Letter from President of ICS

Dear Colleagues,

https://doi.org/10.51167/ice000015

With the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences fading
away, we are back on track. Skipping the 2021 Annual Meetingof the ICS was painful, but we kept our traditional award
ceremony and held it at the Open University campus on July
1, 2021. The 86th ICS Meeting, which took place on September
12–13, 2022, 2.5 years after the 85th Meeting, was a happy
gathering of many ICS members, with long-missed in-person
networking and exchanging ideas and recent discoveries.
Unfortunately, the Chinese delegation we expected to hostcanceled their arrival due to the pandemic. We all thank thechairpersons of the organizing committee, Profs. CharlesDiesendruck and Saar Rahav of the Technion.
We look forward to the 87th Meeting, which will take placeon July 4–5, 2023, at the International Convention Center,Jerusalem, as part of the International Chemistry Congress(ChemCon2023). The event, which will include the two-day
87th ICS Meeting, a one-day “Good Carbon” symposium (July3, 2023), and a three-day international exhibition, reflects
a fruitful collaboration between the ICS and the Haaretz/TheMarker Group. The ChemCon2023 will create highinterest and synergism among chemists, chemical engineers,businesspeople, venture capitalists, government agencies,startup entrepreneurs, chemical industry leaders, and thepublic.
The 87th ICS Meeting will include nearly 100 lectures in fourparallel sessions, over 300 posters, and various social events.
The traditional ICS Prize Ceremony will recognize outstanding
scientists, graduate students, teachers, and the prominent green
chemical industry. Following our long tradition, we’ll host alarge delegation from Denmark, consisting of 11 professors
including Nobel Prize Laureate Morten P. Meldal, and 20
graduate students from the University of Copenhagen, theTechnical University of Denmark, and Aarhus University. The
Meeting is organized by a joint team from Ariel University,
Tel Aviv University, and the Hebrew University, chaired byProfs. Alex Schechter and Flavio Grynszpan.
The “Good Carbon” Symposium will focus on using
compounds of a single carbon atom, such as natural gas

and carbon dioxide emissions, as feedstock for the chemicalindustry. The symposium will highlight the methanol-based
economy, methanol-to-olefins (MTO) processes, synthetic
fuels, novel fuel cells, and clean energy.
2023 will be my second year as Vice President and Presidentelect of the International Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry (IUPAC), and in 2024 I’ll start my two-year term as
the Union’s 41st President. In this capacity, I wish to promote
the Chemist’s Oath as a global initiative, planning to run thefirst pilot in Israel.
As is the case for the Hippocratic Oath, the Chemist’s Oath will
have a moral value rather than a legally binding commitment.
It will enhance the newly graduated chemist’s ethical behavior
and professional pride. The following text of 57 words is my
proposed draft of the Chemist’s Oath. Believing in collective
wisdom, I invite you to modify the text while keeping it clear
and concise.
‘By what I hold most sacred, I solemnly swear to pursue scientifictruth and expand knowledge ethically and responsibly. I will
promote diversity, equity, inclusivity, and mutual respect forall. As a member of society at large, obligated to all my fellow
human beings, I will use my chemical expertise to sustain lifeand protect the environment.’
With your help, I wish to crystallize the final version andoffer it as a pilot among the 2023 chemistry graduates in one
or two countries before proposing it through IUPAC to theglobal community.
Finally, please help develop the ICE magazine under theleadership of Prof. Arlene Wilson-Gordon, and contributean article to the ICE on any topic you like, including popularscience, history of science, report on an event, opinions, etc.
Please, don’t hesitate to contact Arlene or me on these matters.
Enjoy your reading,

Ehud KeinanPresident, the Israel Chemical Society

Issue 9 · January 2023 · Tevet 5783

The Israel Chemist and Chemical Engineer5