Self‐Assembly and Hierarchical Structure Formation of Macromolecules

It is now precisely 20 years ago that Helmut Ringsdorf wrote a famous review on self-organized polymer systems in which he developed a scenario of the future destination of macromolecular chemistry. His key statement was: ‘‘In the meantime, macromolecular chemistry, too, has become a classical discipline, a mature science, with all the advantages and handicaps of maturity. Harvest is plentiful, the results are abundant – but one has to ask: where is the future, where are the adventures?’’ He also pointed to the fact that scientific adventure is always on the border with other disciplines, such as physics, biology, or pharmacy. Well, even ‘mature’ polymer science can, does, and will evolve, and in our opinion nowadays develops with an even higher pace and more fruits than ever. There are a number of reasons for this, one of which being rather general: Because of the increasing number of polymer scientists in Asia and South America, improved communication and electronic publication systems, and an increasing professionalization of science in terms of management (the sum of these three aspects sometimes abbreviated as ‘globalization’), quality measures and the knowledge of the actual standing have been homogenized. This defines a common ‘coordinate system’ that allows young scientists more easily to start their career by working on the real problems at the forefront of research. On the other hand, polymer science has indeed benefited from the exchange with other disciplines, such