Random walk through polymer information retrieval

The history of scientific discovery has moved from observation and classification, through experimentation, and now to modeling and discovery. Models are built on knowledge, so how are knowledge databases constructed. It is worthwhile to understand how information is organized, so as to understand what can be discovered. Chem. information is unique in terms of representation, and polymers in particular have a somewhat sordid history in terms of naming and organization. This talk will take a look back at the history of polymer classification, how information has been organized, how it can be found, and what are some current initiatives underway to improve discoverability using improvements in chem. representation and organization.