Talk as part of a colloquium in Polymer chemistry and technology

Summary: With a rapidly growing world population, new chemical approaches are needed to improve the efficiency of materials and processes. Macromolecular chemistry offers extraordinary opportunities through precise control over polymer length, dispersity, and functionality. These molecular parameters underpin applications as diverse as reducing friction and CO₂ emissions in combustion engines, enhancing carbohydrate multivalency in biological recognition, and enabling targeted delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics. In this lecture, we explore the cationic ring-opening polymerisation of 2-oxazoline monomers as a platform for next-generation polymer design. We then consider how human scientific intuition, combined with the exponential growth of artificial intelligence, can accelerate the discovery of future-proof materials, from sustainable agricultural coatings to recyclable battery components.