Frce-radical copolymerization propagation kinetics of styrene (ST) and 2- hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) have been investigated using pulsed laser polymerization (PLP) combined with size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and proton NMR. Monomer reactivity ratios for bulk ST/HEMA copolymerization are r(HEMA) = 0.49 and r(ST) = 0.27, with no significant variation with temperature found;T between 50 and 120 degrees C. The composition-averaged copolymerization propagation rate coefficient, k(p,cop), is well represented by the implicit penultimate unit effect (IPUE) model. The copolymerization kinetics of HEMA with ST is quite similar to that of glycidyl methacrylate (GM A) with ST. A computational study based oil quantum chemistry supports the finding that GMA and HEMA are more reactive toward ST radicals compared to alkyl methacrylates.