Why is a polymeric material stable for 50 years in one setting, yet degrades to failure in less than 5 - in the presence of another seemingly innocuous material? In this volume the expert contributors address a relevant, yet overlooked area of polymer degradation science - the study of the stability, lifetimes and performance of polymeric materials in relation to each other and their environment. The importance of understanding underlying mechanisms of interaction as well as the choice of the correct methodological approaches is emphasized and real world applications are discussed. * An indepth overview of polymer materials compatibility, defined as the study of the influence of other materials on the lifetimes and performance of synthetic polymers * Contributions from a diverse group of experts, from military/aerospace to biomedical * Unique historical insights into a practically important, yet little compiled field of polymer science The first unified attempt to collectively bound and define this area of polymer degradation science within a volume

Dr James P. Lewicki attended the University of Strathclyde, Scotland in 1999 - gaining his Masters in Physical Chemistry in 2004 and his Ph.D in Polymer Chemistry (with an emphasis on polymer degradation) in 2007. Over the years James has worked with a broad cross section of industry and academia in the area of polymer aging, degradation and lifetime prediction. James is currently based in Northern California, US where he is employed as a polymer scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. His research interests include applied nuclear magnetic resonance, dielectric spectroscopy and mass spectrometry for the study of motional dynamics, aging and degradation in complex polymeric systems and advanced functional materials.