state-of-Ohio-sponsored economic development program. EPIC was funded by the state and member companies in the plastics and rubber industries with a mission to move research results from the two universities on to industry development programs. It was a pioneering effort in university-industry-state collaborations concerned with job creation.

Ethan C. Galloway
Sandwich, Mass.