Obituary

The journey of François Schué, Emeritus Professor at the University of Montpellier, came to an end on 31 January 2014 after a long battle with ill health. The area of polymer science lost a passionate and dedicated scientist and educator. François was born on 15 August 1938 in Hagenau (Alsace region), he studied and received his higher education in Strasbourg (France). In 1960 he became “Ingénieur de l'Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie” in Strasbourg. In January 1964 he received the title “Docteur Ingénieur” (Mention Très Honorable) and in February 1967 his PhD degree (“Docteur dès-Sciences Physiques”, Mention Très Honorable) at the University of Strasbourg. His PhD thesis focused on the ”Synthesis and characterization of new copolymers based on polypentadienes. Anionic polymerization. Kinetics. Structural analysis by NMR”. After the completion of his PhD degree François then worked on the anionic polymerization during a postdoctoral stay in the laboratory of Professor S. Bywater in Ottawa (Canada) at the National Research Council from 1967 to 1968. After returning and working for a short time at the CNRS in France he was appointed full professor in 1971 at the University of Montpellier, where he introduced polymer science in a newly established Laboratory of Macromolecular Chemistry. From 1972 to 1973 he was busy with the creation of the new laboratory at the University of Montpellier. In his early years there, he introduced the teaching of the macromolecular chemistry and physico-chemistry at the University of Montpellier II, which did not exist there before. He was also teaching regularly at the “'Institut des Sciences de l'Ingénieur, Filière Sciences et Technologies des Matériaux” as well as teaching polymer chemistry at the “Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie” in Montpellier. On the administrative side, he was increasingly involved with international relations and initiated a number of international collaboration projects, predominantly with Indonesia at that time. He was a member of the scientific committee of the University of Montpellier since 1989 and also responsible for the international relations at the “Institut des Sciences de l'Ingénieur de Montpellier”. He initiated the TEMPUS program in engineering science with different universities such as Lille, Clermont-Ferrand, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria. François was active in establishing a “sandwich” program between France and Germany to train students in both countries within the framework of their studies to allow them to attain a joint degree. In research he continued to focus on anionic polymerization including the use of complex agents and expanded his research areas within the framework of many projects, several of them based on industrial collaborations with a wide variety of partners. These areas comprised Ziegler-Natta polymerization, conducting polymers, modification of polymers, surface treatments, plasma polymerization, membranes for ultrafiltration and pervaporation, biocompatible polymers, hemocompatible polymers, synthesis and characterization of biodegradable polymers (industrial applications), cataphoretic deposition of polymers (industrial applications), preparation of new block copolymers based on poly(methylphenylsilylene), fluorinated polycondensates, star polymers (industrial applications), and microlithography. His research results have been documented not only in numerous publications, but also in a considerable number of patents, stemming from his strong relationships and interactions with industry. On 1 January 1997 he was appointed Editor-in-Chief of Polymer International, the polymer journal that originated from the British Polymer Journal, and expanded its scope to a peer-reviewed international journal. Under his leadership, Polymer International not only grew considerably but also evolved into a new journal with a strong global reputation. His service as Editor-in-Chief ended in 2008, but he continued to work for the journal as Emeritus Editor-in-Chief of Polymer International and contributed much to the success of this journal. His strong will to be involved in Polymer International helped to support the journal even in periods of ill health or recovery, when he tirelessly continued to fulfill the editorial tasks and support those around him. The international conference “Polymers in the Third Millennium”, held 2–6 September 2001 in his hometown Montpellier, France, was probably one of the highlights in his life. As the conference chair he brought together several hundred polymer scientists to present and exchange the latest research results. His friend, the Nobel Laureate Professor Jean-Marie Lehn from Strasbourg, was the Plenary Lecturer of the conference and selected articles of this conference have been published in a Special Issue of Polymer International in 2002. His passion as polymer educator and scientist could be seen to be summarized in an interview with a magazine of the Society of Chemical Industry. When he was asked in this interview in 2009, if he always wanted to be a scientist, he replied: “Yes, it is all I have known in my life. If somebody asks me, whether I am working hard, I always answer no. My career in science has been so enjoyable, it seems like I have been playing all my life.” François will be remembered and missed by many of us not only as an Editor-in-Chief of Polymer International, but also on a personal level as a great colleague and friend.

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