Relation among chemical composition, physical structure, and mechanical behavior of plastics or synthetic high polymers. Study of types of polymers; fundamentals of viscoelastic phenomena such as creep, stress relaxation, stress rupture, mechanical damping, impact; effects of chemical composition and structure on viscoelastic and strength properties; methods of mechanical property evaluation. Influences of plastics fabrication methods. Emphasis on recent research techniques and results. Individual laboratory projects investigating problems related to current research.