Written by three of the rising stars in the scientific community, this handbook is unique with regard to polymer science and to the mix of topics. Following an introduction, the authors go on to cover synthesis and catalysis of polymers, as well as characterization and library preparation. A section on the hardware and software available leads neatly on to such computational approaches as data-handling, data-mining and modeling. A selection of industrial and academic examples is rounded off with future perspectives, drawbacks and shortcomings, while several appendices list university centers, instrument manufacturers, and active industrial labs.