CHEMISTRY
International
The News Magazine of IUPAC

The art ofPolymers

April-June 2021
Volume 43 No. 2

Macromolecular Science Turns 100
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF
PURE AND APPLIED CHEMISTRY

The Italian voice at IUPAC

Chemistry International
CHEMISTRY International
The News Magazine of theInternational Union of Pure andApplied Chemistry (IUPAC)

All information regarding notes for contributors,
subscriptions, Access, back volumes and orders isavailable online at www.degruyter.com/ci
Managing Editor:
Fabienne Meyers
IUPAC, c/o Department of Chemistry
Boston University
Metcalf Center for Science and Engineering
590 Commonwealth Ave.
Boston, MA 02215, USA
E-mail: edit.ci@iupac.org
Phone: +1 617 358 0410
Design/Production: Stuart Wilson
Printed by: Sheridan Communications

Subscriptions
Chemistry International (ISSN 0193-6484) is published 4 times annually in January, April, July, and September
by De Gruyter, Inc., 121 High St., 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02110 on behalf of IUPAC. The 2021 subscription is USD
74.00 for individuals or USD 116.00 for institutional subscription. Special rates for Print and Print + Online
are available for IUPAC Members and Affiliates Members; see https://iupac.org/what-we-do/journals/
chemistry-international/ or https://www.degruyter.com/ci for more information.
ISSN 0193-6484, eISSN 1365-2192
Periodicals postage paid at Durham, NC 27709-9990 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send
address changes to Chemistry International, IUPAC Secretariat, PO Box 13757, Research Triangle Park, NC
27709-3757, USA.
© 2021 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Cover: Polymers are all around us since the evolution of life on Earth. A SciArts project by@Merna_group aims to celebrate the anniversary by introducing selected basic terms in polymer science to a broader chemical community and to the publics. This cover illustrates POLYCONDENSATION.
See more page 9.

CHEMISTRYInternational
Login
to check CI online

Subscribeto receive CI print

For more info on CI, check www.degruyter.com/ci, or visit
www.iupac.org/what-we-do/journals/chemistry-international/

Contents

CHEMISTRY International April-June
2021 Volume
43 No.42
2 No. 3July-September
2020Volume

Vice President's Column
Advancing Chemistry Worldwide by Javier García-Martínez

2

Features
Macromolecular Science Turns 100 by Christine K. Luscombe4

and Gregory T. Russell

NAO-CNR: The Italian voice at IUPAC by Matteo Guidotti,

10

Augusta Maria Paci, and Maurizio Peruzzini

Malta X Anniversary and COVID-19 by Emma Zajdela and Zafra Lerman
The Continued Need for CHEMRAWN within IUPAC:
A Personal Account by Leiv K. Sydnes
A Response by Christopher Brett

16
20
25

IUPAC Wire
Timothy Noel is awarded the 2020 IUPAC-ThalesNano Prize
for Flow ChemistryAwardees of the IUPAC 2021 Distinguished Womenin Chemistry or Chemical Engineering
Huizhen Liu and Banothile Makhubela have been awarded
the 2020 IUPAC-CHEMRAWN VII for Green Chemistry
The AsiaChem magazine is born
Not an Epilogue, but a Commencement!

29
30

Up for Discussion
Nomenclature vs. Terminology by Bernardo Herold
A Path to Entrepreneurial Education by Joseph A. Martino III,

31
33

27
27
29

James K. Murray, Jr., James Skinner, and Mukund S. Chorghade
November 2020 Volume 1 Issue 1

Project Place
Stakeholders’ Thoughts on the Future of IUPAC
The official voice of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies

String Theories:

Chemical Secrets of
Italian Violins andChinese Guqins
p10› Water Harvesting from
Desert Air, p18› Material Challenges
for Colloidal Quantum
Nanostructures in Next
Generation Displays, p26› Engineering Microbeswith Nanomaterials, p36› Interview: Yuan-Tseh Lee:
Brain Recycling, p56› Celebrating FACS 40th
Anniversary, p72

36

by Lori Ferrins, Ito Chao, and Mark Cesa

A Database of Chemical Structures and Identifiers Usedin the Control of WADA Prohibited Substances
Examples of the Introduction of Sustainable Development
and Green Industrial Processes for Secondary School
Chemistry and Introductory Chemistry
Making an imPACt
End-of-line hyphenation of chemical names(IUPAC Recommendations 2020)
Chemical and biochemical thermodynamics reunification(IUPAC Technical Report)
Vocabulary of radioanalytical methods(IUPAC Recommendations 2020)

39
39

40
40
41

IUPAC Provisional Recommendations

41

Bookworm
The Periodic System: The (Multiple) Values of an Icon

42

reviewed by Annette Lykknes and Brigitte Van Tiggelen

The Periodic Table: Past, Present, and Future

43

reviewed by Jan Reedijk

EuroMedChemTalents reviewed by Gerd Schnorrenber

44

continued on page 3

Vice President's Column
AdvancingChemistryWorldwide
by JavierGarcía-MartínezAs we come out of this pandemic, we must find themost effective and usefulways so that IUPAC fulfills its mission of contributing
to the worldwide understanding and application of thechemical sciences to the betterment of humankind.
New technologies provide us with the tools to achieve
this goal in a very effective manner. For example, ournext General Assembly, which will be held completely
online, represents an unprecedented opportunity toengage with our NAOs in a way that will allow for discussing our most pressing needs in a new and effective way. We are already working on different options
to have working groups meeting at different times invirtual rooms, so everybody can participate, raise any
issues, and discuss how we can create a more effective, responsive, and agile organization. I encourage
all delegates to our General Assembly to make fulluse of this opportunity. Also, I would like to invite
the wider IUPAC community, including our members,
Associated Organizations, Company Associates, andalso our sister Chemical Societies, to let us know any
ideas, things we must improve, or any opportunities
for collaboration, so we can include them in our discussions during our next General Assembly.
No one could imagine that after all the celebrationsof 2019, the following year would bring us a pandemic that has affected us in so many ways. I wantto take this opportunity to remember those who havelost a loved one, their jobs, or who have suffered inany way during these difficult months. The mobility
restrictions imposed on most parts of the world have
impacted businesses and individuals. IUPAC has beenno different. In a very short time, we have changed
the way we hold our meetings and carry out ouractivities. Our employees have made every effort
to continue attending to their many responsibilities
from home, which speaks volumes about their commitment and professionalism. I also want to express
my gratitude to all our volunteers—to the great familyof IUPAC—who, in addition to dealing with family andjob responsibilities in the middle of a pandemic, have

2

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

continued to contribute to our Union in many different ways. Thank you all!
Technology has been an essential tool during thelast months. Thanks to the use of the online platforms nowadays available, our Divisions, Standing
Committees, and other working and governing bodies
of IUPAC have carried out their duties in an effective
and timely manner. Both our Bureau and Executive
Committee had already been holding their official
meetings remotely since 2019. Also, many IUPAC
working groups have been carrying out their activities
remotely for years.
It is precisely for these reasons that our 2021
General Assembly and World Chemistry Congress
will be held entirely online. It has not been an easy
decision. Nor was it the one we would have liked to
make. But travel restrictions and the safety of all of us
have been paramount in this decision. Our Canadiancolleagues deserve our recognition because of all their
many efforts, hard work, and dedication. For no one
has it been more difficult than for them to decide tomove the entire Congress and General Assembly into acompletely virtual mode. After all the excitement andmonths of work, their decision is the most sensible andresponsible, but also the most difficult. Thank you verymuch for your efforts and good judgment. I would liketo take this opportunity to invite everyone to participate in the IUPAC-CCCE virtual meeting from the 13 to
20 of August. The fact that it is online will allow many
people, who otherwise would not have been able totravel to Montreal, to participate in one of the major
Chemistry events of the year.
Technology is here to stay, but we, at IUPAC, mustevaluate and critically assess which aspects of remote
working we should keep and which of our activities
should be in-person moving forward. Without a doubt,
in a volunteer organization, it is fundamental to haveplenty of opportunities to interact beyond the screen
and to enjoy those moments of friendship and camaraderie that have been so important for each of us todecide to join and serve at IUPAC.
One of the lessons we have learned already inthe first year of our second century of history is how
quickly things can change. Organizations that aim atplaying a significant role in these complex times must
be agile and responsive. Our structure must be simpler
and our governing bodies of a size and composition
that allow for effectively discussing and decision making between General Assemblies. At the same time,
our Divisions and Standing Committees—where mostof the scientific work of the Union is done—must be
empowered to ensure that we serve the chemistrycommunity in the most effective and meaningful way.
But beyond organizational changes and the useof new technologies, if IUPAC is to continue to play aleading role in our second century of history, each of us
must work to make it happen. Our core activities, suchas nomenclature and terminology, the atomic weights,
and the naming of new chemical elements, will continue
to be a priority and one of the most important things we
do. All these activities, and many others we carry out at
IUPAC, are vital for the present and future of chemistry. While continuing with our core activities, which are
unique to IUPAC, we have to strengthen our involvement in the new areas that are redefining chemistry; inmost cases, at the crossroad with other disciplines, suchas artificial intelligence, automation, and life sciences.
During the last years, we have learned the enormous
potential and global outreach of some creative online
activities such as the Periodic Table Challenge, theGlobal Women Breakfast, ChemVoices, and the Top
Ten Emerging Technologies in Chemistry. All these initiatives are legacies of our Centenary. All of them werelaunched during 2019, coinciding with both IUPAC100
and IYPT. Every one of these activities has been a great
success in terms of impact, outreach, and public imageof chemistry in general and IUPAC in particular.
Another priority moving forward is to improve
communication within IUPAC, with our stakeholders,
and with the public in general. Technology can be agreat ally in achieving this goal. There are many things
we can do, from making better use of social media andour website to explore online platforms to have moreinteractive online meetings. But technology alone will
not be sufficient. In an organization of volunteers, therole of each one of us, especially those in a positionof leadership, is to motivate and mobilize others. Thisis one of my top priorities. Because of that, I want totake this opportunity to invite all of you to share yourconcerns or suggestions. I want to listen to you so we
can work together.
We must also provide value to our stakeholders,more specifically, to our NAOs. Each one of themhas its own needs and challenges. They represent an
opportunity to do things together. At IUPAC, we canserve NAOs in many different ways, from providingthem with information and untapped opportunities,
to working in joint programs to advance chemistry intheir countries. We want to learn from you how we canserve you better while we are working in many programs that you can find on our website, including our
projects, the many awards we offer, our global activities, and our publications.
As a society, we do face many risks, from new andemerging illnesses to climate change, and chemistry
has a key role to play in the understanding and solutionof these and many other global challenges. IUPAC, incollaboration with other organizations and our NAOs,
can make a difference in this regard and be, as statedin our Vision, an indispensable worldwide resource
for chemistry. I know that I can count on all of you tomake our organization accomplish the task for which it
was created, namely to serve humankind by advancing
chemistry worldwide.

Javier García-Martínez <j.garcia@ua.es> is a Professor of Inorganic
Chemistry and Director of the Molecular Nanotechnology Laboratory of the
University of Alicante where he leads an international team working on thesynthesis and application of nanostructured materials for the production ofchemicals and energy. Javier is IUPAC Vice President since 2020. Previously,
he served as member of the Executive Committee and as Titular Member
and Vice-President of the Inorganic Chemistry Division.

Contents (cont.)
Conference Call
5th International Conference on Bioinspired and Biobased
Chemistry & Materials (N.I.C.E. 2020): Hybrid Conference Model45

by Hernando S. Salapare III, Sonia Amigoni, Thierry Darmanin, and Frédéric Guittard

Research and Innovations in Chemical Science: Paving the
Way Forward by Lydia Rhyman, Hanusha Bhakhoa, Nandini Savoo,48

and Ponnadurai RamasamiMark Your Calendar
We invite you to review online the calendar of IUPAC endorsed events.
All IUPAC-endorsed events originally scheduled in 2020 and that are
postponed will retain their endorsement.
See https://iupac.org/events/

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

3

Macromolecular Science Turns 100
by Christine K. Luscombe and Gregory
T. Russell

Being 100 years since the birth of macromolecular science, 2020 was meant to be the “Year of
Polymers,” but instead it turned into the yearof the pandemic. Actually the two are not unrelated—most PPE is made of polymer, and without it thehealth-care response to COVID-19 would have looked
completely different and been far more treacherous.
But that’s another story, one with which the IUPAC
Polymer Division is engaging [1]. Here is the story
behind the centenary year that wasn’t. It all centers on
Hermann Staudinger, who changed everything in 1920.

Who was Staudinger and what is thesignificance of 2020?
Hermann Staudinger
was a German organic
chemist who won the1953 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry. He was bornin Worms in 1881 [2-4],
where his interest in science began, encouragedby his father, who wasa high school teacher
and neo-Kantian philosopher! While initially
Hermann studied botanyat the University of Halle,he quickly shifted his
focus to chemistry, progressing via Darmstadt
Hermann Staudinger circa. 1950.
and Munich to obtaininga PhD in organic chemistry in Halle in 1903, where hiswork on the addition of malonates to unsaturated
compounds foreshadowed the interest through which
he was to obtain scientific immortality. After Halle hebecame an assistant to Johannes Thiele at Strasbourg,
receiving his habilitation in 1907 for work on ketenechemistry. He then became an assistant professor at
Karlsruhe, before succeeding the future Nobel laureate
Richard Willstätter at ETH Zürich in 1912. His final move
was to Freiburg in 1926, where he remained for the
rest of his days. The geography of his life seems welldescribed by the phrase “a river runs through it”, foraside from his years as a student, he was always very
close to the Upper Rhine.
During the early years of his academic career,
Staudinger’s research focused on small molecule
chemistry, publishing 215 papers and becoming

4

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

internationally recognized. But starting in 1917 he turned
towards rather larger molecules. Specifically, his interest was piqued by rubber, of obvious importance atthat difficult time. In the 19th century, polymers wereused for commercial purposes but their structure was
misunderstood. For example, Charles Goodyear had
discovered vulcanization of natural rubber in 1839 togive birth to the rubber industry. By the end of the 19th
century, nitrocellulose and celluloid were used as thermoplastics. In 1907, Baekeland developed a phenolic
thermoset resin trademarked as Baekelite. These commercial successes occurred without knowledge of themolecular architecture of polymeric materials, and theproperties of polymers were described using colloidal
theory, where the measured high molecular weights
were thought to be caused by the aggregation of small
molecules into colloids. An example of the thinking at
the time is presented below, which shows a proposed
structure for natural rubber, suggested to be composedof dimethylcyclooctadiene units polymerized by self-assembly involving noncovalent interactions between
double bonds on neighboring molecules [2].
Staudinger rejected such notions. In 1920, from hisbase in Zürich (not Freiburg!), he published a paper
simply entitled “Über Polymerisation” [6]—next page.
This is regarded as marking the birth of macromolecular science, which is why 2020 was so significant.
Remarkably, it was not until the eve of this centenary
that there was an English translation [7] of the 1920
paper. It makes clear that the celebrated work was reallyjust a discussion piece in which Staudinger presents his
hypothesis that polymers are in fact long molecules
comprised of units linked together by covalent bonds.
As Mühlhaupt observed, “At this early time Staudinger
did not present convincing experimental evidence forhis hypothesis” [2]. Such was to come two years later,when Staudinger and Fritschi reported hydrogenating
the double bonds of natural rubber and showing that it
retained its mechanical properties even in the absenceof the double bonds, thereby proving that non-covalentinteractions between these double bonds (see below)
could not be the reason behind the properties of rubber [8]. Furthermore, it is in this 1922 paper that theword macromolecule is used for the first time. Thus
between these two papers one has the birth of theso-called macromolecular hypothesis, which more orless occupied Staudinger for the rest of his life.

Proposed structure of natural rubber by Harries [5].

Title and opening paragraph of [6] – there was no fancy
artwork in those days!

Isn’t it obvious?
The macromolecular hypothesis – that of covalent
linkages to give genuinely ‘macro’ molecules – seems
so obvious now that it can be hard to grasp that it wasenough of a paradigm shift to warrant a Nobel Prize. But
consider the famous anecdote about Staudinger being
told to forget his “grease chemistry,” as well as friendly
advice he received from Heinrich Wieland, himself afuture Nobel Prize winner [2]: “Dear colleague, abandon your idea of large molecules, organic moleculeswith molecular weights exceeding 5000 do not exist.
Purify your products such as rubber, they will crystallize
and turn out to be low molecular weight compounds.”
These stories show just how radical Staudinger’s idea
was at the time. While these days it is difficult toimagine how anyone would have rejected the notionof a macromolecule, it is worth noting that conceptsof molecules and molecular structures were not wellestablished a centenary ago. In a sense Staudinger
should be regarded as the Galileo of macromolecularscience—the person who took a revolutionary concept

and turned it into a notion so obvious that one wonders how the alternative was ever entertained.
There are a number of curiosities about the 1920
paper. As already mentioned, despite its fame, it was
only in 2019 that it was first translated from German
into English [7], which in itself suggests just how
quickly the central idea passed into accepted, obvious
knowledge—few people felt the need to read about
it! Similarly, the paper has been cited remarkably
little—225 times as of April 2019, elevated to 378 by
February 2021 courtesy of a centenary boost from historical interest rather than the scientific content per se[9]. These days such citation statistics would barely be
sufficient to earn a faculty position, let alone a Nobel
Prize! A final curiosity is an irony: as we pass 100 yearsof the macromolecular hypothesis, supramolecularchemistry looms ever larger on the landscape, it being
chemistry that “examines the weaker and reversible
non-covalent interactions between molecules” [10].
In other words, supramolecular chemistry involves
molecular assemblies exactly of the nature thatpeople thought “normal” macromolecules were preStaudinger. Accordingly, there is much debate as towhether or not supramolecular materials are polymers.

How has polymer chemistry evolved over theyears?
This question may be answered by considering
Nobel Prizes awarded for work in macromolecular science—see table below. It is important to remember that
there is a lag time: what is seen on the stage in Stockholm
usually reflects what was happening at the researchcoalface about 20 years earlier. Thus Staudinger’sYear

Winner(s)

Work

1953

Staudinger“for discoveries in the field of macromolecular chemistry”

1963

Ziegler, Natta“for discoveries in the field of the chemistry and technology of high polymers”(coordination polymerization)

1974

Flory

“for his fundamental work, both theoretical and experimental, in the physical chemistryof macromolecules”

1991

de Gennes“for discovering that methods developed for studying order phenomena in simple systems can be generalized to more complex forms of matter, in particular to polymers”

2000

Heeger, MacDiarmid,
Shirakawa“for discovery and development of conductive polymers”

2002“for development of methods for identification and structure analyses of macromoleFenn, Tanaka, Wüthrich cules ... for development of soft desorption ionisation methods for mass spectrometricanalyses of macromolecules”

2005

Chauvin, Grubbs,
Schrock“for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis” (in particularpolymerization)

Nobel Prize winners in macromolecular science (all Chemistry [13] apart from Physics [14] in 1991).
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

5

Macromolecular Science Turns 100
prize in 1953 stems from organic chemistry being to
the fore in the 1920s and 1930s, with Staudinger and
W.H. Carothers (of DuPont) being the leading lights.
By the 1940s through to the 1960s, polymer chemistry
was largely a branch of physical chemistry, with Paul
Flory the dominant figure, along with other giants such
as G.V. Schulz, H. Mark and M. Szwarc. Indeed, IUPAC’s
Commission on Macromolecules was formed at thistime as a branch of its Physical Chemistry Section [11],and Flory’s 1953 textbook [12]—still the most celebrated
in polymer science—largely consists of physical chemistry. This trajectory was taken even further in the 1970s,
with the soft-matter physics of the dazzling de Gennes
and his school taking a lot of the limelight. By the 1980s
polymer science was spreading its wings and taking
root in many different areas, as reflected in the flurry ofNobel Prizes around the turn of the century: materials
chemistry (2000), instrumental chemistry (2002) andorganic chemistry (2005) are all represented. Truth betold, macromolecular science has never strayed far fromsynthetic chemistry, with the Nobel Prize of Ziegler
and Natta in the midst of all the above being a good
example of this. The current period is certainly one inwhich the spirit of Staudinger has been recaptured andsynthesis is dominant, with figures such as Krzysztof
Matyaszewski, Mituso Sawamoto, Graeme Moad, Robert
H. Grubbs, Craig Hawker, and Jean Fréchet leading theway. But really, it should be clear that macromolecularscience has evolved to be broad and overlaps with allareas of chemistry. Furthermore it is intimately linked
to other major scientific disciplines—the image above
attempts to capture this [15].
The table on the previous page makes clear that
Staudinger initiated a chain of Nobel Prizes being
awarded in polymer science (or as Bob Grubbs puts
it, the chemistry of the carbon-carbon double bond!)
approximately every 10 years. Given that the last award
was in 2005, one wonders if another Prize is due? It’s apity that the chance to make it 2020 was missed!

How has IUPAC been involved?
In what would seem to be pure coincidence, IUPAC
was founded just one year prior to Staudinger’s 1920
paper, so the two will forever celebrate the same
landmarks in close succession. But it was not until thelate 1940s, with the formation of IUPAC’s Commission
on Macromolecules, that explicit overlap of the twostarted [11]. In 1952 this body put out its first publication on systemized naming of macromolecules. It
introduced, for example, the use of parentheses insource-based polymer names when the monomer
consists of more than one word. In recognition of the6

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

Macromolecular science started as organic chemistry but
has spread its tentacles into all areas of chemistry and many
areas of science. Reproduced with permission from Isr. J.
Chem. 2020, 60, 9-19. Copyright 2020 WILEY.

ever expanding importance of polymer chemistry andno doubt via impetus from the Nobel Prizes in 1953
and 1963 (see above), the Macromolecular Division of
IUPAC was formed in 1967, just shy of the half-centuries of IUPAC and the macromolecular hypothesis.
The first Division President was the Czech chemist
Otto Wichterle, inventor of soft contact lenses. This
formalized what continues to be a very strong andpowerful relationship between IUPAC and macromolecular chemistry. For example, the Commission on
Macromolecular Nomenclature of the Macromolecular
Division was established in 1968, and it was immediately into its work, producing a series of major
documents during the 1970s that shaped modern
polymer language, including defining basic terms andstructure-based nomenclature for regular single-strand
polymers. The Commission remained prolific in the
1980s, during which were published recommendations
relating to stereochemical definitions, terminology
for molar masses in polymer science, structure-based
nomenclature of inorganic and coordination polymers,
and systematization of source-based nomenclature forcopolymers. In 1991 the first edition of the Purple Book(the Compendium of Macromolecular Nomenclature)
was published. The Division, through what is now
known as the Subcommittee on Polymer Terminology(SPT), continues to publish regular recommendations
that try to keep pace with the ever-increasing complexity of macromolecules being synthesized. This all
represents IUPAC playing a vital role in the forward
progress of macromolecular science.
The Polymer Division (PD), as Div. IV has been known
since 2004, currently consists of four subcommittees:
SPT, the Subcommittee on Modeling of Polymerization
Kinetics and Processes, the Subcommittee on Polymer
Education (SPEd), and the Subcommittee on Structure

Macromolecular Science Turns 100
and Properties of Commercial Polymers. SPT is a very
active group that develops terminological rules anddefinitions related to polymers. It also works closelywith IUPAC Div. VIII (Chemical Nomenclature andStructure Representation) to provide recommendations on polymer nomenclature. The Subcommittee on
Modeling and Polymerization Kinetics and Processes
performs studies that aim to create uniform standards
related to polymerization kinetics. While literaturereports kinetic parameters related to polymerizations,these values frequently differ from group to group
because of different assumptions that have beenmade. The Subcommittee addresses the situation
through international collaboration. SPEd tries to provide support toward recurrent educational activities
for students in underdeveloped countries. It organizes
special symposia at the biannual MACRO conferenceswhere speakers can share best practices on polymer
education in their respective countries. We are also
in the process of creating a freely available “syllabus”
that provides guidance on the core chemistry content
that should be covered in an undergraduate courseon polymer science, together with sample questions
illustrating each of the topics so that those who do
not have easy access to textbooks can still learn basic
polymer science. The Subcommittee on Structure andProperties of Commercial Polymers dedicates its work
toward obtaining and reporting accurate information
about mechanical properties of commercial polymers.
As we enter the 2nd century of macromolecularscience, the PD remains extremely active, arguably themost active within IUPAC given that it runs around 30
projects at any one time [16]—see the picture below
for evidence of this activity!

How has the Staudinger centenary beenrecognized?
With 2019 being the International Year of the
Periodic Table (not to mention the centenary of
IUPAC!), it was not feasible to seek a UNESCO designation of “Year of Polymers” in 2020. Arguably
this is in accord with the largely understated role ofpolymers in the modern world—it would only be if
all polymers were removed that most people would
realize just how ubiquitous and indispensable they
have become in everyday life. But even without official recognition, there were still considerable plans forquiet acknowledgement of the Staudinger centenary
within the scientific community. As one would expect,many of these events have had to be postponed dueto the pandemic. For example, the ACS Spring 2020
National Meeting, entitled “Macromolecular Chemistry:
The Second Century,” was cancelled at the time and is
now being held online over 5–30 April 2021, with live
events 5–16 April. This time period is longer than theusual ACS meeting as each day will be much shorterso as to accommodate multiple time zones in this virtual era. A special ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry
symposium, “Macromolecular Science at the Dawn of
its Second Century,” is being co-organized by Timothy
Lodge, Krzystof Matyjaszewski and Peter Zarras [17].
Our IUPAC Polymer Division flagship conference,
the IUPAC World Polymer Congress, a.k.a. IUPACMACRO meeting, is the largest biennial international
multi-symposium conference dedicated to all aspectsof polymer science and engineering. The 48th World
Polymer Congress (MACRO 2020) had been scheduled for 5–9 July 2020 at Jeju Island, South Korea with
PD Titular Member Doo Sung Lee as Congress Chair.

Screenshot of one of many Zoom meetings—including both of your authors!—that was held for SPT & PD in July 2020.

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

7

Macromolecular Science Turns 100
This has now been rescheduled to 16–20 May 2021,
rebranded as MACRO 2020+, and will be a hybrid event
where many scientists in South Korea are expected toattend in person while most international participants
are expected to participate virtually [18].
Publishers have also had special initiatives tocommemorate the centenary. For example, the Editorin-Chief of the ACS journal Macromolecules, Marc
Hillmyer, curated a series of editorials from leading polymer scientists to comment on Macromolecules papers
that they thought had been particularly impactful or
influential [19]. The editorials reflected the broad rangeof polymer science, highlighting work on block copolymers, discovery of RAFT, twisted crystals, kinetics of
ATRP, random ionomers, non-radiative energy transfer
studies of miscibility in polymer blends, hydrogels,branched polymers, syndiotactic polystyrene, spinodal
decomposition, organocatalysis, polymer membranes,
theory, living cationic and radical polymerizations,
glass transition, polymer mechanochemistry, non-covalent interactions, polyion complexes, and tensile
deformation mechanism in semicrystalline polymers.
The breadth of these contributions highlights just how
far polymer science has come in 100 years.
Both Macromolecular Rapid Communications andMacromolecular Chemistry and Physics, the latterfounded by Hermann Staudinger, commemorated theevent by having double special issues that were madefreely available for the entire year. These special issues
contained articles that represented various aspects ofmodern macromolecular chemistry ranging from synthesis to characterization and application.

What does the future hold?
As the new century for macromolecular sciences
begins and we look to the future, the editors and advisory board members of Macromolecular Chemistry
and Physics published a paper [20] sharing theirviews on the future of polymer science that addressed
new synthetic methods, polymers with advanced
properties and function, as well as sustainability. The
IUPAC Polymer Division also wrote an essay reflecting
upon the centenary [15], writing about the need todevelop polymers that can ameliorate today’s pressing
problems related to climate emergency, sustainable
development, and the preservation of the environmentand human health. Given the ability of polymers totouch upon so many aspects of life, polymer science
will remain a vigorous field that will attract scientists
from all walks including but not limited to chemists,
physicists, engineers, and those from the biological

8

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

sciences. IUPAC can play a central in this regard by
providing effective ways to communicate, attracting
young scientists, and promoting a lively and intellectually exciting research area.

References
1.

M. Peeters and M. G. Walter, IUPAC Project Proposal“Recommendations for Biomaterial Waste for year2050”, under preparation.
2. R. Mühlhaupt, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 1054–
1063.
3. M. Sutton, “The birth of the polymer age”, Chemistry
World, 14 April 2020 (https://www.chemistryworld.
com/features/the-birth-of-the-polymer-age/4011418.
article#/)4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Staudinger
5. C. Harries, Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges. 1902, 35, 3256.
6. H. Staudinger, Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges., 1920, 53, 1073–
1085.
7.
H. Frey, T. Johann, Polym. Chem. 2020, 11, 8-14.
8. H. Staudinger and J. Fritschi, Helv. Chim. Acta, 1922, 5,
785–806.
9. Citation numbers are those from 5 April 2019 and2 February 2021 on the Wiley webpage for [6](https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/
abs/10.1002/cber.19200530627)
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supramolecular_chemistry
11. R. Jones, Chem. Int., 2017, 39(4), 4–6 (https://doi.
org/10.1515/ci-2017-0403)
12. P. J. Flory, “Principles of Polymer Chemistry”, 1st ed.,Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY 1953.
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates_
in_Chemistry
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates_
in_Physics
15. V. Abetz, C. H. Chan, C. K. Luscombe, J. B. Matson,
J. Merna, T. Nakano, G. Raos, and G. T. Russell, Isr. J.
Chem. 2020, 60, 9-19.
16. C. K. Luscombe, Macromolecules, 2019, 52, 9065-9067.
17. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/meetings/acsmeetings.html
18. http://macro2020.org
19. M. Hillmyer, Macromolecules, 2020, 53, 1-1.
20. A. S. Abd-El-Aziz, et. al., Macromol. Chem. Phys. 2020,
221, 20000216.

A part of this article was adapted with permission
from Macromolecules, 2019, 52, 9065-9067. Copyright2019 American Chemical Society.

Christine K. Luscombe <luscombe@uw.edu>, current President of the IUPAC
Polymer Division, is professor at the University of Washington, Seattle andGregory T. Russell <greg.russell@canterbury.ac.nz>, Past President of thePolymer Division, is professor at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Macromolecular Science Turns 100
Polymer Science Language to
Publics through Arts

SciArts on occasion of 100th anniversary ofunderstanding of polymer structure by Hermann
Staudinger.
by Jan Merna, and Jan Pražan
SciArt Exhibition by http://janprazan.com and @Merna_group endorsed by @IUPAC and @VSCHT developedin collaboration with @IUPACPolymer and celebrating
Macromolecules Centenary and Staudinger opened
on 30 Nov 2020 at UCTPrague under the patronage
of UCT rector prof. Dr. RNDr. Pavel Matějka and IUPAC
Polymer Division vice-president Dr. Igor Lacík.
Polymers are all around us since the evolution of lifeon Earth. Polymers made by Nature (natural polymers)
are key for Earth life: nucleic acids (polynucleotides),proteins (polypetides) and polysacharides (like cellulose). We also use some of them in technical applications
e.g. natural rubber (polyisoprene). Polymers made bymen (synthetic polymers) only bit more than hundredyears ago—(Bakelite 1909), become major class ofmaterials after WWII and ensures quality of our lives.
People use currently ~400 millions tons of synthetic
polymers per year worldwide, which by volume is morethan the production of steel, making polymers No 1
material of today. Extensive range of polymers (plastics and rubbers) applications helps to save, harvestand store energy, protect food, clean and save water,
protect other materials from corrosion (coatings) andsave lives in biomedical applications (drug delivery
systems, soft tissue implants) or in personal protective
equipment (gloves and masks in fight against bacteria
a viruses).
In 2020 we celebrate 100 years from Hermann
Staudinger recognition of polymer structure, i.e.
that these compounds are composed of giant
molecules- macromolecules.
This SciArts projects aims to celebrate the anniversary by introducing selected basic terms in polymer
science into broader chemical community and to publics. These terms are defined by scholars associatedwithin IUPAC since 1949, when Czechoslovak chemist
Otto Wichterle became the first president of IUPAC
Polymer Division. IUPAC is major authority in definingof nomenclature and terminology—chemical language.
IUPAC terms are widely accepted and used byindustry, in defining standards (ISO, DIN) and in legal
documents created by governments, where clarity incommunication between experts is essential to protect

intellectual property (patents) and avoid confusion
which may lead to accidents with serious consequences(e.g. due to mistaken conversion of imperial units tometric systems orbital satellite was damaged causingbillion dollar losses). IUPAC acts as global organizationand creates partnerships with organization like UNESCO
or OPCW, to promote access to chemistry educationand sustainable chemical technologies.
Chemical language is highly precise and by principle abstract or difficult to understand on the first sight.
The intention of this project is to familiarize selectedprincipal terms of Polymer Science to broader chemicalcommunity and lay publics by their reformulation tocommon langue. To attract the initial interest of eager
for knowledge readers and to stimulate taking the challenge to understand these abstract definitions, the formof abstract Art is used.

See https://pol.vscht.cz/sciart for more.
Jan Merna (www.merna.eu) is from the University of Chemistry andTechnology Prague and serves on the IUPAC Polymer Division. Jan Pražan's
work can be viewed at janprazan.com.

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

9

NAO-CNR: The Italian voice at IUPAC
by Matteo Guidotti, Augusta Maria Paci,
and Maurizio Peruzzini

Italy was a founding member of IUPAC in 1919.
Italian participation is still vivid thanks to theproactive, collaborative spirit that motivated its
initial support of the establishment of IUPAC. The
National Research Council, CNR, the largest research
institution for public research in the country, is theofficial representative of Italy at IUPAC through the
National Commission operating as the IUPAC National
Adhering Organization.

The main operational objectives of the NAO-CNR
are: strengthening the Italian presence in the Union andopening new collaboration opportunities; identifying
Italian experts keen to bring about collaborations inexisting areas; and increasing the relationship between
NAO-CNR and the Scientific Divisions of IUPAC toplan and promote initiatives, congresses, and schools
at international level. In general terms, the National
Commission will take part in the challenge of global
sustainable development, exploiting its know-how andmethods of chemical sciences to meet the demands ofsociety and markets for sustainable solutions. NAO-CNR
also aims to participate in IUPAC to advance chemistry
worldwide, the overall goal of all the IUPAC NAOs.

Origin of the Italian membership at IUPAC
Italy has been a member of IUPAC for 100 years, since
the very beginning. It was one of the five founder countries, together with Belgium, France, the UK, and the US.
Since then, Italy has been an active member in the Union.
In 1920, Rome hosted the first International Conferenceon Chemistry. Within this event, the equivalent to today’s
General Assembly met for the first time in the presenceof Charles Moureu (1863-1929), President of IUPAC.
In 1934, the Italian chemist Nicola Parravano, pupil offamous scientists such as Cannizzaro and Paternò, waselected President of IUPAC. He was the main chairman of
the 10th International Congress of Chemistry, held once
again in Rome, in May 1938. The event had the ambitious
goal of showing to the world the benefits of Chemistry
in the everyday life of humankind. The congress had anoteworthy participation, despite the difficult international geopolitical situation that led one year later to theoutbreak of World War II [1].
The Italian National Research Council, CNR, represented Italy in IUPAC for decades. CNR is the largest
public research body in the country and continues
to play a noteworthy role—in agreement with other
Italian chemistry actors—in planning, implementing,10

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

and organizing international scientific and educational
events at the facilities of CNR headquarters in Rome,and in other locations in Italy.
CNR represents Italy in more than 40 international
Scientific Unions and international Institutions, andcovers a very broad spectrum of scientific and technical disciplines as well as humanities. More specifically,
the Department of Chemical Sciences and Materials
Technologies, DSCTM-CNR, thanks to its role as thechemists’ home for CNR researchers, is the point of contact in international organisms relevant for the national
chemical community, such as the International Unionof Crystallography (IUCr) or the Centre Européen deCalcul Atomique et Moléculaire (CECAM). Since 2019,
DSCTM-CNR also serves as national representative in
the International Science Council, ISC. IUPAC is indeed
an active member of ISC participating in various initiatives with its IUPAC Divisions. Through the wide
participation of Italian experts, DSCTM-CNR works
to maximize benefits from cooperative and complementary actions and to strengthen the relevancy of
the increased role of chemical sciences in the futuresocietal challenges.

NAO-CNR, the Italian National Commission
The National Commission for IUPAC, NAO-CNR,
gathers relevant chemists active in the academic,
and industrial sectors in the largest chemistry association, i.e. the Italian Chemical Society, SCI. The two
institutions, CNR and SCI, promote together scientific projects and events that, in most cases, receive
IUPAC’s endorsement and see the participation of
Italian IUPAC Officers. In particular, in 2010, under the
CNR Presidency of Luciano Majani, Mario Malinconico
was appointed as CNR delegate for IUPAC and servedin this role from 2011 to 2018.
During this period, the first National Committee for
IUPAC was established in 2013 [2] to enable a larger
collaboration of the Italian scientific community linking academia and industry, and to re-launch a stronger
synergy with IUPAC’s initiatives. This endeavor waswell supported by IUPAC President Kazuyuki Tatsumi,
who met CNR’s President Luigi Nicolais and the ItalianCommittee in 2013 in an official visit. This new trend
was also highlighted in the important national workshop “IUPAC and Italy: state of the art and future
strategies,” held in Rome one year later and officiallyopened by a joint opening speech from the presidentsof CNR and SCI.
The Italian NAO National Commission is composedof 7 members nominated by CNR and is supported
by experts, including IUPAC Italian Officers, to ensuremultidisciplinary competencies and activities. The current Commission, appointed by the President of CNR
Massimo Inguscio, is chaired by Maurizio Peruzzini for
2019-2022 [3]. The National Commission has beenpromoting an ever-increasing participation of Italy in
IUPAC, by providing technical and management support to international initiatives and projects carriedout in the framework of the Union’s activities. Efforts
are devoted to increase the interest of communities ofprofessionals, experts, and stakeholders working in the
Italian scenario in each area of interest for chemical
science and technologies, paying a special attention
to the industrial sector, in strict collaboration with the

Italian Federation of Chemical Industry, Federchimica[4]. In particular, the National Commission highlights
the role of chemical sciences in the fulfillment of the
UN’s Sustainable Developments Goals [5]. It is thus
necessary to promote synergies of scientists, researchers, and professionals involved in the great challenges
that humankind is facing in terms of sustainable economic growth, de-carbonization, and climate change
mitigation.
In this role, the Commission pays constant attention to well-established IUPAC such as the Gold Book
update project, as well as to recent IUPAC initiatives
like the translation of the Periodic Table Challenge

10th IUPAC CONGRESS,
ROME, 1938—SCIENCE AND
PROPAGANDA*
by Marco Taddia
Although two nations, specifically France and theUnited Kingdom, played a leading role in the birth of
IUPAC, the history of the Union reminds us that even
Italy, along with Belgium and the United States, hasbeen among the first nations that have actively cooperated in the foundation. Italian participation arose fromthe singular dynamism that at the beginning of the 20th
century led to the organization of the VI International
Congress of Applied Chemistry, which was held in
Rome from 26 April–3 May 1906. The Proceedings of theConference were edited by the distinguished chemists
Emanuele Paternò (1847-1935) and Vittorio Villavecchia(1859-1937), formerly students of the famous Stanislao
Cannizzaro (1826-1910). A proof that the Italian involvement was not a flash in the pan was the Union’s first
General Assembly organized in Rome in June 1920. Twomore general assemblies were held in Italy. The 13th
IUPAC General Assembly was held in Rome together
with the 10th IUPAC Congress (14–21 May 1938). The
event took place in a particular socio-political context.
The fascist regime was on the top of its (pseudo) colonial
fortunes and enjoyed popular support. Two years earlier(5 May 1936) the Italian army had entered Addis Ababa
and conquered Ethiopia. In May 1938 the Fuhrer Adolf
Hitler made an official visit to Italy: the arrival in Rome
welcomed by Benito Mussolini. The Chemistry Congress
was affected by the heavy rhetorical atmosphere which*

Nicola Parravano (2nd from left) and Congressmen’s homage
to the Unknown Soldier

pervaded Rome and was a showcase for the fascist
State. The President of the Organizing Committee
Nicola Parravano (1883-1938), a prominent professorof General Chemistry at the University of Rome, was a
supporter of the regime and held important positions.
He and his colleagues appeared at official events in fascist uniform (picture above). Parravano died the same
year (August 10) so the editor’s name is not indicated in
the conference proceedings. Despite the propaganda a
merit must be acknowledged. Unlike previous meetingsorganized by academic subject areas, the 10th IUPAC
Congress was structured in eleven thematic sessions,some of which concerned topics as food, health,hygiene and energy still relevant today.

Marco Taddia <marco.taddia@unibo.it> is from the Gruppo Nazionale diFondamenti e Storia della Chimica

This work was presented at the 47th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress (Paris, 2019) and recently publishedin Italian in LA CHIMICA E L’INDUSTRIA July/August 2020 (http://dx.medra.org/10.17374/CI.2020.102.4.37)
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

11

NAO-CNR: The Italian voice at IUPAC
contest into Italian and the dissemination at thenational level of the Top 10 Key Emerging Technologies[6]. In particular, the themes covered by the 10 Key
Emerging Technologies issued in 2019 and relaunchedin 2020 outline the need for chemical sciences tomove towards an interdisciplinary approach, withevident points of contacts with biology, materials
science, engineering, and information technologies,
as well as to promote greater attention to sustainability, at environmental, economic, and societal levels.
The National Commission participates with working
groups to increase communication, knowledge, andoutreach in areas of interest for the Italian chemical,
scientific, and technical community, as well as for education and public opinion. Indeed, IUPAC, thanks to its
supranational, non-commercial, and apolitical nature,
represents an outstanding observation point to monitor and share the most revolutionary and innovative
trends in the field of chemistry that are ready to beeasily transposed from the laboratory level to commercially-available technologies.
The Italian Commission therefore started leveraging
the value of IUPAC’s message at the national level [7].
Such IUPAC initiatives are also relevant for providing
chemists and researchers with sources of inspiration
as well as guidelines at the international level to movetowards challenging problems of global interest. The
National Commission wishes to enable collaborative
work by improving the active relationship with IUPAC’s
prestigious international reputation and to cooperate
in projects sharing the latest developments and results.

Recent activities and scopes
Since 2014, the presence of Italian delegates gradually increased in IUPAC Divisions and Committees,holding positions as Titular Members, Associate
Members and National Representatives. In 2015 theelection of Pietro Tundo as a member of the Bureau
represented a remarkable result for Italian participation in recent IUPAC’s activities.
For the period 2020-2021, several Italian experts
hold leadership roles in IUPAC Divisions: Lidia Armelao,
Vice President of Division II—Inorganic Chemistry;
Pierangelo Metrangolo, Vice President of Division I—
Physical and Biophysical Chemistry; Roberto Terzano,
Vice President of Division VI—Chemistry and theEnvironment; and Francesco Nicotra, Past-President ofDivision III—Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry.
The activities brought forward by Italian delegates and officers as well as the complete rebuild of
the web page of the Italian National Commission for
IUPAC (http://www.iupac.cnr.it/) increased IUPAC’s

12

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

9th IUPAC International Conference on Novel Materials
and Synthesis (NMS-IX), October 2013. Mario Malinconico,Italian delegate for IUPAC, receives the Distinguished IUPAC
Award from Makoto Shimizu from Mie University, Japan,
winner of a previous edition of the Distinguished Award.

scientific visibility by organizing and promoting initiatives in emerging fields of chemistry [8]. Some ofthese achievements are worth mentioning.
Great efforts have been devoted in dissemination
and awareness-raising activities to attract new generations of chemists towards Green and Sustainable
Chemistry principles. Such a novel approach to chemistry marked a great change in the late 1980s and early
1990s after the scarce attention paid to environmental
aspects in the previous decades. This led to the definition of the 12 principles of Green Chemistry in 1998 [9].
At the same time, this gradual change of perspective
prompted the Italian members to design and organize
a series of international summer schools on sustainablechemistry under the aegis of IUPAC and specificallyaddressed to PhD students and young scientists with
non-permanent positions. Recently, it is worth mentioning the achievement of the Green ChemistryPost-graduate Summer School, held in Venice in July
2018. Building on this success, the 2020 edition of theschool was held in the same city on July 6-10, involving
30 lectures and more than 190 participants from 43
countries all around the world. Due to the travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19 pandemic, the school
sessions were managed online, in remote mode [10].
Italy hosted a major event to gather the supramolecular chemistry community, namely the 14th
International Symposium on Macrocyclic andSupramolecular Chemistry, ISMSC2019, held in Lecce
in June 2019, under the Chair of Vice-President ofDivision 1, Pierangelo Metrangolo. The symposium
was attended by 712 participants from 43 different
countries and addressed a wide range of key topic
areas such as organic electronics, nanotechnology,
biology, medicine and materials science, all sectors in

NAO-CNR: The Italian voice at IUPAC
which supramolecular chemistry is a common tool fordeveloping innovative materials, devices, macromolecules, or nanovectors [11]. Supramolecular chemistry is
indeed flourishing across traditional borders and moving towards new interdisciplinary areas of research at
the interface between chemistry, medicine, biology,
and materials science.
Italian experts actively participated with theworking group on nomenclature that has been continuously working on the definition of the names andterms in Italian of novel chemical subjects according
to IUPAC’s guidelines. An example worth mentioning is
the project led by Italian coordinators, dealing with thedefinition of halogen bonding and other non-covalentinteractions involving halogen atoms [12] or the basic
terminology for crystal engineering, whose ambitious
scope is to bring together world-renowned scientists
working in various areas of crystal engineering [13].
In this framework, they completed the definition of
Italian names of the most recent transuranic elements,
whose discovery completed the seventh period of
the Periodic Table of elements. Dissemination initiatives have included conferences for undergraduate
and high-school students, interviews on newspapers,
magazines, and TV programs, explaining to the public
some scarcely known details about the long pathway
from the initial discovery in the lab to the attributionof the name for a new chemical “object.” This dissemination campaign culminated in the celebration of the150th anniversary of the Periodic Table of Chemical
Elements, with a broad series of events throughout
2019 and concluded in December in Milan, with the“X-mas Lecture” by Fabio Parmegiani.

Promotion and organization of congresses in Italy
characterized the intense activity of IUPAC Divisions
III (Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry) and II(Inorganic Chemistry). Italy offers attractive locations
with excellent academies for top-level international
scientific events. In the last few years Italy hosted the22nd International Conference on Organic Synthesis
in Florence in 2018, the 33rd International Conferenceon Organometallic Chemistry in Florence in 2018, andthe 25th International Symposium on Glycoconjugatesin Milan in 2019. Important Conferences programmed
in Italy for 2020 under the aegis of IUPAC, such as
the 44th International Conference on Coordination
Chemistry scheduled in Rimini in July 2020, and the
31st International Symposium on Chemistry of Natural
Products expected to be held in Naples last October,have been deferred and reprogrammed due to thecurrent health emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Italian Members promoted the organization ofseveral national events in the framework of larger
international IUPAC initiatives, such as or the 2020
edition of the Global Women Breakfast.
An authoritative delegation of the National
Commission attended the 100 IUPAC Celebration
and General Assembly 2019 in Paris and got a fullunderstanding of the people who work for this great
community and important related activities.
In this scenario, considering that multiple Italian
actors have gained a recognized international role, theItalian Commission considered aspects that requireparticular attention in the next years. In detail:1. Enhanced sharing of information on IUPAC’s
initiatives, and intensification of participation in
6th International
IUPAC Conferenceon Green Chemistry,
September 2016,
Venice, Italy.

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

13

NAO-CNR: The Italian voice at IUPAC
14th International
Symposium on
Macrocyclic andSupramolecular
Chemistry,
ISMSC2019,
June 2019, Lecce,
Italyvarious contexts: academic institutions, public andprivate research sectors, industries, and scientificassociations.
2. Support to initiatives targeting high-level educational programmes for young researchers; inparticular fostering the presence of Italian participants in IUPAC’s Young Observer Programme,with a thorough selection of candidates at national
level.
3. Reinforcement of the participation of Italianexperts and delegates in the Union’s divisions andcommittees.
4. Definition of priority domains that are strictly
related to sustainable development and circularity, in which competences and excellence by
Italian actors can be exploited, with an increasingly stronger commitment.
These target domains are directed towards:• decarbonization in energy and economy (CO2
capture, storage and valorization; C1 chemistry;“solar” fuels through innovative photochemical,
photobiological, thermochemical, and/or electrochemical approaches; hydrogen production,
storage and utilization);• green and sustainable processes (high-efficiency
low-impact catalysis; reduction or phase-out
of critical materials in production processes;
enzymatic technologies; biorefinery-derived
intermediates and products);• design, set-up and implementation of innovative

14

Chemistry International

April-June 2021••

next-generation materials (energy production
and storage; 2D-materials; smart materials with
unprecedented performance and/or functionalities; materials and bio-materials for targeted
drug delivery and advanced medical diagnostics);
next generation biobased polymers and polymeric materials; remediation strategies for
microplastics and polymeric environmental
micropollutants;
health and medicinal chemistry (novel moleculesfor old and new pathologies; strategies against
aging and chronic degenerative diseases;
enabling methodologies in pharmaceuticalchemistry; synthesis and characterization of
new markers and molecules for molecular
recognition).

In addition to these priority topics, in which several
projects led by Italian experts were funded by IUPAC
and are currently in progress, the recent outbreak of
the global health emergency caused by the COVID-19
pandemic clearly highlighted the pivotal role of chemical sciences and technologies in the multidisciplinary
struggle against SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
Therefore, the Italian Commission is planning
activities, endorsed by IUPAC, for educational andawareness-raising purposes as well as to foster contrasting actions against this new pathogen in termsof detection, prevention, protection, and diagnostic
capabilities [14].
In the coming months, the National Commission

NAO-CNR: The Italian voice at IUPAC
aspires to gather experts from various professional
backgrounds to increase projects and activities
of international relevancy attracting also financial
support.
International relations and cooperative activities
are indeed a fundamental factor coming from Italianparticipation in IUPAC networks. To maximize benefits,
it is also relevant to establish a continuous exchange
between Italian officers in the IUPAC Divisions
and Committees and the members of the National
Commission of the Italian NAO. In order to accomplish this goal, other synergies are becoming relevant
between IUPAC with other relevant internationalorganisms, such as the European Chemical Society,
EuChemS, or the Organization for the Prohibition ofChemical Weapons, OPCW, whose ultimate mission is
the safe, sustainable and ethical use of Chemistry [15].

Conclusions
Starting from the unique and authoritative role forthe definition of the official nomenclature of chemicalcompounds and the standardization of chemical quantities, IUPAC has become, in 100 years, the reference
institution for scientists and professionals working inpure and applied chemistry—related disciplines in academic as well as in industrial sectors. For this reason,in coming years, the National Commission for IUPAC,
NAO-CNR, aims to promote the participation of alarger number of experts in IUPAC international activities, with a special emphasis on the involvement of thelast generations of chemists. NAO-CNR will therefore
play the important role of catalyst for initiatives andactions proposed by the Italian chemical community
to meet IUPAC’s priorities and the UN’s Sustainable
Developments Goals. This will be carried out by promoting the organization of high-level international
congresses, workshops, and educational events to beheld in Italy. NAO-CNR will work with IUPAC to advancechemistry worldwide, the overall and common goal of
all the IUPAC-NAOs.
Thanks to a stronger and more fruitful synergy
among Italian universities, research agencies, chemicalcompanies, and international organizations, it will bepossible to meet the request of sustainable solutions
and the needs of the society and market, for today’s
life and future wellbeing.

References
1.
2.

R. W. Fennell, History of IUPAC, 1919-1987, Blackwell
Science, 1994. ISBN 0865428786.
The first National Committee for IUPAC wasestablished in 2013. Members were Luigi Ambrosio

3.

4.

5.

6.
7.

8.

9.

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

15.

(Chair; CNR Naples), Lidia Armelao (CNR Padua),
Mario Malinconico (CNR Pozzuoli), Mauro Marchetti(CNR Sassari), Massimo Olivucci (University of Siena),
Maurizio Peruzzini (CNR Florence), Giuseppe Resnati(Polytechnic of Milan), Raffaele Riccio (University ofSalerno), Nicola Senesi (University of Bari) and Pietro
Tundo (University of Venice).
The current National Committee was appointed on
19 April 2019. Members are Fabio Aricò (University of
Venice), Angela Agostiano (University of Bari), Lidia
Armelao (University of Padua and CNR Padua), Silvia
Borsacchi (CNR Pisa), Matteo Guidotti (CNR Milan),
Francesco Nicotra (University of Milan Bicocca),
Maurizio Peruzzini (Chair, CNR Florence), Alessandra
Sanson (CNR Faenza), Roberto Terzano (University ofBari) and Pietro Tundo (University of Venice).
https://www.federchimica.it/webmagazine/dettaglionews/2018/01/15/il-2019-sara-l-anno-internazionaledella-tavola-periodica
M. Poliakoff, P. Licence, M. W. George, UN sustainable
development goals: How can sustainable/green
chemistry contribute? By doing things differently, Curr.
Opin. Green Sustain. Chem. 13 (2018) 146-149; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2018.04.011
F. Gomollón-Bel, Ten Chemical Innovations That Will
Change Our World, Chem. Int., Oct-Dec 2020, 3-9.
Special issue on history and current roles of IUPAC on
the journal of the Italian Chemical Society. Chim. Ind.,
July-August, 4 (2020) 3-67; https://www.soc.chim.it/
riviste/chimica_industria/rivista/2020/4
http://www.iupac.cnr.it/it/ and CNR: Institutional
website: https://www.cnr.it/it/organismo-scientificointernazionale/42/iupac-international-union-of-pureand-applied-chemistry
P. T. Anastas, J. C. Warner, Green chemistry: theory andpractice, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998. ISBN
9780198502340.
https://www.unive.it/ssgc
P. Metrangolo, Macrocyclic and Supramolecular
Chemistry, Chem. Int., Oct-Dec 2019, 51-52.
https://iupac.org/project/2009-032-1-100
https://iupac.org/project/2012-044-1-100
Chemists fighting COVID-19 – a global conversation, 6
Apr 2020, IUPAC website; https://iupac.org/chemistsfighting-covid-19-a-global-conversation/
R. M. Hartshorn, J. Forman, Building Broader andDeeper Links Between OPCW and IUPAC, Chem. Int.,
Apr-June 2019, 30-33.

Matteo Guidotti is from the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche—Istituto di
Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche (CNR SCITEC) and NAO-CNR IUPAC, Augusta
Maria Paci is from Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche—Istituto di Chimica
dei Composti Organometallici (CNR ICCOM), and Maurizio Peruzzini is fromCNR ICCOM and NAO-CNR IUPAC.

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

15

Malta X Anniversary and COVID-19
by Emma Zajdela and Zafra LermanIn December 2021, the Malta X Conference “Frontiersof Science: Innovation, Research and Educationin the Middle East—A Bridge to Peace” will markthe celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Malta
Conferences. The first Malta Conference was held on theisland of Malta in 2003 amidst the height of the Second
Intifada. Since then, the Malta Conferences Foundation(MCF) has been a pioneer in using science diplomacy asa bridge to peace and sustainable development in the
Middle East [1]. MCF uses science diplomacy to advancethe following four UN Sustainable Development Goals:
1. Ensure inclusive and quality education for all (Goal 4)
2. Ensure access of Water and Sanitation for all (Goal 6)
3. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, andmodern Energy for all (Goal 7), and 4. Promote Peace
and Justice, as well as inclusive societies (Goal 16). In
2016, MCF received the UN NOVUS Summit award forGoal 16: Peace and Justice [2]. The Summit was held in
the UN General Assembly.

Widespread conflicts, spurred by a deteriorating environment, rapidly expanding populations, unsustainable
water and energy supplies [3], inadequate educational
institutions, unequal access to medical treatment andsupplies, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic
threaten civilization in the world. Science diplomacy
is the best tool to address these issues, especially inregions of conflict. The Malta Conferences are the only
platform in the world that brings together scientists

Yaseen Al-Soud of Jordan discusses a poster at Malta IX.

16

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

from fifteen Middle East countries (Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq,
Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, and the United ArabEmirates), Morocco, and Pakistan with several Nobel
Laureates to form multinational collaborations in orderto address these problems, which affect the region andthe world. Although Pakistan is not part of the Middle
East, Pakistani scientists requested to participate in the
Malta Conferences in order to use the Malta model forscience diplomacy between Pakistan and India.
Since its inception, MCF has held the strong belief
that to use science diplomacy for peace and stability
in the Middle East, all countries in the Middle East must
be involved, not just Israel and Palestine, the focal
point of tension in the region and the focal point of
diplomatic efforts from the world. Therefore, MCF has
worked on developing collaborations between Israel
and other Arab nations. The attendees at the Malta
Conferences were diverse in gender, religion, career
stage, and cultures; they came from academia, industry, and government.
Many dignitaries have participated in the Malta
Conferences. Director-General of UNESCO, Irina
Bokova, and His Royal Highness Prince Hassan of
Jordan [4] attended Malta V, which was held by invitation at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris as one of thelast events of the 2011 International Year of Chemistry.
His Excellency Dr. George Abela, President of the
Republic of Malta attended Malta VI. Her Excellency
Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, President of the Republicof Malta, the Maltese Minister of Education and
Employment, and a member of the French parliament
attended Malta VII (in Morocco) and Malta VIII. His
Excellency Dr. George Vella, President of the Republicof Malta and the Maltese Minister of Education and
Employment attended Malta IX. Several ambassadors
participate in every Malta Conference.
More than 700 scientists have attended these conferences. Since these scientists, professors, and institutedirectors influence large numbers of students and the
public, the impact represents an enormous multiplierover the conferences alone. The Malta Conferences
have yielded results that are a cornerstone for a bridge
to peace and sustainable development in the Middle
East [5, 6], a model which could be implemented inother regions of conflict.
At Malta IX the introduction of interactive workshops co-chaired by a scientist and an entrepreneur
encouraged collaborations and launching startups. A
woman’s forum was also initiated in Malta IX as a platform to discuss the role of women in science and inscience diplomacy, in addition to developing guidelines

The Malta IX Head table from Left to Right: Fadila Boughanemi, Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission, DG Research andInnovation; Ambassador Roberto Tanzi-Albi, Senior Adviser, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland; His Excellency George Vella,President of the Republic of Malta; Zafra Lerman, President, Malta Conferences Foundation; His Excellency Stuart Gill, OBE,
British High Commissioner for Malta; and Mark Schapiro, Charge d’affaires, American Embassy in Malta

on how to encourage girls in the Middle East to pursue
STEM fields. MCF provides an opportunity for students
and early-career scientists to interact for five days withseveral Nobel Laureates and many distinguished scientists [7]. This forum is important in preparing the next
generation to be successful in science diplomacy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of science diplomacy, which will continue to be
crucial during the post-COVID period and especiallyamong countries whose governments are hostile toone another. Science diplomacy can overcome cultural,religious, and political boundaries that other forms of
diplomacy cannot.
With the current COVID-19 situation, dangerous
misinformation has been appearing on social media
and other outlets. COVID-19 prompted MCF to come up
with creative ways to inform all the participants about
the pandemic, research, and collaborations which
contribute to the solution. MCF organized a series ofvirtual conferences for the participants of the Malta
Conferences concentrating on COVID-19. The first
virtual conference, held on 30 September 2020, wastitled Insights on the collaboration between Pluristem
Therapeutics (Haifa, Israel) and Abu Dhabi (UAE) StemCells Center (ADSCC) concerning Covid-19.
This is the first joint project which brings together
the expertise and knowledge of Pluristem (Israel)and ADSCC (UAE) to advance a potential COVID-19
treatment. The project will involve the first-time administration of Pluristem’s PLX cells via a nebulizer, a drugdelivery device that helps a patient inhale a medication
through a mask or mouthpiece, to COVID-19 patients.
The collaboration will allow ADSCC to expand its stem
cell therapy options using Pluristem’s novel PLX cells,
while enabling Pluristem to leverage ADSCC’s nebulizer
administration experience to develop a new treatment
delivery model for PLX cells. ADSCC has reported
effectively using nebulizers to treat patients sufferingfrom COVID-19 infection with stem cells sourced fromthe patient’s own blood.

Many publications were the result of this conference[8-14]. Yaky Yanay, Pluristem CEO and President, washopeful about continuing collaborations following theconference. “We were very honored to unveil our firstjoint projects with the ADSCC at the Malta Conferences
Foundation.” He continued “We see our partnership asa movement between Israel and the UAE, which wehope will lay the foundation for future collaborations
that will help potentially bring change to our region
and the entire world. As we work together to develop
regenerative medicine for key unmet medical needs ofbenefit to patients around the world, we are excited forthe future and its possibilities.”
Dr. Yendry Ventura, General Manager of ADSCC,
was also optimistic about working with Pluristem“Embarking on this journey with Pluristem, to overcome one of this generation’s most complex medical
challenges, marks an exciting new chapter full of possibilities when it comes to knowledge sharing andmedical innovation. Our partnership speaks volumes
about the power of collaboration between partners
across previously divided border.” [8]Although a virtual conference, the participants
had the opportunity to interact with the presenters,
ask questions, and have a discussion. Many of theparticipants discussed the opportunity to collaborate
with the speakers. The reaction of the participants was
extremely favorable. The speakers agreed to participate in Malta X.
The second virtual meeting on 14 October 2020,
titled Insights into Science-Diplomacy on Covid-19,
featured speaker Victor J. Dzau M.D., President of the
US National Academy of Medicine [15].
In his presentation, Dr. Dzau described the role of
the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB),
which is an independent monitoring and accountability
body to ensure preparedness for global health crises. It
was created in response to recommendations from the
UN Secretary General’s Global Health Crises Task Forcein 2017. The GPMB was co-convened by the World
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

17

Malta X Anniversary and COVID-19
Health Organization and the World Bank Group andformally launched in May 2018. Comprised of politicalleaders, agency principals and world-class experts, theBoard provides an independent and comprehensive
appraisal for policy makers and the world about progress towards increased preparedness and response
capacity for disease outbreaks and other emergencies
with health consequences. Its 2019 Annual Report,
titled A World at Risk warned of the very real threat of“a rapidly spreading pandemic due to a lethal respiratory pathogen” and the need for determined politicalleadership at national and global levels (Figure 1). This
report was published several months before COVID-19
but was largely ignored.
Dr. Dzau emphasized the impact of COVID-19, noting that the pandemic endangers all populations and isundermining all of the Sustainable Development Goals.
For example, in global health, 90 % of healthcare systems were disrupted; in education, 1.6 billion students
out of school; in climate, reduction of 30 % investment

in clean energy transition; in poverty, there will be anincrease of an additional 135 million people by 2030. He
concluded that COVID-19 taught us that “we live in aworld where a shock anywhere can become a catastrophe everywhere, which means we are interconnected.”
Another initiative by MCF during COVID-19 isa virtual laboratory with an inventory of scientificequipment where Malta Conference participants who
are lacking equipment for certain tests can send theirsamples to other laboratories in different countries toperform the required testing.
The Malta Conferences Foundation’s mission is toaddress the shared desire to improve quality of lifeand political stability in the Middle East by identifying
unique opportunities for collaboration to meet thescientific and technological challenges of the region.
The Malta Conferences deal with issues of scienceeducation, air and water quality, nuclear and chemical
security, access to medical treatment and supplies,
and alternative energy sources, among other topics of

1. Rudolph A. Marcus (1992, Chemistry, 2. Aaron Ciechanover (2004, Chemistry), 3. F. Sherwood Rowland (1995, Chemistry),
4. Danny Shechtman (2011, Chemistry), 5. Jean-Marie Lehn (1987, Chemistry), 6. Martin Karplus (2013, Chemistry), 7. Dudley
R. Herschbach (1984, Chemistry), 8. Ada E. Yonath (2009, Chemistry), 9. Ben L. Feringa (2016, Chemistry), 10. Claude CohenTannoudji (1997, Physics), 11. Richard R. Ernst (1991, Chemistry), 12. Tim Hunt (2001, Physiology or Medicine), 13. Yuan T. Lee (1986,
Chemistry), 14. Walter Kohn (1998, Chemistry), 15. Roald Hoffmann (1981, Chemistry), 16. Robert H. Grubbs (2005, Chemistry)

18

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

Malta X Anniversary and COVID-19
mutual interest. Global leaders have recognized thatscience diplomacy is an extremely important mechanism for working toward stability in the Middle East,and this is what the Malta Conferences have done forthe past two decades.
Many obstacles and challenges had to be overcome for every single Malta Conference. For example,
the visa issue is almost insurmountable and requires
working with embassies in many of the countries in the
Middle East and with the government of the countries
where the conference is hosted. Although work securing visas starts two years in advance of the conference,
it is usually not clear until a few hours before the startof the conference that every invited participant will beable to attend. However, with tremendous effort from
MCF, all the participants manage to arrive by the dayof the opening ceremony.
Despite the immense challenges and obstacles,
there are notable successes. Many personal friendships
and cross-border collaborations have been formed.
During the Malta VII in Morocco, meetings with several
ministers from the government of Morocco and withthe advisor to the King took place discussing relationships between Israel and Morocco. These negotiations
started in 2015 and helped to achieve the normalizationof the relationship between the two countries in 2020.
In a time when the world’s eyes are focused on
scientists for solutions, and media reports appear
hopeless, MCF is offering a fresh approach throughscience diplomacy. The role of science diplomacy as
a promoter of collaborative efforts among scientists isboth diplomatic and educational. Improving human
lives through science diplomacy has been, and continues to be, the mission of the Malta Conferences
Foundation.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

References
1.

2.

3.

4.

Z.M. Lerman, From Fighting for Human Rights to Buildinga Bridge to Peace: A Scientist’s Role and Responsibility,
Science & Diplomacy, 2015, Vol. 4, No. 1, https://www.
sciencediplomacy.org/sites/default/files/from_fighting_for_human_rights_to_building_a_bridge_to_peace_science__diplomacy.pdf.
Z.M. Lerman, NOVUS Award Ceremony, NOVUS Summit
2016, UN Web TV, 2016, http://webtv.un.org/watch/
zafra-m.-lerman-scientist-novus-award-ceremony-novussummit-2016/5042173949001
Y. Sheva, Water Quality in the Middle East. Chemistry
International, Chemistry International, 2014, 36 (3),5-8, https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/ci/36/3/
article-p5.xml.
Malta V Conference: Science as a bridge to peace in the

14.

15.

Middle East, UNESCO, World Conference on ECCE, 2011.
S. Langer, Science—A Bridge to Peace, Chemistry
International, 2013, 35 (2), 36-37, http://publications.
iupac.org/ci/2013/3502/cc8_041211.html.
“A Bridge to Peace.” Interface – Online Magazine of the
Weizmann Institute, 2014. https://wis-wander.weizmann.
ac.il/chemistrycampus/bridge-peace
Z.M. Lerman and E.R. Zajdela, Chemistry for
Peace. Chem. Eng. News, March 16, 2020, 98 (10),p. 2, https://cen.acs.org/education/outreach/
Malta-conferences-use-science-diplomacy/98/
i10?utm_source=Policy&utm_medium=Policy&utm_
campaign=CENRSS.
T. Siegal, Israeli and Emirati companies join forces todevelop COVID-19 treatment, Jerusalem Post, October
2, 2020, https://www.jpost.com/international/israeliand-emirati-companies-join-forces-to-develop-covid-19treatment-644299
Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center and Pluristem Unveil Joint
Projects at Malta Conferences Foundation Online Event,
The New York Times, October 1, 2020.
Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center and Pluristem Unveil Joint
Projects at Malta Conferences Foundation Online Event,
The Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2020.
Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center und Pluristem präsentieren
gemeinsame Projekte auf der Online-Veranstaltung
der Malta Conferences Foundation, Wall Street Online,
October 1, 2020, German, https://www.wallstreet-online.
de/nachricht/12988825-abu-dhabi-stem-cells-centerpluristem-praesentieren-gemeinsame-projekte-onlineveranstaltung-malta-conferences-foundation/all.
Le Centre de cellules souches d’Abu Dhabi ADSCCet Pluristem dévoilent des projets communs lors del’événement en ligne de la Malta Conferences Foundation,
AP News, October 1, 2020, French, https://apnews.com/
article/01de1b64650a40adac6b7a712200324f.
L’Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center e Pluristem presentano
progetti congiunti all’evento online della Malta
Conferences Foundation, Ansa It Economia, October
1, 2020, Italian, https://embed.ansa.it/sito/notizie/
economia/business_wire/news/2020-10-01_10193167.html
El Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center y Pluristem presentan
proyectos conjuntos en el evento online de la Malta
Conferences Foundation, AP News, October 1, 2020,
Spanish, https://apnews.com/press-release/businesswire/abe9c1094c7d49c69a4bf10c732c59a5.
Insights into Science-Diplomacy on Covid-19, Victor
Dzau, President, US National Academy of Medicine,
2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIu2dA8JxkA

Emma Zajdela <emmazajdela@u.northwestern.edu> is a PhD student
at Northwestern University and assistant to the President of the Malta
Conferences Foundation. Zafra Lerman <zafra@zafralerman.com> is a Titular
Member of IUPAC’s committee on Chemistry Research Applied to World Needs(ChemRAWN) and is the President of the Malta Conferences Foundation.

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

19

The Continued Need for CHEMRAWN
within IUPAC: A Personal Accountby Leiv K. SydnesAt the General Assembly (GA) in Paris in July
2019, the IUPAC Bureau recommended toCouncil that CHEMRAWN should be dissolved.
This led many to question ‘What is the purpose of the
CHEMRAWN committee?’ and perhaps this can beseen most easily through what it has done and continues to do within its role in addressing topics relevantto the UN’s sustainable development goals.

As the readers of this publication of course know,
IUPAC celebrated its centenary in Paris last year. After
having been active in the union in various capacities
for almost 30 years I was indeed looking forward to
the grand event. But the feeling of anticipation disappeared when I learnt that CHEMRAWN—the IUPAC
Committee on Chemical Research Applied to World
Needs—could cease to exist at the end of 2019 depending on the decision of Council. To me, serving both thepresidential succession of the Union (2002-2007) andas Chair of CHEMRAWN for two periods (2008-2015),
this caused significant dismay. Therefore, to make the
IUPAC membership aware of what was going to be
proposed at the GA, I took the initiative to write to allmembers of the Union and tell them what was about
to happen. I was therefore not surprised when NAOs
and delegates approached me and asked a number ofquestions before and after the GA. In fact, I still receive
questions; not only that, it is clear that some people
are not aware of the committee’s work and so aftersome reflection, I decided to write this article.

IUPAC, CHEMRAWN, and the SDGs
CHEMRAWN was established through an active
process in the middle of the 1970s, with the purposeof engaging IUPAC more in societal issues and focus
on serving “as an international body and forum for thegathering, discussion, advancement, and disseminationof chemical knowledge deemed useful for the improvement of man and his environment.” [1] When this quotefrom the CHEMRAWN Terms of Reference is comparedwith the text of the more recent United Nations (UN)documents related to the Millennium Development
Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
it is clear that IUPAC, through CHEMRAWN, focusedon and discussed many of these goals and associated challenges several decades before the UN. It isreally impressive to look at the themes covered by the
CHEMRAWN conferences (Box 1) and see how widely
they have addressed the 17 SDGs that were adopted by
the UN in 2015 (Fig 1).

20

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

With this as a backdrop, it would have been
expected that the CHEMRAWN committee would
become involved when IUPAC seriously started
to address how to respond to the United Nations
Millennium Development Goals first and then explore
IUPAC’s role in achieving the UN SDGs at the World
Chemistry Leadership Meeting (WCLM) at the GAs in2013 and 2015. That did not happen. The former topic
was developed by a committee comprised of members from the Committee on Chemistry and Industry(COCI), the Committee on Chemistry Education(CCE), the Inorganic Chemistry Division (Div. II), andFabienne Meyers supported by President Mark Cesa[2], the latter by President Natalia Tarasova, and members from COCI, CCE, and the Division on Chemistry
and the Environment (Div. VI) [3]. No presentation
dealt with CHEMRAWN’s achievements related to, forinstance, green chemistry, greenhouse gases, herbal
drugs, and water management, which became central topics at both meetings. It may be that many in
IUPAC are unaware of the CHEMRAWN’s history andexpertise in these areas, but I hope this article helps
to spread the information that CHEMRAWN has astrong history in addressing existing and emerging
world needs, and is ‘open-for-business’ to continue
discussions, work in partnerships, and facilitate actionin these important matters.
One person that was speaking at the 2015 WCLM,
was the current Vice President of IUPAC, Javier G.
Martinez, who gave an excellent lecture entitled “TheChemical Element: How Chemistry is Key to Solving
our Global Challenges.” However, CHEMRAWN and its
contributions in this area were overlooked, according
to my notes, and also in the later follow-up article“The Role of Chemistry” [4]. Since it was not normal
practice to overlook CHEMRAWN in an IUPAC setting[5], this experience was disappointing because what
was emphasized to be important to be successful incontributing towards the SDGs, is an integrated part of
the CHEMRAWN approach and has been for decades.
One example is the statement that “the collaboration
between policy makers, the scientific community,and other stakeholders is critically important, andrequires careful attention” [4]. Yes, indeed, that is why
CHEMRAWN conferences include scientists, representatives from a range of industrial branches, researchcouncils, international organizations, funding agencies,
and politicians even at a ministerial level and as such,
CHEMRAWN conferences have been unique IUPAC
events. There are of course challenges in conducting
such events when people from different environments
come together. A politician will have a very different

focus than someone from a non-governmental organization, and an industrial scientist will have different
priorities compared with an academic. However, it isessential that such groups come together, and it is my
opinion that through CHEMRAWN, IUPAC should continue to support such events. Difficulties in establishingsuch meetings that tackle a problem from multiple
angles become more apparent when we try to do thisin more economically disadvantaged regions of theworld. However, if as a union we are to act on global
challenges, shouldn’t all people and regions be represented? At the present time, CHEMRAWN is working
with the Chemical Society of Nigeria on CHEMRAWNXXII: E-waste in Africa. If successful, CHEMRAWN
hopes that this meeting can act as a model for similar events in different regions around the world, e.g.
South-East Asia, because although e-waste is a global
problem, sometimes the solutions need to be local andaddress regional needs.

IUPAC and green chemistry
Green chemistry has been on the IUPAC agenda
for a long time, and the need to develop this fieldof chemistry, which involves many of the subfields
dealt with by the IUPAC Divisions, was one of reason for the establishment of CHEMRAWN in 1973-75.
This was reflected in CHEMRAWN I (1978), which,among other topics, discussed the use of renewable
resources as organic raw materials for industrial
application – this has since become one of the 12 principles of green chemistry. Later, two green-chemistry
CHEMRAWN conferences were held; the first in 1992
on Chemistry and Sustainable Development: Towards
a Clean Environment (CHEMRAWN VIII) and the second in 2001, entitled Toward Environmentally Benign
Processes and Products (CHEMRAWN XIV).
The latter conference had indeed an impact within
IUPAC. The vigor at the conference and the spirit among
the participants certainly called for a follow-up meeting,but CHEMRAWN could not implement the idea because
the committee organizes only stand-alone meetingsand not conference series. The idea of starting such aseries of IUPAC conferences outside CHEMRAWN thenemerged and materialized when the 1st International
IUPAC Conference on Green-Sustainable Chemistry(ICGC-1) was organized in 2006 in close collaboration
with the German Chemical Society. Within IUPAC,
the conference series became associated with the
Subcommittee for Green Chemistry under the Organic
and Biomolecular Chemistry Division.
From ICGC-4 (2012) onward, CHEMRAWN has
been connected to this conference series throughwhat is now called the CHEMRAWN VII Prize for Green
Chemistry, an IUPAC biannual award funded from theV, XV, XX
II, IV, XII, XVIII

X

XII, XVIII, XIX, XX

II, VIII, XV, XVIII, XXI
I, II, VI, VII, VII, VIII, IX, XI, XIII, XIV, XVIII, XIX, XXI,

VI, IX, XIII, XVII, XIX

XVIII

IV, VIII, XIV, XXI

1, III, VIII, X, XIV, XVI, XXI

I, II, III, IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, XI, XIV, XV, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XXI

X

IV, VII, VIII, IX, XIV, XVI, XVII, XIX, XXI
II, XII, XV, XVIII

Fig. 1. The matching between the topics covered by the CHEMRAWN conferences and the UN Sustainable Development Goals,
with the SDGs icons scaled proportionaly to the number of relevant CHEMRAWN conferences specified in roman numerals.
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

21

The Continued Need for CHEMRAWN within IUPAC
surplus made by CHEMRAWN VII and regularly presented at the ICGC conferences [6]. I was in charge ofthe award ceremony on behalf of CHEMRAWN bothin 2012 (San Carlos, Brazil) and 2014 (Durban, South
Africa) where in both cases the winner was celebrated
with enthusiasm. In 2014, I also recall to attend ameeting of the Subcommittee on Green Chemistry to
discuss a few issues regarding sustainability and its
coverage within the IUPAC family. I left Durban a bit
puzzled but I did not anticipate what might happen
with respect to the future of CHEMRAWN. The few
times the IUPAC Presidents interacted with us, noessential feedback beyond “Keep up the good work”
was uttered. So when the Terms of Reference for the
new Interdivisional Committee on Green Chemistry for
Sustainable Development (ICGCSD) became available[7], the committee was baffled to learn that
• ICGCSD would be responsible for advancing thestrategic plan of the Union for green and sustainable chemistry;• ICGCSD would work actively with COCI and CCE
to stimulate and increase interest in green andsustainable chemistry (no mention of working
with CHEMRAWN);• ICGCSD would be responsible to promulgate
the work of the Union in green and sustainablechemistry;• ICGCSD would give advice on suitable persons
for appointment as Representatives of IUPAC onother bodies concerned with green chemistry for
Sustainable Development Goals.
Thus, those involved in the formation of ICGCSD
created a committee with tasks that overlap significantly with those of CHEMRAWN and contributed
to give IUPAC yet another committee, even though“IUPAC may have a larger number of sub-groups andcommittees than it really needs, which then leads tosubstantial administrative overhead and higher costs
for running the organisation” [8]. In 2015, ICGCSD
superseded the Subcommittee on Green Chemistry;
the subcommittee was dissolved and the chair, Pietro
Tundo, became the chair of ICGCSD.
ICGCSD has been in action several years
already and its Chair presented a biannual report at the
GA in July 2019 in Paris under item 16.6. This biannual
report can serve to show that ICGCSD and CHEMRAWN
actually work in different but complementary ways
inside the Union. ICGCSD had organized or been partof a number of interesting events, but none of themgathered and involved a wide variety of stakeholders
in a typical CHEMRAWN fashion, in discussing future22

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

actions to meet world needs and address SDGs. In the
future, I hope both committees can work with eachother, the Divisions and other Standing Committees
towards a stronger, unified IUPAC because surely
progress toward the SDGs need more, not less, effort
to be achieved in a shorter timeframe.

CHEMRAWN conferences
In the recent assessment of CHEMRAWN (2018), theEvaluation Committee and the Executive Committee
focused on the “number of conferences and follow-up
or realization of future actions, plus other activities” [9]. Regarding the number, 19 CHEMRAWN
conferences took place between 1978 and 2018. On
an average, that corresponds to almost two years
between each event, which is the standard for most
IUPAC conference series. That is indeed a remarkableachievement because most of the CHEMRAWN conferences have focused on challenges and issues ofmain importance in developing countries, and that has
made conference funding very challenging. Traditional
supporters of chemistry conferences, such as chemicalcompanies, suppliers of scientific equipment, and publishers, have not come forward. Then, to get financial
support in developing countries, even when they will
benefit the most from the meetings, has turned out tobe very difficult. This has been a major handicap in thefundraising for CHEMRAWN conferences. In fact, thehandicap has been so severe that close to half of theconference proposals developed through hard work by
the volunteers of the committee in my time as chair
were not announced and did not materialize becauseeven combined efforts by the task groups and the
CHEMRAWN committee gave insufficient funds for ameeting. Financial problems were also the main reason
why two conferences that had been advertised, werelater cancelled (see box).
Unlike field-specific scientific meetings, CHEMRAWN
conferences are multidisciplinary and include, in
addition to traditional scientific sessions, planning ofpractical projects for implementation after the meeting,discussions of benefits and societal impact, and planning of the fundraising for these projects. Thus, these
conferences have a multifaceted group of stakeholders,which includes scientists, representatives from a range
of industrial branches, research councils, internationalorganizations, funding agencies, and politicians evenat a ministerial level. Such meetings are therefore much
more difficult to organize and run than traditional
scientific meetings, which have a focused scope andessentially one homogenous group of stakeholders, viz.
researchers with a specialization in the scientific subfieldA Personal AccountAn overview of the CHEMRAWN conferences held so far 1
CHEMRAWN I

Future Sources of Organic Raw Materials (1978)

CHEMRAWN II

Chemistry and World Food Supply; the New Frontiers (1982)

CHEMRAWN III

Resource Material Conversion: (Bio)Chemical Process Bridges to Meet Future Needs (1984)

CHEMRAWN IV

Modern Chemistry and Chemical Technology Applied to the Oceans and Its Resources (1985)

CHEMRAWN V

Current and Future Contribution of Chemistry to Health (1986)

CHEMRAWN VI

Advanced Materials for Innovations in Energy, Transportation and Communications (1987)

CHEMRAWN VII

Chemistry of the Atmosphere: its Impact on Global Change (1991)

CHEMRAWN VIII

Chemistry and Sustainable Development: Towards a Clean Environment, Zero Waste
and Highest Energy Efficiency (1992)

CHEMRAWN IXThe Role of Advanced Materials in Sustainable Development (1996)

CHEMRAWN X

The Globalization of Chemical Education—Preparing Chemical Scientists and Engineers
for Transnational Industries

CHEMRAWN XI

Latin American Symposium on Environmental Analytical Chemistry (1998)

CHEMRAWN XII

Chemistry, Sustainable Agriculture and Human Well-Being in sub-Saharan Africa (2007)

CHEMRAWN XIII

Chemistry for Clean Energy

CHEMRAWN XIV

Toward Environmentally Benign Processes and Products (2001)

CHEMRAWN XVChemistry for Water: Contribution of Chemistry to Quantity and Supply (2004)

CHEMRAWN XVI

Innovation in the Chemical Industry: The way from pure to applied chemistry (2003)

CHEMRAWN XVIIGreenhouse Gas Mitigation: Mitigation and Utilization (2007)

CHEMRAWN XVIII

Ethics, Science, and Development (2009)

CHEMRAWN XIX

Renewable and Sustainable Energy from Biological Resources (2011)

CHEMRAWN XX

Herbal Medicine for Health Care in the 21st Century (2015)

CHEMRAWN XXI

Solid Urban Waste Management (2016)

1 Two advertised conferences, X and XIII, did not take place for financial reasons.

under consideration. I have been involved in organizing
and running a large number of international conferences
myself, and some of the CHEMRAWN conferences haveindeed been the most difficult to put together and carrythrough. For instance, to be overall responsible and in
charge of fundraising and programme development
for the 18th IUPAC International Conference of Organic
Synthesis (ICOS 18) in Bergen, Norway, in 2010 was
a minor task compared to be involved in organizing
CHEMRAWN XX: Herbal Medicine for Health Care in the
21st Century, which was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in
2015. So one might ask why bother with these events
if they are so difficult to organize? We need only lookto CHEMRAWN’s unabbreviated name to understand, it

is because there are world needs that urgently require
addressing.
It is interesting to observe that the Executive
Committee (EC) seemed to be of the opinion that
the CHEMRAWN-conference format is out of fashion.
In a letter from Past President Zhou to CHEMRAWN,
the following reflection is presented: “CHEMRAWN
was founded in response to specific needs arisingfrom global responses to the challenges of sustainable development. The UN sustainable development
agenda has evolved significantly since then, and withthis the priorities of the scientific community andthe challenges it faces have also changed. The methods and mechanisms by which we, as a worldwide
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

23

The Continued Need for CHEMRAWN within IUPAC
The main points in the letter sent to CHEMRAWN
by President Zhou after the EC meeting in Alcala deHenares, Spain on 17-18 November 2018
• The EC appreciates all the work CHEMRAWN
volunteers have done on behalf of IUPAC.
• IUPAC is forced to make some hard choices between
the various activities it currently undertakes.
• There are now many mechanisms for scientificcommunication and engagement in addition toconferences. It was therefore concluded that there
are higher priorities for the use of funding currently
allocated to CHEMRAWN.
• EC unanimously decided to recommend to Council
that CHEMRAWN should be disbanded at the end of
this biennium.
• Current CHEMRAWN activities and initiatives cancontinue as projects, with the same people.
• Within CHEMRAWN, there are volunteers, who areeager to contribute to IUPAC activities and eligible
for positions on other IUPAC bodies. They areencouraged to make themselves known so that they
can be considered for positions so that their valuable
expertise is not lost.
science organisation, can address them have similarly
evolved. There are now many mechanisms for scientific communication and engagement in addition toconferences.” [9] My experience with a number of
the alternative mechanisms alluded to is that they are
more commercial, less science-based, and completely
lacking the IUPAC societal perspective. But then, adopt
the EC position for a while and ask: Why not look at
the traditional IUPAC conferences and apply the sameline of thinking to them? Many chemical societies like
American Chemical Society (ACS) and Royal Societyof Chemistry (RSC) run a number of high-quality international conferences and so do regional federations ofchemistry and publishers like Elsevier and Wiley, so why
continue to run IUPAC meetings? Has the time come toconsider other communication channels like webinars
and online meetings? Such ideas have been briefly
discussed by CHEMRAWN with the aim of increasing
the societal input to CHEMRAWN’s multidisciplinaryand stakeholder-engaged conferences and thereby
strengthening CHEMRAWN’s societal relevance. As
far as I am aware, CHEMRAWN is still discussing suchpossibilities and is excited by opportunities presented
by ChemVoices, a joint initiative of the International

24

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

During CHEMRAWN XXI on Solid Urban Waste Management(April 2016, Rome, Italy), I got the opportunity to meet thePope briefly and present IUPAC and talk about the topics
discussed at the conference, which took place in Rome, Italyin April 2016. With a BSc in chemistry, Pope Francis showed
keen interest in the topic.

Younger Chemists Network (IYCN) and IUPAC [10].
Regarding the outcomes of the CHEMRAWN conferences, I agree with the Evaluation Committee that
more could have been achieved. Although there is
ample evidence of successes [11], there are also examples of follow-up actions that, for various reasons, havenot been reported [12]. But it is my experience that theoutcome of the CHEMRAWN conferences has beenhighlighted to the satisfaction of the local organizing
committees in the countries where the conferences
have been held (see picture above). In addition, all activities have always been reported to Council at the GA,
and on no such occasion in my time in the Presidential
succession (2002-07) and as committee chair (200815) was any dissatisfaction with the committee’s work
expressed. And again, why not also look at the traditional IUPAC conferences and the IUPAC Congresses inan output perspective and search for proof of impact
beyond documenting the number of participants andwho lectured and presented posters about what, where,
and when? Although impacts from an IUPAC (or ACS,
RSC or other) conference may be good for an individual’s CV—they are probably not making an impact onsociety. Changes in academic and scientific culture
are afoot, even more so since the COVID-19 pandemic,
therefore, non-traditional conferences (virtual or otherwise) will become more important.

Was the work of CHEMRAWN volunteers satisfactory or not?
Since a proposal to abandon CHEMRAWN was
put on the Council agenda when IUPAC gathered tocelebrate its centenary, it is clear that a considerable
dissatisfaction with the CHEMRAWN committee musthave piled up. What is puzzling, however, is that since2005, no such sentiment has ever been alluded toA Personal Accountwhen the IUPAC Presidents have interacted with thecommittee. And even when the decision to disband
the committee was communicated in writing, the EC
opinion is that the committee members possess valuable expertise and should continue to work for IUPAC(must have done a fairly good job). It is also stated thatthe current “activities and initiatives of CHEMRAWN
can continue as projects with the same people” [9],which means that the ideas developed in CHEMRAWN
must have been at least satisfactory.

Postlude
The leadership has great expectations for theUnion, and ambitious goals have been outlined throughChemistry International for the global chemistry community [4,13]. In order to reach these goals, the Union
has to build on “the amazing work that our thousands ofvolunteers do” [4] with a strong feeling of “we are all on
the same team.” [13] If such a human resource is going
to be available and stay on working in a good IUPAC
fashion, the Union has to be operated and governed in acollegial and transparent way. With changes underway
influenced by the findings of the IUPAC Organizational
Structure Review Group, I remain hopeful for the futureof IUPAC and CHEMRAWN’s position within it. As wehave all got more used to talks and meeting via zoom
and similar tools during 2020, our collective ability tocome together while we are apart and make meaningfulchanges around the world through chemistry perhaps
has greater potential than ever before.

5.

6.
7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

Notes and references
1.

2.
3.
4.

CHEMRAWN—the IUPAC Committee on Chemical
Research Applied to World Needs webpage https://
iupac.org/body/021 (accessed 7 Jan 2021)
M. Droescher, Chem. Int. 2014 Jan-Feb, 36, 24-28;
https://doi.org/10.1515/ci.2014.36.1.24
Chem. Int. 2016 May-Aug, 38, 11-13; https://doi.
org/10.1515/ci-2016-3-405
J. G. Martinez, Chem. Int. 2016 May-Aug, 38, 10-14;

13.

https://doi.org/10.1515/ci-2016-3-405
CHEMRAWN has always been featured in the standard
IUPAC Powerpoint presentations often used by IUPAC
officials to inform about the union.
CHEMRAWN VII Prize in Green Chemistry; https://
iupac.org/what-we-do/awards/chemrawn-vii-prize/
https://iupac.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/EC155_
Beijing_Nov2016_min170125.pdf and https://iupac.
org/actions-taken-iupac-council-bureau-sao-paulobrazil-2017/
R. Hartshorn, Proposal to Review IUPAC Structures,
Council Agenda File, 50th IUPAC Council Meeting Paris,
France, 10-11 July 2019; agenda item 19.3.
Letter from President Q.-F. Zhou to CHEMRAWN Chair
C. Tollinche of 6 Dec 2018 communicating the EC
decision to disband CHEMRAWN.
Chemvoices homepage, headline Showcasing the
Future of Chemistry, https://chemvoices.org/ (accessed
7 Jan 2021)
J. M. Malin, History and Effectiveness of CHEMRAWN
Conferences, 1978–2006; https://iupac.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/01/ChemRAWN-History-andEffectiveness-of-Conferences-1978-2007.pdf
Two major events were spin-offs of CHEMRAWNXXI, Solid Urban Waste Management (6-8 April 2016,
Rome, Italy; https://iupac.org/event/solid-urban-wastemanagement-xxi-iupac-chemrawn-conference/): The
EU-funded project BIOASSORT (318931) sponsoredthe “Advanced Training Course on Emerging
Biotechnologies for Sustainable Waste Management
and Biorefinery Development” at the University of
Naples “Federico II”, with 83 participants. The three
best poster presenters were awarded free registration
at ICGC-6 held in September 2016, in Venice. The
second major event was a B2B meeting with focus onsustainable business development and growth, andamong others, announced on b2match.com.
C. Brett, Chem. Int. 2018 Oct-Dec, 40, 2-3; https://doi.
org/10.1515/ci-2018-0401

Leiv K. Sydnes is professor emeritus at University of Bergen, Norway. He
was president of IUPAC 2004-2005 and chaired the CHEMRAWN committee
from 2008-2015.

A Response by Christopher Brett, IUPAC PresidentIn the article by Professor Leiv Sydnes on page 20,
he shares his personal view on the proposal to dissolve CHEMRAWN that was submitted to Council
in 2019. It is important to understand the context ofthe discussions that led Bureau to make this proposal.
It was the result of several years of deliberation, firstby the Evaluation Committee, and over a number of
meetings by the Executive Committee and by Bureau.

Many people, from different IUPAC bodies, analysedand debated how best IUPAC should continue toaddress the challenges of Sustainable Development
and the Sustainable Development Goals as one of
the Union’s key strategic priorities, as described in
the strategic plan and mission, which highlights theimportance of chemistry to serve humankind andworld needs, and CHEMRAWN’s recent contribution
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

25

The Continued Need for CHEMRAWN within IUPAC
to these challenges. We thank all those who, within
CHEMRAWN and in other IUPAC bodies, have contributed to achieving these goals.
For all of us who made that recommendation, it was adifficult decision. The following points are to give clarification to what was done.
1. The recommendation that CHEMRAWN should
be dissolved was the culmination of a process starting in 2016, that involved (i) an investigation into
CHEMRAWN’s recent activities, principally by the
Evaluation Committee, (ii) a unanimous decision torecommend dissolution by the Executive Committee
in November 2018, (iii) endorsement by Bureau of the
Executive Committee recommendation to Council, in
its meeting in April 2019.
2. The Evaluation Committee (EvC) was tasked
by the Executive Committee in 2017 to examine thepast and current activities of CHEMRAWN, over recent
years. The EvC conducted an extensive review that
included many communications with the Chair of
CHEMRAWN. The EvC report presented to the Bureau
Meeting in Bratislava in April 2018. Further, complementary, information was requested and furnished in
September 2018.
3. The decision taken by the Executive Committee
in November 2018 was clearly stated in the letter fromthe IUPAC President and the Secretary General sent to
the CHEMRAWN chair and secretary on 6th December
2018, and which was answered by the chair in mid-January 2019, outwardly accepting the decision but withdisappointment. It was assumed that the CHEMRAWN

chair had circulated this letter to the members of thecommittee.
4. Prof. Sydnes’ article quotes sentences from the
President’s letter which can lead to the wrong conclusion, if it is not remembered that the situation in the
1970s was very different to that in the last 10-15 years.
In particular, to quote the first sentence: “CHEMRAWN
was founded in response to specific needs arisingfrom global responses to the challenges of sustainable
development.” In the 1970s, the importance of sustainable development was less recognised, whereas it is
now a guiding principle.
5. CHEMRAWN, like all our Division and Standing
Committees, is part of the standard IUPAC presentations, which are used by the IUPAC President, Vice
President and other officers, and by the IUPAC representative in IUPAC-endorsed conferences. It is notcorrect to imply that CHEMRAWN has been systematically ignored, just because it has not been mentioned
in two instances.
Chemistry faces many challenges, and theSustainable Development Goals are central to thecurrent strategy of IUPAC and are highly relevant for
the whole organisation. Each of the Divisions andCommittees has an important role to play. The only
issue is how best to achieve these goals in a dynamic
organisation. We are in the process of reviewing
IUPAC’s organizational structure and everybody is
invited to contribute in an effective and constructive
way to build a better IUPAC, so chemistry can keep
serving humankind and world needs.

IUPAC CHEMRAWN XXII: E-waste in Africa
Lagos, November 2021
ELECTRONIC WASTE MANAGEMENT—RECYCLING AND DISPOSAL
in partnership with the Chemical Society of Nigeria

26

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

IUPAC Wire

News and information on IUPAC, its fellows, and member
organizations.
See also www.iupac.org/news

Timothy Noel is awarded the 2020
IUPAC-ThalesNano Prize for Flow
ChemistryT

he 2020 IUPAC-ThalesNano prize for Flow
Chemistry has been awarded to Professor TimothyNoël of the University of Amsterdam’s Van ‘t Hoff
Institute for Molecular Sciences. The prize, consisting ofan award of USD"7500, honours outstanding contributions in the field of flow chemistry, microfluidics, micro
fabrication, and micro systems engineering.

The coveted prize was established by the HungarianTechnology company ThalesNano to acknowledge
the key role that flow chemistry plays towards the
improvement of chemical processes. It is awarded byan international jury under the auspices of IUPAC.
In 2020, the jury has chosen Professor TimothyNoël as the winner out of a list of highly respectablescientists, nominated and recommended by leading
scientists of the field. The jury comprised the chairof the IUPAC Committee on Chemistry and Industry(COCI), a representative of the Flow Chemistry Society,and three more international experts.
“Less than a decade ago, my team and I have challenged ourselves to expand the synthetic options fororganic chemists by embracing flow chemistry as theprime technology,” says Noël. “I’m very honoured bythis tremendous recognition from the community forthe research we are so passionate about. I want tothank all the people I worked with through the year.
I want them to see this award as their award as well.”Noël is one of the leaders in the field of flow
chemistry and, in the last decade, he has produced
creative scientific contributions at the interface ofchemistry and chemical engineering, pioneering novel
continuous-flow catalytic strategies and technologies

for organic synthesis. These tools have found a vivid
implementation in the pharmaceutical industry, overcoming synthetic challenges often encountered at thebench in a variety of applications. In 2011 Noël received
the Incentive Award for Young Researchers from the
Comité de Gestion du Bulletin des Sociétés Chimiques
Belges and he was a finalist of the European Young
Chemist Award in 2012. In that year he was also awarded
a VENI scholarship from the Dutch Science Foundation
NWO. In 2015, he obtained the prestigious VIDI award
from NWO. In 2016 Noël received the Thieme Chemistry
Journal Award, in 2017 the DECHEMA award and in 2019
the Hoogewerff Jongerenprijs. He has been the editor inchief of the Journal of Flow Chemistry since 2019.
The prize was to be presented to Timothy Noëlduring the 2021 Flow Chemistry Congress Conference
scheduled to take place in Boston (USA) in April but
recently postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Updated details of the award ceremony will beannounced later.
Previous awardees of the bi-annual prize were Prof.
Oliver Kappe (University of Graz, Austria) in 2018, Prof.
Volker Hessel (Eindhoven University of Technology;
currently University of Adelaide, AU) in 2016, Prof.
Steven V. Ley (University of Cambridge, UK) in 2014
and Prof. Klavs F. Jensen (MIT, USA) in 2012.

https://iupac.org/timothy-noel-is-awarded-the-2020-iupac-thalesnanoprize-for-flow-chemistry/Awardees of the IUPAC 2021
Distinguished Women in Chemistry or
Chemical EngineeringOn time to celebrate International Day of
Women and Girls in Science on February 11,
IUPAC announced the awardees of the IUPAC
2021 Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical
Engineering:
•
•
•
•
•

Professor Abeer Al Bawab, The University of
Jordan, Amman, Jordan
Professor Anne Andrews, University of California
in Los Angeles, CA, USA
Professor Mei-Hung Chiu, National Taiwan Normal
University, Taipei, China/Taipei
Professor Jingbo Liu, Texas A&M UniversityKingsville, Kingsville, TX, USA
Professor Katja Loos, University of Groningen,
Netherlands
Chemistry International

April-June 202127

Abeer Al Bawab, The
University of Jordan,
Amman, Jordan

Anne Andrews, Universityof California in Los Angeles,
CA, USA

Mei-Hung Chiu, National
Taiwan Normal University,
Taipei, China/Taipei

Jingbo Liu, Texas A&M
University-Kingsville,
Kingsville, TX, USA

Katja Loos, University ofGroningen, Netherlands

Marcy Towns, Purdue
University, West Lafayette,
IN, USA
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Professor Marcy Towns, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN, USA
Professor Françoise M. Winnik, University of
Helsinki, Finland
Professor Barbara Baird, Cornell University,
Ithaca, NY, USA
Dr. Rachel Mamlok-Naaman, The Weizmann
Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Professor Kyoko Nozaki, The University of Tokyo,
Japan
Professor Martina Stenzel, University of New
South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Professor Supawan Tantayanon, Chulalongkorn
University, Bangkok, Thailand

The awards program, initiated as part of the 2011
International Year of Chemistry celebrations, was created to acknowledge and promote the work of womenchemists/chemical engineers worldwide. Each year
since 2011, the award has gained more attention in thecommunity. These 12 awardees have been selected28

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

Françoise M. Winnik,
University of Helsinki,
Finland

Barbara Baird, Cornell
University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Rachel Mamlok-Naaman,
The Weizmann Institute of
Science, Rehovot, Israel

Kyoko Nozaki, The
University of Tokyo, Japan

Martina Stenzel, Universityof New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia

Supawan Tantayanon,
Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok, Thailand
based on excellence in basic or applied research, distinguished accomplishments in teaching or education,
or demonstrated leadership or managerial excellencein the chemical sciences. The Awards Committee has
been particularly interested in nominees with a historyof leadership and/or community service during theircareers. The awards will be made during the IUPAC
World Chemistry Congress to be held in August 2021.
Christopher Brett, President of IUPAC, commented:“The group of this year’s awardees comprises highly
worthy recipients from all over the world who have all
made a significant contribution to advancing the chemical and chemical engineering sciences. The award has
been the focus of increasing attention since its inception in 2011, the International Year of Chemistry, andthat we certainly plan to continue in the future.”
The International Day of Women and Girls in Scienceis a global day celebrating achievement and promoting
full and equal access to and participation in science forwomen and girls. The day marks a call to action for further achieve gender equality and the empowerment of

IUPAC Wire
women and girls. IUPAC also celebrated that day witha Global Breakfast event on Feb 9 and with the themeof “Empowering Diversity in Science.”https://iupac.org/iupac-2021-distinguished-women/

Huizhen Liu and Banothile Makhubela
have been awarded the 2020 IUPACCHEMRAWN VII for Green ChemistryHuizhen Liu (China) and Banothile Makhubela(South Africa) have been awarded the 2020
IUPAC-CHEMRAWN VII Award for Green
Chemistry in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the field of green chemistry.

Dr. Makhubela is a Senior Lecturer in the Departmentof Chemical Science at the University of Johannesburg
in South Africa. She has published over 35 publications in internationally reputable journals and has
been awarded two patents. Her research focuses on
aspects of conversion of greenhouse gases into valuable chemicals, conversion of bio-derived molecules
into chemicals and fuels as well as computational
approaches to elucidate how molecules interact witheach other. Makhubela performs research in the fieldof nano- and organometallic-catalysis directed towards
catalytic transformation of renewable bio-derived feedstocks. Her catalysts allow access to valuable chemicals,
fuels/fuel additives and smart materials prepared fromsustainable starting materials. In this area, her teamhas developed hexanuclear RuII4-ZnII2 complexes thatgave very high turnover frequencies for the hydrogenation of levulinic acid. She has already contributed in thearea of using bio-based materials for the production of
useful chemicals and in further bringing light into how
these reactions work at molecular level so as to aid precise and waste-less synthetic process in benign solvents
such as water, ionic liquid and deep eutectic solvents.
This work contributes to the sustainable development
goal of responsible production and consumption.
http://makhubelaresearchgroup.com/the-group.html
Dr. Huizhen Liu is a professor at the Institute ofChemistry of the Chinese Academy Sciences. She has
published 65 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Her work is focused on the transformation of CO2 andbiomass. She is especially well-known for her chemistry
in selective catalytic transformations of lignin. Biomass
is vital renewable feedstock and lignin is an importantcomponent. Lignocellulose is the most abundant formof biomass; cellulose is used to produce paper andmany other products. However, lignin is a very challenging material to convert and is often discarded aswaste. Most approaches aimed at converting lignin into
valuable chemicals and fuels focus on breaking it down
into low molecular weight compounds, which are further converted into useful products. Mixture was always
obtained for the transformation of lignin because of its
complex structure. Liu proposed a novel strategy for thetransformation of lignin, where methoxy group in lignin
was selectively transformed and acetic acid with highselectivity was prepared. She is able to perform thisresearch with different types of lignin including kraft
lignin and organosolv lignin. This work opens the way to
produce pure chemicals using lignin as the feedstocks.
The CHEMRAWN VII Prize was first announced inAugust 2008 and since, has been awarded every two
years at the IUPAC International Conference on Green
Chemistry. The Prize is granted to a young investigator (less than 45 years of age) from an emerging
region who is actively contributing to research inGreen Chemistry. The 2020 CHEMRAWN VII Prize
will be presented to Dr Makhubela and Dr Liu at the
9th IUPAC Conference on Green Chemistry that has
been postponed to 2022 due to the current COVID-19
pandemic. The IUPAC CHEMRAWN VII prize has previously been awarded to Noureddine Yassaa (Algeria)
in 2010, Rashimi Sanghi (India) in 2012, Vania G. Zuin
(Brazil) in 2014, Ali Maleki (Iran) in 2016, and Mirabbos
Hojamberdiev (Uzbekistan) in 2018.

https://iupac.org/what-we-do/awards/chemrawn-vii-prize/

The AsiaChem magazine is bornT

he newly born AsiaChem magazine echoes
the voice of the Federation of Asian Chemical
Societies (FACS). We believe that this biannual,
free-access magazine will attract worldwide attention
because it features cutting-edge science, history,
essays, interviews, and anything that would interesta broad readership within the chemical community.
All articles are authored by scientists who wereborn in Asian countries or actively working in Asia.
Accordingly, the inaugural issue represents eight FACS
countries, including Australia, China, India, Israel,
Jordan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey: https://www.
facs.website/november-2020
In his best-seller, Clash of Civilizations, SamuelHuntington argues that after the end of the Cold War,when the age of ideology had ended, the world had
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

29

IUPAC Wire
returned to a state ofaffairs
characterized
by cultural conflicts atthe cultural interfaces.
Huntington never sugString Theories:
Chemical Secrets ofgested that one culture
Italian Violins andhas an advantage over
Chinese Guqins
the others; rather thatall should be equallyrespected. By comparison to other regional
federations of chemicalsocieties, including theEuropean (EuChemS),
Latin American (FLAQ),
and African (FASC),the FACS represents the most diverse organization,
spanning seven different cultures: Buddhist, Chinese,
Hindu, Islamic, Japanese, Orthodox, and Western. This
enormous heterogeneity, which has created significant
challenges over the long Asian history, offers exciting
opportunities in our times.
The center of gravity of the global economy issteadily shifting to Asia, and so is the scientific activity. These trends position the FACS member societies
at a unique intersection with new opportunities andsignificant responsibilities. Asian countries notoriously known for brain-drain symptoms have become
increasingly attractive to their scientists. We witness
an increasing reverse flow of scientists who previously
preferred to develop their professional careers abroad.
Homeland culture, social awareness, and national
solidarity attract emigrant scientists and their descendants born and educated abroad. Nobel Prize Laureate
Yuan-Tseh Lee proposed replacing the term brain-drainwith the adequate notion of brain-circulation.
Most global challenges, including global warming,
food for everybody, the race for sustainable energy,
water quality, dwindling raw materials, and healthproblems, are chemical problems by nature. Therefore,
humankind cannot meet these challenges without thechemical sciences and will not solve any of these problems without global cooperation. Chemists have always
been doing much better than politicians in meetingthese challenges, working together across borders
through unique collaboration and friendship. Despite
fundamentally different political systems and cultural
diversity, chemists go beyond borders, find each other,share their findings, and solve problems together.
The global changes and the unique role of chemistry in meeting global challenges offer the IUPAC
November 2020 Volume 1 Issue 1

The official voice of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies› Water Harvesting from
Desert Air, p18

p10› Material Challenges
for Colloidal Quantum
Nanostructures in Next
Generation Displays, p26› Engineering Microbeswith Nanomaterials, p36› Interview: Yuan-Tseh Lee:
Brain Recycling, p56› Celebrating FACS 40th
Anniversary, p72

30

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

and regional federations, such as the FACS with newopportunities and significant responsibilities.
As the Communications Director at the FACS,
AsiaChem’s Editor-in-Chief, and a member of the IUPAC
Bureau, I am proud to help catalyze the unification andcooperation among multiple chemists’ communities ofvarious cultures. I’ll be grateful for receiving comments
and new ideas on how to improve the magazine.

Ehud Keinan <keinan@technion.ac.il>, Technion—Israel Institute ofTechnology and President, Israel Chemical Society
https://www.facs.website/asiachem-magazine

Not an Epilogue, but a Commencement!

You might recall
that in July 2019,
IUPAC published a
special issue of Chemistry
International on various
issues related to its history. This special issue
demonstrated at length
the challenges met in thepast by an international
scientific organization in aworld where geopoliticaland cultural contexts shiftconstantly, and in whichscience, and in particular the chemical sciences,evolves and grows, even as its role and responsibility
in a globalized society grows in parallel.
The experience and history of your NAO are equallyvaluable to complete the accounts of IUPAC and ofchemistry around the globe. As we look forward to
pursuing the historical work with the IUPAC community, we will welcome an opportunity to hear from you
and receive information and historical material (pictures, manuscripts, publications) that you might have.
IUPAC is seeking for your input! See survey fromhttps://iupac.org/not-an-epilogue/
Thanks in advance for your consideration and forcompleting this short survey online. If you have any
questions/suggestions, please do not hesitate to email
Brigitte van Tiggelen <vantiggelen@memosciences.be>.

https://iupac.org/not-an-epilogue/

Up for Discussion
Nomenclature vs. Terminology
by Bernardo Herold
IUPAC is best known for its publications on chemical
nomenclature. The results of more than a century’s
work on chemical nomenclature can be found in several of the so-called “Color Books.” However, not all“Color Books” deal only with nomenclature as its main
subject. One example is the “Gold Book” with the title“Compendium of Chemical Terminology.” But is therea difference between chemical nomenclature andchemical terminology, and if there is, are they mutually
exclusive, and how?
At first sight this seems to have the following
simple answer: chemical nomenclature is about how
to name chemical substances and terminology about
explaining the meaning of terms used in Chemistry.
When trying to draw an exact frontier between bothconcepts, one finds out, however, that the Devil is in
the details and that many chemists have their own
ideas about these details.
The first difficulty lies in defining very precisely
the term chemical nomenclature, whereas defining
chemical terminology is much simpler. Terminology is
indeed a much broader concept, sometimes definedin dictionaries as being “the body of terms used witha particular technical application in a subject of study,
profession, etc.” and “terms” being “words or phrases
used to describe a thing or to express a concept, especially in a particular language or branch of study.” One
may add that a term may also be used to label a category into which one can place anything that fits thecriteria defining that category.
With nomenclature, the question is much more
complex. In most dictionaries the entry “nomenclature” is defined as “names of any material object andother things,” and beyond that, even persons.
In Chemistry’s case this would also include
devices, tools, apparatus, instruments, etc.. However,most chemists do not consider these items to beunder chemical nomenclature, but rather chemicalterminology.
If we accept the above definition of chemical
nomenclature as “how to name chemical substances”
we are excluding as a logical consequence, the names
themselves singly or as a group. They are not chemical nomenclature but the product of its application.
It would then be better to classify the names underchemical terminology.
This is however quite different to what is done inother branches of Science. The term nomenclatureappears to have been used for the first time in Botany
and Zoology, where it refers to names of species andtheir genus, based on the system created by Linnaeus.
In this case the names are part of nomenclature, but
not so in Chemistry.
But is it possible to accept without any restriction
the definition of chemical nomenclature as “how toname chemical substances”? This would mean thatwhatever the procedure to name a chemical substanceis used, it would be called “chemical nomenclature.”
This is not accepted by the majority of the Chemistrycommunity. Therefore, a more restrictive definition ofchemical nomenclature is needed. One might expect
to find such a definition in one of IUPAC’s Color Books.
This is not the case. There is indeed no entry in the Gold
Book for the term “nomenclature.” Wikipedia, however,fills the gap with the following definition: “A chemical
nomenclature is a set of rules to generate systematicnames for chemical compounds.” It is however puzzling that instead of defining “chemical nomenclature”
it defines “a chemical nomenclature.” The difference issubtle, but it is there.
Some chemists are quite happy with this definition.
One colleague suggested to add “the name given to
the study and application of these rules.” Sticking tothese definitions would improve clarity and order in theway chemists communicate with each other when dealing with matters concerning chemical nomenclature.
But is it acceptable and necessary to restrict themeaning of the term nomenclature to such an extent?
If one considers only Inorganic Nomenclature, there isindeed no contradiction between this definition andthe recommendations of the Red Book’s 2005 edition“Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry.” There, therules are exclusively about systematic nomenclature.
The only names mentioned in the book which are
non-systematic (if we disregard exceptions like waterand ammonia) are mineral names. These are however
explicitly excluded from chemical nomenclature by the
Red Book, by saying that they “should be only used todesignate actual minerals and not to define chemicalcomposition.”
Regarding Organic Nomenclature, the situation is
however quite different, because many recommended
names are non-systematic.
Let us see in the first place how the term “systematic name” is defined.
The “Blue Book,” “Nomenclature of Organic
Chemistry” in its 2013 edition defines “systematicname” in a slightly circular way as “a name composed
entirely of specially coined or selected syllables withor without numerical prefixes and other structural
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

31

Up for Discussion
symbols and constructed following the rules of asystematic nomenclature, for example; cyclopropanecarbonitrile and 2-chloroethan-1-ol.” Obviously, there isa logical flaw in using the term “systematic” both in theterm, which is being defined as well as in its definition.
The ipsis verbis adoption of this definition would lead
us to the conclusion that a systematic name is a namegenerated by systematic nomenclature, which does
not help very much. What is missing in this definition is
to say that systematic names and systematic nomenclature are based on the composition and structure(connectivity and spatial arrangement of atoms). The
same book recommends however, not only systematicnames, but in many cases the use of so-called trivialnames, which are defined as “a name no part of which
is used in a systematic sense, for example xanthophyll.”
The same book also gives the following definition:“Semi-systematic name or semi-trivial name. A namein which only a part is used in a systematic sense, forexample, methane, but-2-ene, and chalcone.” In thenomenclature of natural products many trivial names
are retained. For example, the list of so-called “fundamental stereoparents” in Chapter 10 of the New Blue
Book contains more than a hundred trivial names andbeing “nonlimiting,” especially for compounds whose
structures are not yet well known, can be expanded at
any time. These trivial names can be used as a basis
to construct semi-systematic names for derivatives ofthese stereo-parents.
Since Organic nomenclature does not deal exclusively with generating systematic names, the definition
in Wikipedia cannot be taken too literally. A broader
definition is therefore needed. But can it be as broadas including everything which can be or has been donein order to name chemical substances? For somebody
who looks up in a dictionary the meaning of nomenclature in general and for whom “chemical” means just“referring to Chemistry” this could be argued, but inpractice the term “chemical nomenclature” is not usedin such a broad sense. This is exemplified by excludingfrom chemical nomenclature the naming of pharmaceutically active ingredients by WHO World HealthOrganization by assigning them INNs (International
Non-Proprietary Names), in spite of the ingredients to
be named being chemical substances. Although theyalso have some kind of system for that purpose, it is notbased on composition or structure of the substances.
The aim of the present essay is however not to
discuss or propose an improved definition of chemical

32

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

nomenclature, but to draw the line between chemical
nomenclature and terminology.
There is no doubt that chemical terms, being“words or phrases used to describe a thing, a categoryof things or to express a concept within the domain
of Chemistry,” encompass many words or phrases,
which are not covered by chemical nomenclature.
They may refer to material objects as well as to theircharacteristics, their properties or their components,
as well as physical and chemical phenomena, chemical
substances and their classes, devices such as laboratory equipment, analytical methods and instruments
thereof, theoretical concepts, etc., all concerning
Chemistry.
The names of chemical substances are not excluded
explicitly from chemical terminology. Chemical nomenclature may therefore be considered as being a special
branch of chemical terminology. In short: many terms
used in Chemistry are not part of chemical nomenclature but all names that are the product of chemical
nomenclature are also part of chemical terminology.
However, when some chemists speak loosely aboutchemical terminology, they exclude chemical nomenclature, which should not be done.
To complicate things further the “Orange Book’s”
title is quite misleading. Although the title is “Analytical
Nomenclature,” the book does not deal with chemical
nomenclature at all. This can be easily verified, by scanning through the alphabetical “Index of Terms”, whichmakes up the last 124 pages of its 3rd edition. Among
its almost 6000 entries, names of chemical substances
and the term “nomenclature” are nowhere to be seen.
The title would perhaps be less misleading if it were“Terminology of Chemical Analysis” or something similar. It is not my intention to propose changing the titleof the “Orange Book” because, in my opinion, no harmis caused by keeping its traditional name.
I do hope however, that the present contribution
helps to clarify this complicated matter for some puzzled readers.

Professor Bernardo Herold is a member of the Centre for Structural
Chemistry of the University of Lisbon and a member of the Lisbon Academyof Sciences. He has been a member of IUPAC for about 30 years. In 1991, hebecame a member and later the secretary of Commission III.1 on Organic
Nomenclature. From 2002 to 2011, he served as secretary of the ICTNSInterdivisional Committee on Terminology, Nomenclature and Symbols.
Since 2002, he has been a member of the Advisory Subcommittee ofDivision VIII Nomenclature and Structure Representation.

Up for Discussion
A Path to Entrepreneurial Education
by Joseph A. Martino III, James K. Murray, Jr., James
Skinner, and Mukund S. Chorghade
In conversations with independent consultants andCEOs of successful small and mid-sized businesses,
entrepreneurship is accessible to anyone, and anyone
can do it.
Dr. Robert Hormann, a consultant in the chemicaland pharmaceutical industry, defines entrepreneurshipas “…first and foremost, fulfilling a need in society bysolving someone else’s problem and/or engenderingjoy. This goal is pursued through initiative, creativity,
and resourcefulness by forming a new organization
guided by economic considerations.” 1
Hence the question: Why is Entrepreneurship so
difficult?

The Foundations to Entrepreneurship—
A Pyramid, But Not a Scheme
The best way to look at an entrepreneurial approachis to view it as a pyramid:

All careers begin with a foundation. From an industrial perspective, the early career experience forms thebasis for an entire career. This must be coupled withthe education received at a college or university. As
one advances through their career through the midand senior levels, one gains experience which builds
upon their education. During the mid- and senior level,
one’s professional network grows, which allows theindividual to effectively engage the chemical professional. Capitalizing on this engagement piece is criticalto entrepreneurship. However, key to its effectivenessis the educational and experiential foundations fromwhich it is built upon. These are gained in tandem withthe career ladder. A question now becomes how tomake this process more efficient to promote effective
entrepreneurship.
1.

Education
The traditional chemistry curriculum, at both theundergraduate and graduate levels, is focused on
preparing students for their career as a chemist. This
includes the necessary course work for preparing laboratory capable chemists who can secure meaningfulemployment in an industry or government laboratory
or undertake graduate studies. This approach has beensuccessful for many years. As time moves forward andtechnological advances are occurring at a lightningpace, revisions to this paradigm are beginning to takehold. One is now hearing the term “non-laboratory”
positions for chemists; those that may involve only aminimal amount of laboratory work.
There are several widely recognized positions thatchemists hold that can be thought of as “non-laboratory.” These include patent law, scientific writing, sales
and marketing, and chemical sector business analysis, to mention a few. One area which appears to belacking is that of chemical entrepreneurship. There areexamples of companies being built from the research
efforts of faculty members. There are also companies
that have been started by those who may have been
affected by a downsizing or merger and acquisition.
The scenario that is seen much less is a company thatwas started by an early career chemist, a person with atrue entrepreneurial spirit.
Chemical entrepreneurship is a legitimate andviable career option for chemists that needs to be
introduced early in the career of a chemist. There arethose students who are incredibly skilled and dedicated chemists but have the desire to do somethingother than strictly laboratory work. They have ideas,
see the bigger picture, and see a need in society thatcan be filled. If students are made aware of this as a
viable career option, they can be mentored as to whattypes of courses, in addition to chemistry, that theyneed to take. Topics such as business plans, marketingand communications strategies, business operations
and management, and avenues for securing capitalare all part of what takes ideas from the mind, to thebench, to the market.
Students desiring this type of career path can bedirected toward internship and mentoring opportunities that would allow them to explore this firsthand.
Certain aspects of the chemistry curriculum could be
adapted to allow students to explore entrepreneurship. These are all aspects that can be included in the
education of chemists, but they need to know that thisis an option earlier in their careers, not later.

Email correspondence from Dr. Robert Hormann to Joseph A. Martino III, October 12, 2020.
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

33

Up for Discussiontech transfer presence merely to compete with otheruniversities that do. Smaller universities tend to utilize
the resources of in-house general counsel as their techtransfer office due to a lack of resources for a fully
staffed operation. Other universities establish a techtransfer group to satisfy federal grant requirements
upon becoming recipients of such funding. As a result,a hodge-podge of entrepreneurial education at thegraduate student, post-doctoral and tenure-tracked
professor level results. Furthermore, since this track islimited to the student population, experienced professionals do not have access to such expertise.
Tech transfer processes can be improved two ways:• A standardization of tech transfer operations
among large universities• The establishment of a tech transfer entity—an
independent clearing house—to assist mid- andsenior-level entrepreneurs with the marketing ofnovel intellectual property and entrepreneurial
set-upA Proposal for Entrepreneurial Education
The goal here is to design ways of introducing
students to chemical entrepreneurship. This can bedone by additions to existing curricula, outreach, andmentoring. The material presented will provide thefoundation on which the educational aspects can be
developed, implemented, and assessed.

Tech Transfer
One way to make the process of entrepreneurial
education and experience acquisition more effective isthe tech transfer capabilities of an exceptionally large
research university. The concept is this: A primary
investigator develops novel technology in their researchlaboratory. This technology is then patented to protect
its intellectual property. The tech transfer office at theuniversity has in-house expertise to assist the primary
investigator in either utilizing this novel intellectual property to form a start-up company that is affiliated with theuniversity, or otherwise licensing the technology to othercompanies seeking such a technological application.
One of the limitations of the tech transfer process
is that since it is located within the confines of the university setting, its services and expertise are restricted
to the specific university community that it serves.
Such services are not necessarily open to the public.
Furthermore, there is no consistent tech transfer service across universities. Some tech transfer operations
are extraordinary, while other universities either do
not have the local or in-house expertise to pursue aneffective tech transfer office or otherwise establish a34

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

We are proposing a three-tiered approach forentrepreneurial education. Any chemist at any level
could participate in this endeavor for their own educational purposes. However, the program is geared for
graduating doctoral students, finishing post-doctoral
associates and experienced professionals who are
exploring entrepreneurship as a legitimate and viable
career path. The tiers are as follows:• A general overview• A practice “shark tank” environment withfeedback• A concierge service where entrepreneurs can findthe resources and support that they need to start
their own business
Tiers 1 and 2 would serve as milestone workshops,
where budding entrepreneurs would determine
whether or not they would move forward in entrepreneurship to the next tier. Tier 3 is where the budding
entrepreneur has complete ownership and responsibility for their business, and this tier serves as a resource
for support as well as a venue for networking.
TIER 1: GENERAL OVERVIEWThis general overview would consist of a workshop where the basic concepts of entrepreneurshipare covered. This would be followed by testimonials
from successful entrepreneurs as to what it takes tobecome one. Based on the information provided, thebudding entrepreneur can either continue to the next

Up for Discussiontier or decide that entrepreneurship is not for them. If
entrepreneurship is not an appropriate path, the workshop may provide ideas for these individuals in termsof what Stamps
they want toInternational
explore in their own career path.

resource of legal, tax and human resources advisors
as well as venture capitalists, angel investors andindustrial real estate brokers who can work with entrepreneurs to make their business vision a reality.

shows a portrait of MenTIER
2: PRACTICE “SHARK TANK”
deleev and the chemical
Likesymbols
the popular
television show, this tier wouldof mendelevium,
allow budding
entrepreneurs
zinc, copper, helium, argon, to pitch their businessidea toandreal-world
ventureothercapitalists, angel investors
xenon, among
elements.
In turn, the one
and other
representativesof funding agencies forfrom Moldova includes areal-time
feedback as to whether or not their idea has
picture of a Rubik’s cube
business
potential. The feedback could be utilized towith different elemental
confirmsymbols
the businesspotentialof appealing
their ideas,
providein each ofits faces, antributeto theconstructive
makea legitimate
busiperiodic feedback
table since itto
solvedthe puzzleof organizingthechemicalness idea
moreelements!
marketable to investors and funding
Last
not least, Hungary
and Bulgaria also released
sources, or
tobut
determinethat entrepreneurshipis notIYPT stamps, on June 3 and 24, respectively. Both presfor them.
If
itisdeterminedthat
entrepreneurshipisent images of Mendeleev and different versions of the
not viable,
constructive
feedback
is
given
so
that
the
periodic table. Whereas the Hungarian stamp includes
individual
canillustration
make a ofsatisfying
careerchoicea small
Mendeleev’s
original(1869)based
manuscriptideas.
of the periodic table, the Bulgarian one displays inupon their

Conclusion

the foreground the symbols of all the elements, from hydrogen to oganesson.

TIER 3: CONCIERGE SERVICE
For this tier, the budding entrepreneur has fullycommitted to entrepreneurship. This tier provides a

For too long, entrepreneurship has been underutilized as a legitimate career path. In our ever-changing
economy, it is now clear that entrepreneurship as viable career path for a chemist should be re-explored ina clear, stepwise fashion. Our hope is that our proposal
allows adventuresome chemists with a passion for scienceand with
a way toissue
succeed in
It remains
to an
be ambitious
seen which vision
other countries
makinga reality.
stampsto theirhonorvision
the sesquicentennialof the periodic table later
this year. And I have to
if sometheComments/feedback
arewonder
invitedandofshouldbeother
anniversaries
taking placein 2019, suchsent chemistry
to Mukund
S. Chorghade<mukundchorghade@as the centennials of IUPAC or Primo Levi’s birth, or perfas.harvard.edu>.
haps the discovery of phosphorus 350 years ago, will also
be publicly acknowledged with the release of postage
stamps. In the meantime, to all chemophiles and periodic
Josephenthusiasts
A. Martinoout
III, there,is fromhappy
the American
Chemical Society. James
table
IYPT!

K. Murray, Jr. is from the Department of Natural Sciences, Immaculata

Writtenby DanielJames
Rabinovich<drabinov@uncc.edu>.
University,
Skinner
is from Terregena, Inc., and Mukund S. Chorghade

is from THINQ Pharma.

SHOP
iupac.org/shop

3

Chemistry International

March-April 2016

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

35

Project Place

Information about new, current, and complete
IUPAC projects and related initiatives.
See also www.iupac.org/projects

Stakeholders’ Thoughts on the Futureof IUPAC
Update on the IUPAC Organizational Structure Review
projectby Lori Ferrins, Ito Chao, and Mark Cesa
The IUPAC Organizational Structure Review group(hereafter referred to as the Review Group) was established in 2019 following approval from the Council
to assess whether IUPAC needed to evolve in orderto ensure its relevance to the scientific community
given the pressing challenges that we face (https://doi.org/10.1515/ci-2020-0205). The Review Group waschaired by Mark Cesa (USA, former IUPAC President
and current member of the Finance Committee) andincluded Ito Chao (China/Taipei), Michael Droescher(Germany, former chair of COCI), Lori Ferrins (Australia,
Chair of International Younger Chemists Network), andZhigang Shuai (China/Beijing), and ex officio Javier
Garcia-Martinez (Spain, IUPAC Vice President). To
assess thoughts of IUPAC’s stakeholders, the Review
Group circulated a survey asking respondents to talkabout the scientific work of the Union, its structure,and its financial situation. The survey was circulated
to those who attended the IUPAC Council meetingin 2019, Associated Organizations, Bureau members,Company Associates, Division members, National
Adhering Organization (NAO) and Associate National
Adhering Organization (ANAO) representatives,project task group chairs and members, Standing
Committee members, and Commissions. In total it wassent to 1724 unique respondents, and 447 responses
were received. NAOs were invited to submit responses
to the survey holistically to assure that their views,
in addition to those of individual stakeholders, wereconsidered. The views of the NAOs and the individual
stakeholders were in general agreement and, as such,
have been considered together.

The major objective of the survey was to understand the perceived impact and scope of the Union’s
activities from stakeholders’ perspectives. We in the
Review Group sought to understand stakeholders’perceptions of activities such as setting and recommending standards, identifying and sharing emerging
technologies, building capacity worldwide, publishing, endorsing scientific meetings, and recognizing
scientific contributions and expertise, and whether
respondents felt that each activity was somethingunique to IUPAC. Respondents were asked to look to
the future and describe which areas IUPAC should befocusing on, and how the Union could adapt to theevolving needs of the scientific community. We also
wanted to understand the perceived benefits of IUPAC
membership, and how IUPAC could better engage with
scientific societies and with industry. From a structureand financial perspective we sought to understand how
IUPAC could better serve all its stakeholders, whether
the current organizational structure was sufficiently
agile to adapt to the changing times, and whether andhow the Union should restructure to ensure that it ismore responsive moving forward.
Respondents to the survey spanned 61 countries,
and the overwhelming majority came from academia(64 %) with responses also coming from industry,
government, NPO/NGO, students, and retirees (seeFigure 1). Most responses were submitted by people
aged 46-65, with 73 % of respondents men, 24 %women, and a small number who choose not to identify. Anecdotally, this appears to be consistent with thedemographic of the volunteers that work with IUPAC.
The breadth of stakeholders invited to respond to
the survey meant that some respondents may not be
as aware of IUPAC’s work as others. This may explain
why some respondents recommended that IUPAC domore in some areas where it is already working well.
Respondents reported, unsurprisingly, that IUPAC
is known internationally for being a leader in defining

Academia
Retired Academia
Industry
Under 25

Government

25-45

Retired Industry
or Government

46-65
66-75

Student

over 75

NGO/NPO

N/A

Other

Figure 1. Demographics of the IUPAC Structure Review Group survey.

36

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

nomenclature, terminology, and symbols across thechemical sciences, and they acknowledged that this is auniquely important activity and one of the Union’s mostvaluable contributions. Setting and recommending otherstandards were also seen by many to be another uniquefeature of the Union. Respondents also highlighted theidentification and sharing of key chemical technologies,
building capacity worldwide, providing networking
opportunities and catalyzing the formation of interdisciplinary collaborations as other valuable roles. Figure 2
summarizes the distribution of responses.
An important question asked in this survey was,
“Does IUPAC need to change its structural organization?” While a large proportion (27 %) of people felt
“ill-equipped” to answer this question, most respondents believed that the overall structure of IUPAC does
not need to change (see Figure 3). However, arounda third of respondents believe IUPAC should change
its organizational structure, and interestingly, this percentage is greater among those who have been more
involved (at higher levels) with IUPAC and are morefamiliar with the workings of the Union.
In terms of the scientific organization of the Union,
there were several recommendations from respondents
about which areas are missing from within IUPAC: forexample, computational chemistry, materials science,and chemical engineering. Many also felt that IUPAC
needs to refocus back to its “core” activities, particularly those that are unique to the union (including
nomenclature, terminology, and standards). Whilethese two ideas may seem contradictory, the Review
Group believes that these goals can be accomplishedby creating a structure of the Union that takes bothcore activities and emerging areas of science into
account and promoting inter-divisional and inter-committee interactions.
The responsiveness of IUPAC to the rapidly changing
scientific environment was a concern for respondents.
Just over half of the respondents indicated that IUPAC
is only somewhat responsive (45 %), or not responsive(6 %) to the changing world. Other scientific organizations have embraced the use of technology during the
pandemic; running webinars and increasing their use ofsocial media to deliver verified information, and better
adapting to the current climate. This aligns well withmany respondents who indicated that IUPAC should
embrace technologies such as webinars, online voting,use of artificial intelligence, making color books digitally available, and open publishing. In addition, many
people mentioned that IUPAC needs to incorporate
these into the scientific work of the Union by looking
at digital data standards, artificial intelligence, online
streaming (lectures and laboratories), computational
chemistry, deep learning, and open data.
When asked whether IUPAC should be a hub for
information from and for NAOs, 76 % of respondents
felt that IUPAC should fulfill this role. Sharing thisinformation via the IUPAC website would ultimately
improve the international visibility and relevance of
the Union, though this would only be achieved throughFigure 2. How the respondents valued the various activities that IUPAC performs.

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

37

Project Place

Figure 3. Comparison of responses to the question “Does IUPAC need to change its structural organization?” between those
with, and without, prior involvement with IUPAC.

close collaboration with the NAOs and other scientificorganizations. Several respondents called for IUPAC
to increase its collaboration with major scientificorganizations and some acknowledged that the current organizational structure may pose challenges for
IUPAC to adapt to this rapidly changing world.
While most respondents were satisfied with the
project system, there was concern among someabout funding to cover the array of projects. Some
respondents also would like to see projects managed
effectively so that more projects are completed in atimely fashion.
Respondents had several ideas regarding how todecrease the operational costs of IUPAC, and how to
go about raising additional revenue. Moving to online
meetings, embracing the use of technology, setting of
the Secretariat, and changing the organizational structure and project system were all suggested as ways toreduce costs. Respondents typically highlighted many ofthe efforts that the Secretariat and officers are already
implementing to increase revenue (such as the endowment fund, or the IUPAC shop), though there were alsosuggestions to expand opportunities to bring back workshop offerings, hire a marketing manager, and expanding/promoting the membership offerings. Additionally,
respondents believed that involving more industrial
scientists in divisions and task forces and increasing communication with industry about the services and benefits
that IUPAC offers to the community and the individual(e.g. the Company Associates program) would increase
the revenue generated for the Union.
When asked for specific suggestions about how
IUPAC could better serve its current members andvolunteers, responses broadly fell into the following
categories:• Engagement/Assistance/Activities—provide/
organize workshops, meetings, conferences,38

Chemistry International

April-June 2021••

etc.; invite volunteers to Division and Standing
Committee meetings (including provision of
travel support); increase number of volunteers
from developing countries; be involved in science
policy development.
Information/Communication—create an historicalarchive of IUPAC activities; develop newsletters;
create awareness of activities amongst the NAOs
and the broader scientific community.
Recognition—provide certificates for service;provide support to enable participation in union
activities (including funding to attend meetings).

In summary, there were several common trends
amongst the responses to the survey. IUPAC should:
1. be more responsive, adjusting priorities in
response to the rapidly changing scientific environment and culture;
2. remain focused on the core activities of IUPAC;
3. embrace technology in the day-to-day operationof the Union;
4. promote social equity and diversity in the chemistry community (this also needs to be reflected in
the structure of the Union as a whole). There wasan emphasis in the respondent’s comments about
having a formal younger chemists’ program;
5. increase the visibility of the Union such that
we can recruit top chemists to contribute to its
activities; and6. be more communicative—this applies to all
facets of IUPAC’zs business, increasing communication with NAOs, Associated Organizations, andmembers.
The Review Group found the results of the survey
valuable in preparing its report on the organizational
structure of IUPAC. Respondents’ comments andProject Placesuggestions helped inform the Review Group’s recommendations on the governance and scientific structuresof the Union. A report has been submitted to the IUPAC
Executive Committee and Bureau for review and consideration in advance of the 2021 Council meeting. The
Review Group hopes that the recommendations will
help the Union become more flexible, facilitate better
decision making, and make it more responsive in these
rapidly changing times.

For more information and comments, contact Task Group Chair Mark Cesa
<markcesa@comcast.net> | https://iupac.org/project/2020-007-1-020

A Database of Chemical Structuresand Identifiers Used in the Controlof WADA Prohibited Substances
WADA’s role is to help regulate doping internationallyworking with international sports federations and governments. The list of regulated substances is publishedannually (https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/
the-prohibited-list), with substances listed in sub-categories (e.g. stimulants and anabolic agents) with their“common” names, for instance fenproporex, anastrozol.
WADA laboratories are expected to report the namesof such detected substances and/or their metabolites
to their local regulatory bodies and partner laboratories
alike. Although this is straightforward for substances
specifically named on the Prohibited List, there is often
inconsistency or lack of clarity for non-named substances that are still prohibited as “other substanceswith a similar chemical structure or similar biologicaleffect(s)” under the rules. This may generate confusion
and mistakes with respect to the nomenclature usedduring reporting procedures. There is a clear need inproviding unambiguous compound identification andguidance to the anti-doping community.
This project will provide the antidoping community
with a common language—guided by IUPAC experts—
for the identification and reporting of doping substancesacross and beyond WADA-accredited laboratories. A
IUPAC Technical Report will be published with theseoutcomes. This will be achieved via a compilation of the
WADA Prohibited List of substances in the form of a set/
database of chemical structures with WADA (common)names, their InChI and InChI Keys and other relevant
identifiers. In addition to the regulated substances itself,
it is important to include the key metabolites used in thespecific identification procedures.
The intended database will be made available assupplementary material for the Technical Report for

further dissemination. The database will be maintainedby the authors for three years after the completion of
the project or earlier if taken up by WADA, GlobalDRO(the online drugs information system for sport) orother competent body such as the Partnership for
Clean Competition. The anti-doping community will
therefore be equipped with a worldwide homogenous
language code to report and disseminate doping
cases with partner laboratories and regulatory bodies
alike. Such a project will enhance the importance of
already recognised IUPAC tools in anti-doping, providing a worldwide universal language to the intended
stakeholders.

For more information and comments, contact Task Group Chair
Vincenzo Abbate <vincenzo.abbate@kcl.ac.uk> | https://iupac.org/project/2020-017-2-700

Examples of the Introduction of
Sustainable Development andGreen Industrial Processes for
Secondary School Chemistry andIntroductory Chemistry
In secondary education, as well as in introductory
chemistry courses in higher education, more and more
attention is being given to the principles of green
chemistry, as well as the ideas of sustainable development. This includes design principles like “cradle tocradle” and “cradle to grave,” as well as life cycle analysis. The general ideas are not that difficult to grasp,
but concrete examples about the way these principles
are used in industry are not readily available, apartfrom two examples, adipic acid production and aspirin
production.
In close cooperation between three standing committees, the Committee on Chemistry and Industry(COCI), the Committee on Chemistry Education(CCE), and the Committee on Chemical Research forApplied Applied World Needs (CHEMRAWN), as wellas the Chemistry and the Environment Division and theChemistry and Human Health Division, members will
work together on describing ten industrial processes inwhich Green Chemistry and Sustainable Development
principles have played a major role in the final designof the process. Chemistry Teacher International willbe the ideal platform to share these descriptions withsecondary education.

For more information and comments, contact Task Group Chair Jan Apotheker< j.h.apotheker@rug.nl> | https://iupac.org/project/2020-019-4-050
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

39

Making
an imPACt
Hed
End-of-line hyphenation ofchemical names(IUPAC Recommendations 2020)
Albert J. Dijkstra, Karl-Heinz Hellwich, Richard M.
Hartshorn, Jan Reedijk, and Erik Szabo
Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2021
Volume 93, Issue 1, pp. 47-68
https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-1005
Chemical names can be so long that, when a manuscript is printed, they have to be hyphenated/divided
at the end of a line. Many names already containhyphens, but in some cases, using these hyphens as
end-of-line divisions can lead to illogical divisions inprint, as can also happen when hyphens are added
arbitrarily without considering the ‘chemical’ context.
The present document provides guidelines for authorsof chemical manuscripts, their publishers and editors,
on where to divide chemical names at the end of a line,
and instructions on how to avoid these names being
divided at illogical places. Readability and chemical
sense should prevail when authors insert hyphens.
The software used to convert electronic manuscripts
to print can now be programmed to avoid illogicalend-of-line hyphenation and thereby save the authormuch time and annoyance when proofreading. The
Recommendations also allow readers of the printed
article to determine which end-of-line hyphens are an
integral part of the name and should not be deleted
when ‘undividing’ the name. These Recommendations
may also prove useful in languages other than English.

Context and Example
When an article is about to be published, the author
sends the electronic manuscript to the publisher who
uses typesetting software to convert the manuscript
into print. This conversion may entail dividing chemicalnames at the end of a line. The typesetting software
used by the publisher, like the word processing software used by the authors, recognizes a hyphen as alocation where a word can be divided. So, a name suchas ‘1-methyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene’ may perhaps get
divided at the third hyphen in this name. However, thisdoes not make sense chemically. In chemical terminology, the ‘1,2’ locants are closely associated with the‘dihydro’. Just listen to yourself when you pronounce
the name. You stop after ‘1-methyl’ and again after‘1,2-dihydro’ and you pronounce ‘1,2-dihydro’ as if itwere a single word. There is, therefore, a need to prevent software from using existing hyphens, or inserting

40

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

Recent IUPAC technical reports andrecommendations that affect the many fields
of pure and applied chemistry.
See also www.iupac.org/what-we-do/journals/

new hyphens, to divide names at illogical places.
Actually, one can easily think of a few ‘dos anddon’ts’ that will exemplify the concepts illustrated in
the recommendation.
For example: ‘poly[(chloromethylene)/methylene]’can be divided as:
Undest eaque mincto eriatem quosam fugiam poly[(chloromethylene)/methylene]’ nonsequat quam, aut
or as:
Undest eaque mincto eriatem quosam poly[(chloromethylene)/methylene] fugiam nonsequat quam, aut
or as:
Undest eaque mincto poly[(chloromethylene)/methylene] eriatem quosam fugiam quam, aut
but not as
Undest eaque mincto eriatem quosam poly[(chloromethylene)/methylene]’ ugiam nonsequat quam
nor
Undest eaque mincto eriatem poly[(chloromethylene)/methylene] quosam fugiam quam, aut
nor
Undest eaque poly[(chloromethylene)/methylene] mincto eriatem quosam fugiam quam, aut

Following a series of definitions, this IUPAC
Recommendations reviews a general approach todividing chemical names at the end of a line, andprovides guidelines to dividing chemical names in achemically meaningful manner. It offers typesetting
practices and presents numerous examples, before
ending by reviewing the role of the author and that ofthe publisher/typesetter.

Chemical and biochemical thermodynamics reunification (IUPAC Technical
Report)Antonio Sabatini, Marco Borsari, Gerard P. Moss,
Stefano Iotti
Pure and Applied Chemistry, AOP 30 Nov 2020
https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0908
According to the 1994 IUBMB-IUPAC Joint Commission
on Biochemical Nomenclature (JCBN) on chemical andbiochemical reactions, two categories of thermodynamics, based on different concepts and different formalisms,
are established: (i) chemical thermodynamics, which
employ conventional thermodynamic potentials todeal with chemical reactions; and (ii) biochemical

thermodynamics, which employ transformed thermodynamic quantities to deal with biochemical reactions
based on the formalism proposed by Alberty. In thisreport, it is shown that the two worlds of chemical andbiochemical thermodynamics, which so far have beentreated separately, can be reunified within the same
thermodynamic framework. The thermodynamics ofchemical reactions, in which all species are explicitly
considered with their atoms and charge balanced, arecompared with the transformed thermodynamics generally used to treat biochemical reactions where atoms
and charges are not balanced. The transformed thermodynamic quantities suggested by Alberty are obtainedby a mathematical transformation of the usual thermodynamic quantities. The present analysis demonstrates
that the transformed values for ΔrG'0 and ΔrH '0 can beobtained directly, without performing any transformation, by simply writing the chemical reactions with all
the pseudoisomers explicitly included and the elements
and charges balanced. The appropriate procedures forcomputing the stoichiometric coefficients for the pseudoisomers are fully explained by means of an example
calculation for the biochemical ATP hydrolysis reaction. It is concluded that the analysis reunifies the “twoseparate worlds” of conventional thermodynamics andtransformed thermodynamics.

Vocabulary of radioanalytical methods(IUPAC Recommendations 2020)
Zhifang Chai, Amares Chatt, Peter Bode, Jan Kučera,Robert Greenberg, and David B. Hibbert
Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2021
Volume 93, Issue 1, pp. 69-111
https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0302
These recommendations are a vocabulary of basic
radioanalytical terms which are relevant to radioanalysis, nuclear analysis and related techniques.
Radioanalytical methods consider all nuclear-related
techniques for the characterization of materials where‘characterization’ refers to compositional (in termsof the identity and quantity of specified elements,
nuclides, and their chemical species) and structural(in terms of location, dislocation, etc. of specified elements, nuclides, and their species) analyses, involving
nuclear processes (nuclear reactions, nuclear radiations, etc.), nuclear techniques (reactors, accelerators,
radiation detectors, etc.), and nuclear effects (hyperfine interactions, etc.). In the present compilation, basic
radioanalytical terms are included which are relevant toradioanalysis, nuclear analysis and related techniques.

IUPAC Provisional Recommendations
Provisional Recommendations are preliminary drafts of IUPAC recommendations. These drafts encompass topics
including terminology, nomenclature, and symbols. Following approval, the final recommendations are published
in IUPAC’s journal Pure and Applied Chemistry (PAC) or in IUPAC books. During the commentary period for
Provisional Recommendations, interested parties are encouraged to suggest revisions to the recommendation’s
author. https://iupac.org/recommendations/under-review-by-the-public/

Henry’s law constants
Henry’s law states that the abundance of a volatile solute dissolved in a liquid is proportional to its
abundance in the gas phase. It applies at equilibrium
and in the limit of infinite dilution of the solute. For historical reasons, numerous different definitions, names,and symbols are used in the literature to express the
proportionality coefficient, denoted the “Henry’s law
constant.” Here, a consistent set of recommendations

is presented. An important distinction is madebetween two new recommended reciprocal quantities“Henry’s law solubility constant” (Hs) and “Henry’s law
volatility constant” (Hv). Eight recommended variantsof Hs and Hv are described and relations among thempresented.
Comments by 31 May 2021
Corresponding Author: Rolf Sander <rolf.sander@
mpic.de>Chemistry International

April-June 2021

41

Bookworm

Books and publications hot off the press.
See also www.iupac.org/what-we-do

The Periodic System: The (Multiple)
Values of an Icon

The Official Journalof the European Society
for the History of Science

Special Issue

Centaurus Special Issue, Volume 61, Issue 4,
November 2019
First published online 25 May 2020

The Periodic System:
The (Multiple) Valuesof an Icon
Guest Editors: Annette Lykknes & Brigitte Van Tiggelen

reviewed by Annette Lykknes and Brigitte Van
Tiggelen, Guest editors of the special issue
2019 was named the International Year of the Periodic
Table, and rightly so. The periodic system is indeed
an icon of science, with an exceptional level of usage
around the world, as both a source of information and apedagogical tool, and a recognizable imprint in popular culture, beyond the scientific community. Since 1869
when Dmitri I. Mendeleev proposed his first version, theperiodic system has endured and developed, undergoing several additions, adjustments, revisions, andreinterpretations. Although many publications on thehistory and philosophy of the system have appeared
over the years, few of them deal with its underlying values aside from predictability, which is usually presented
as the main reason for its acceptance. In fact, the scientific community took several decades to endorse
the periodic system and use it as the embodiment ofchemical knowledge. In the special issue of Centaurus—
An international English language journal of the historyof science and its cultural aspects (volume 61- Issue4) published earlier this year, scholars from different
disciplines use the history of the periodic system todiscuss what the system signifies and has signified forscientists and teachers, as well as for philosophers andhistorians. Two contributions by Bernadette BensaudeVincent and Helge Kragh underline how the evolving
concept of chemical elements are tightly linked to theelaboration and expansion of the periodic system from
Mendeleev’s conceptual distinction between “element”
and “simple substance” to the status and inclusion of
manufactured superheavy nuclei in the process of constructing and expanding the periodic system.
Brigitte Van Tiggelen and Annette Lykknes stressthe resilience of the periodic system, by contrasting
different contemporary interpretations after radioactivity and the discovery of the neutron. Ann Robinson
describes the tensions arising in selecting “the best”
table for teaching purpose in the US scientific community, while Bettina Bock von Wülfingen analyzes
the inclusion of colors and their value as added layersof denotation and understanding. Karoliina Pulkkinenshows how mathematical expressions of periodicity
did not serve Mendeleev’s intention despite his claim

42

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

Centaurus
An International Journal of the History of Science and its Cultural Aspects
Volume 61

Number 4

November 2019wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cnt

that periodicity was a natural law. Chris Campbell
explores Charles Sanders Peirce’s concept of icons
applied to periodic tables.
By presenting different layers of underlying values
as they appear in the eyes of the users, these contributions aim to provide a richer understanding of theperiodic system, past and present, and the featuresthat explain its endurance over the last 150 years, andin the many years to come.

Special issue content
1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.
7.
8.

Annette Lykknes and Brigitte Van Tiggelen, ‘The
periodic system: The (multiple) values of an icon’
Bernadette Bensaude, Vincent, ‘Reconceptualizing
chemical elements through the construction of
the periodic system’
Chris Campbell, ‘The periodic table as an icon:
A perspective from the philosophy of Charles
Sanders Peirce’
Helge Kragh, ‘The periodic system and the ideaof a chemical element: From Mendeleev to superheavy elements’
Brigitte Van Tiggelen and Annette Lykknes, ‘A taleof resilience: The periodic table after radioactivity
and the discovery of the neutron’
Ann E. Robinson, ‘Chemical pedagogy and theperiodic system’
Bettina Bock von Wülfingen, ‘The periodic tableau: Form and colours in the first 100'years’
Karoliina Pulkkinen, ‘Values and periodicity:
Mendeleev’s reception of the equations of Mills,
Chicherin, and Vincent’

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/16000498/2019/61/4

The Periodic Table: Past, Present,
and Future
by Geoff Rayner-Canham, World Scientific Co,
Singapore (2020); ISBN 978-981-121-848-4
reviewed by Jan Reedijk
With the International Year of the Periodic Table justbehind us (www.iypt2019.org), it was a pleasure tolearn that a new book has appeared dealing with the
Periodic Table of chemical elements. In this case it
is a book focused on the chemistry of the chemicalelements, or more precisely on trends in the chemical properties of the elements of the periodic table.
In fact, the extended book titles could well have been
“The Periodic Table for Chemistry”, or “The Chemistrybehind the Periodic Table”, as the book is primarily
written to show chemical relationships between the
different chemical elements.
A specially composed periodic table on the front
cover of the book, visualizes in multicolor coding how
certain groups of elements are related chemically. As
a result, certain elements even occur in two different
positions of the periodic table! And also pseudo-elements, like ammonium and cyanide, are presented.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, this Periodic Table
ends at meitnerium, as from later elements not enoughis known about their chemical properties.
A logical question, that I also asked myself, is: Why
has another book on the Periodic Table been written?
We have already so many, and why do we need todescribe what Mendeleev devised over 150 years ago
and which is worldwide shown in classrooms and cover
pages of textbooks. But this is not just another book,as the author claims—and I do agree.
• There are many ways of organizing and grouping
the elements based on their chemical properties.
Some of these are generally seen as challenging,and they even may reveal philosophical thoughts.
The present book shows much more, however,and deals with intriguing questions, like:• What is the best position for hydrogen in the
Periodic Table? Left, Right, Center?
• Could it be that an element may occupy morethan one location on the periodic chart?
• Which elements are to be seen as the‘metalloids’?
• Why does vanadium behave so much like molybdenum, even in Mother Nature?
• Which elements should form Group 3 in the
Periodic Table?
• Does aluminum belong in Group 3, or does it
better fit in group 13?
• Why do silver(l) compounds resembling so
closely those of thallium(l)?
Indeed, many of such questions are dealt with in aclearly written way in this stimulating and innovative
book. The reader will quickly become interested in thesubject and will be taken on tour through this Periodic
Table in a very readable way, both for students andteachers.
The book comprises 14 chapters, starting withisotopes and nuclear patterns, including the longknown Ni-Co and Te-I anomalies in atomic weights,
and the additions of the latest new element additions(2016). From the 118 currently known elements, only
80 of them have at least one stable isotope. A second

Cover Figure of The Periodic Table: Past, Present, and Future; used with permission from the book author.

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

43

Bookworm
introductory chapter deals with electronegativities
and their discovery, but also with oxidation states
and relativistic effects, all properly documented withalmost 60 original references. As the author states:“the book is designed to make the many concepts ofelemental relationships become alive and stimulating,not boring and soporific.” It appears that the author
has been quite successful in that approach, and I trustthat students and chemistry teachers will find this agreat set of introductions.
In Chapter 3 the author discusses some old problems of locations of the elements, like the “First-Period
problems,” in particular dealing with the question:
Where should hydrogen be placed? Like some otherrecent textbook writers, the author defends the viewthat it should be central, as shown in the figure above.
Chapter 4 discusses in some detail “The Group 3
problem;” this case in fact is still very actual, also
within IUPAC; but in the end the author gives strong
arguments for the 15 lanthanoids and 15 actinoids, as
used in the current IUPAC Periodic Table, grouped
below the 7th row. [See CI January 2021]
Chapters 5 to 14 deal with topics based on thechemical properties of different elements and thesimilarities, even if placed in different positions of the
Periodic Table. Chapter 5 is the one on “categorizationsof the elements,” and it is interesting to note how theauthor discusses and classifies such groups as: Metals,
chemically week metals (amphoteric), non-metals,
metalloids, supermetals, refractory metals, noble metals, rare earth metals, superheavy elements and even
ephemeral elements (i.e. elements living very short, orless than a day).
Chapter 6 deals with isoelectronicity. Chapter
7 with main group elements (group and period patterns). This chapter is the largest one of the book; theauthor correctly concludes that periodic patterns andtrends are the fundamental basis of the periodic table.
The author makes clear that several limitations of periodicity exist, as illustrated by numerous examples.
In chapter 8 “Patterns among the transition metals” are discussed and the author shows that smooth
patterns, systematic trends and continuities are in factrare in this group of elements, and that their chemistry is largely unpredictable. In chapter 9 relationships
between groups are discussed, like it was originallydone in the “small form” of the periodic table, i.e.
before the international community moved to groups
1-18 30 years ago, based on IUPAC initiatives; see E.
Fluck, Pure Appl. Chem. 1988, 60, 431-436 (https://doi.
org/10.1351/pac198860030431).
Less common relationships between elements

44

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

(chapter 10) are perhaps the so-called “Knight’s
Moves”, i.e. two places to the right, and one place
down, like Ag to Tl and Zn to Sn. It is shown that Ag(I)and Tl(I), have quite similar chemical properties, andthe same holds for Zn(II) and Sn(II).
The last chapter deals with “pseudo-elements”, i.e.
combinations of elements that form ions that resemble
the halogen ions (e.g. cyanide, thiocyanate), or resemble alkali metal ions (ammonium).
The number of illustrations is good, and they areclear, albeit largely in black and white; perhaps morecolors could have been used for some figures. This
book is indeed unique and quite thought-provoking.
Looking backwards it is just a pity that it had notappeared in 2019 during the International Year of the
Periodic Table.
Nevertheless, this book is highly recommended forstudents, teachers, researchers and not only chemists!
Geologists, biochemist and also physicists will find itvery interesting to read.

https://worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/11775

EuroMedChemTalents
reviewed by Gerd Schnorrenber
The European Federation of Medicinal Chemistry(EFMC) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020. The
EFMC was founded to promote science in Medicinal
Chemistry and to support networking across European
countries and their Medicinal Chemistry Societies.
From the early days, EFMC and IUPAC worked
closely together, e.g. by organizing scientific congresses and educational events. Over the years EFMC
accompanied developments in Medicinal Chemistry,including changes in indicational focus, or the emergence of new therapeutic modalities and technologies.
The recent foundation of the Young Scientists
Network needs also to be acknowledged. It aims
to support early career researchers in Medicinal
Chemistry by stimulating networking and publishingof their results.
IUPAC congratulates EFMC and its representatives
for their significant and impactful achievements madeover half a century and looks forward to a continued
and fruitful collaboration in the future.
The impressive history of EFMC is reviewed ina special edition of ChemMedChem published in
December 2020, online at https://chemistry-europe.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1002/(ISSN)18607187.EuroMedChem-Talents.

Hed
Conference Call

Reports from recent conferences and symposia
See also www.iupac.org/events

Bioinspired and Biobased
Chemistry & Materials: N.I.C.E.
2020 hybrid
by Hernando S. Salapare III, Sonia Amigoni, Thierry
Darmanin, and Frédéric Guittard
The 5th International Conference on Bioinspired
and Biobased Chemistry & Materials (N.I.C.E. 2020
Conference) chaired by Frédéric Guittard of the
University of Côte d’Azur in France, was held concurrently at the Le Negresco Hotel in Nice, France andonline via the Zoom platform from 12–14 October 2020.
The aim of the N.I.C.E. conference series is to provide avenue to experts, researchers, managers, manufacturers,
and policy-makers from various countries and with different scientific backgrounds, for the exchange of ideas,
open discussion of current research problems, and thedevelopment of new ideas and collaborations aimed at
finding sustainable solutions to materials challenges
that will have an impact for generations. The event washeld jointly with the 2nd International Conference on
Optics, Photonics, and Materials, which was co-chairedby Stefania Residori and Umberto Bortolozzo, bothfrom the University of Côte d’Azur in France.

Topics
The three-day event featured 2 plenary, 48 oral-parallel, and 1 poster sessions. They were divided into 3
general topics, 10 chemistry and materials symposia,
and 5 optics and photonics symposia, namely:

General Sessions
NanoTech: nanostructured materials, polymer nanotechnologies, (anti)adhesive materials, mineralization,
nanocomposites, micro and nanofluidics, nanomanufacturing, nanochemistry, nanostructured devices,
nanoparticles, fluorinated materials, environment, andnanotechnologies in medicine
BioTech: green chemistry, tissue, biofouling,
membrane, biobased chemicals and materials, bioadhesion, water technologies, building blocks, (anti)
bioadhesion,
bioengineering,biomanufacturing,biocomposites, biomass, biodegradable polymers,
bioinspired catalysts, biosources for fuels, and polyethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate
SmartTech: functional polymers, self-healing,biosensors, renewable energies, stimuli responsive
materials (photochromic, ph-sensitive, thermochromic), interactive & autonomous materials, sensors,
batteries, solar cells, optical devices, polymer brushes,and electrodes

Chemistry and Materials Symposia
Nature-Inspired Dyes and Pigments and their
Applications: Focused on basic and applied studiesof the chemistry and photochemistry of dyes andpigments modelled on natural plant pigments, the relevance for a deeper understanding of the biologicalroles of the pigments and the potentiam for innovative
applications of natural and nature-inspired dyes andpigments. The symposium was chaired by Frank Quinaof the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
Spin Dynamics, Spin Migration, and Spin-Spin
Interactions in Chemistry and Biology: Covered topics on radical pair interactions in photosynthesis andartificial synthesis, methods for interrogating spinspin interactions, the chirality induced spin selectivity
effect, synthetic assemblies that control spin migrations, quantum coherence effects, spin transport, spin
teleportaton, and generating/controlling spin currents.
The symposium was chaired by Michael J. Therien ofDuke University.
Bioinspired Chemistry and Materials for Sustainable
Energy: Focused on key challenges pertinent to theimpacts from energy production and consumption on
the environment, the addressing of which requires not
only innovative technological developments, but also
unprecedented fundamental paradigms. The symposium was chaired by Valentine I. Vullev of University ofCalifornia, Riverside, USA.
Bionic Surfaces and Interfaces: The broad thematic
range of this symposium covered the recent challenges,
technologies, and research trends on new biomimetic
functional surfaces and interfaces. The symposium wasco-chaired by Zhiguang Guo of Chinese Academy of
Sciences, China, and Thierry Darmanin of University ofCôte d’Azur, France.
Bioinspired Materials for Optics and Thermal
Energy Applications: Focused on the emerging field of
bioinspired engineering of optical and thermal materials, leveraging the diverse expertise from physicists,chemists, and engineers in discussing the fundamental
mechanisms and innovative pathways for intelligent
and efficient energy harvesting and utilization. The
symposium was chaired by Tao Deng of Shanghai Jiao
Tong University, China.
Nanobiocatalysts and Nanozymes: Covered strategies in the development of both new formulations
and new enzyme biocatalysts and the developmentof artificial nanocatalysts for biologically important
reactions in living organisms. The symposium wasco-chaired by Vadim Kessler and Gulaim Seisenbaevaof the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences,
Sweden.
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

45

Conference Call
Tissue Extracellular Matrix Engineering: Covered
topics on the molecular mechanisms of tissue
mechanical modulations, biomimetic scaffolds andmultifunctional materials, cross-linkers for skin regenerations, collagen binders, 3D bioprinting, and novel
tissue engineering platforms. The symposium waschaired by Michele Marcolongo of Drexel University,
USA.
Bioinspired Nanomaterials in Therapeutics:
Covered advances in the development of nanomaterials towards therapeutics applications. The symposium
was co-chaired by Michel Iafisco of National ResearchCouncil, Italy, and Luciano de Sio of Istituto Italiano diTechnologia, Italy.
Plasma and Laser Processing of Bioinspired andBiobased Materials: Highlighted the advances andthe challenges in mimicking nature through the useof plasma science and technology and/or laser technology. The symposium was chaired by Hernando S.
Salapare III of the University of Côte d’Azur, France, Air
Link International Aviation College, and the Universityof the Philippines Open University, Philippines.
Bioinspired and Biobased Molecular Architectures
and their Applications: Focused on cutting-edge basic/
applied studies relating to bioinspired and biobased
molecular architects and provided deeper understanding of its unique characteristics and potential
innovative applications to the chemists and engineers.
The symposium was co-chaired by Masanobu Sagisaka
and Tomohiro Imura of Hirosaki University, Japan.

Optics and Photonics Symposia
Nonlinear Optics and Complex Dynamics: nonlinear beams, nonlinear waveguides and opticalself-structuration, disorder, and nonlinearity
Optical Metrology, Imaging and Sensing: holography, optical fiber sensors, control of light dispersion,and propagation in complex media
Nanophotonics: plasmonics and metasurfaces, silicon photonics, micro-resonators, metamaterials, andphotonic crystals
Biophotonics and Biosensors: optical coherence tomography, single-molecule microscopy andmulti-photon imaging, bioinspired optical devices,
optofluidics,
fluorescence,
andlight-activatedtechniques
Soft Matter Materials: liquid crystals optics andtechnologies, colloidal, nanoparticles and active interfaces, organic photonic materials, and light-activatedbio-inspired materials

46

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

Hybrid Conference Model: Adapting to COVID19 Challenges
The 5th edition of the N.I.C.E. conference series washeld in order to continue advancing science amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of planning allowed the eventto continue and to accommodate all the participantsfrom around the world in different timezones. The decision to pursue the hybrid conference model (on-siteand on-line) was made after a wide consultation withmajor partners and endorsers, namely, IUPAC, MRS,
and E-MRS, French Optical Society, CNRS, CEEBIOS,
Vacuum Society of the Philippines, and Novachim, as
well as with the plenary speakers, invited and keynote
speakers, and members of the International ScientificCommittee and the International Chair Committee.
Constant monitoring of government regulations pertaining to COVID-19 events helped the organizing
committee make the decision to hold the hydrid event.
The diagram below shows the hybrid conference
model that was applied to the event. All talks, both fromon-site and online, speakers were live streamed via theZoom webinar platform with a unique channel for eachof the 6 parallel rooms. This arrangement allowed all theparticipants whether on-site or online to join the session
they were interested in. All the speakers were also given
options to either pre-record their presentations or topresent live on-site and/or via Zoom. The chair of eachsession played a very important role in coordinating all
the speakers and participants from on-site and online
where questions were taken from both the platforms.

Conference CallTo ensure the safety of the on-site participants,
constant reminders were given to all the participants.
The safety protocols that were imposed are as follows:
reminder for constant washing of hands, hydro-alcoholic gels provided inside the venue; no shaking ofhands or greeting people with kisses on the cheek;
respecting social distancing as much as possible;
wearing of masks at all times and reminding participants to replace masks every 4 hours as to maintainthe integrity of the masks; reminder to proper wearingof masks, nose and mouth must be covered at all times
and no lowering of masks when speaking to someone
else; constant disinfection of rooms, materials used in
the talks; informing the hotel reception or any of theconference volunteers/staff if someone suddenly felt ill
during the event; and reminding the participants that if
they intend to attend on-site but they suddenly feel ill
or exposed to someone with COVID-19, that they shift
their participation from on-site to virtual. No confirmed
COVID-19 cases were reported after the event.
As for the organization of the hybrid conference
model, it was more challenging than the traditional
conference set-up. A lot of preparations and coordination with the speakers were made before and during
the actual event. The conference cost was also a challenge since online participants were given registration
discounts while the on-site expenses were maintained
as with a traditional conference.

Plenary
There were two plenary talks during the event, thefirst during the first day of the conference from 2018
Nobel Laureate in Physics, Gérard Mourou of École
polytechnique, France. Mourou talked about passion
for extreme light and its applications to the greatest
benefit of humankind. He presented the extreme-lightlaser as a universal source in providing a vast rangeof high energy radiations and particles along with thehighest field, highest pressure, temperature, and accelerations. He presented the different applications of
extreme-light laser in the fields of physics, chemistry,
and materials science and engineering.
The second plenary talk was delivered virtually
by Manijeh Razeghi of Northwestern University, USA.
She talked about quantum engineering: building better quantum optoelectronics devices from the atoms
up. The talk focused on the atomic engineering of
III-V semiconductor optoelectronic materials for avariety of applications important to everyday activities. The applications span many areas, including
industrial quality control, public health and safety, andtelecommunications.

Invited, Oral, and Poster Contributions
The conference also featured 132 invited talks, 93
oral contributions, and 22 poster presentations. Mostof the on-site participants were from European countries as there were no restrictions for travel among
European Union nations. The rest of the world from
North and South America, Africa, Australia, and Asia
joined virtually. The final scientific programme had
several changes days before the event due to the timedifferences of all the participants.

GDR 2088 “BIOMIM”: French Network on
Biomimicry and Bioinspiration
GDR 2088 “Biomim”: Biomimicry and Bioinspiration,
established by the Institute of Chemistry of the French
National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in
January 2020 to unite all French actors working in
the field of biomimicry and bioinspiration, also heldits 1st Annual Meeting in a hybrid format from 13-14
October 2020, jointly with N.I.C.E. 2020. The two-day
event discussed the latest developments and researchof 92 research groups with 700 scientists, comprising
GDR 2088 members, who are working on topics that
seek to resolve scientific, societal, and regional challenges in France that are related to biomimicry andbioinspiration. The meeting featured 8 parallel sessions
covering: general topics on bioinspiration and biomimicry; movement, mobility, bioinspiration, bio-robotic;
biomaterials and bioinspired medical devices; drugs
and bioinspired materials of therapeutic value; feeling,

Plenary Talk of Prof. Gérard Mourou, 2018 Nobel Laureate in Physics,
delivers a Plenary Talk on the Passion of Extreme Light.
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

47

Conference Call

Recipients of the student awards: from left to right, E. Strugovshchikov, E. Vedie, D. Hürlimann, T. Girardet.

experiencing, perceiving; structures in biomimetic
systems and perspective applications; and biosensors
and chemical sensors. GDR 2088 is also open for international partnerships; the website can be accessed athttps://www.gdr-biomim.com.

Closing Ceremony and Student Awards
During the closing ceremony, Prof. Guittard
expressed his sincerest gratitude to everyone who
made the event successful, especially for those who
attended on-site, amidst the increasing number ofcases in France, and for the virtual participants who
dedicated their time, even in the wee hours of the night,
just to participate in the event. He also thanked thedifferent committees that guided and organized theevent. He announced that the 6th edition of the N.I.C.E
Conference Series will be held October 2022 in thesame venue. After the closing remarks, Prof. Salapare
awarded the four student prizes to the following: 2
Best Oral Communications (sponsored by the journal
Biomimetics – MDPI) to Evgenii Strugovshchikov of
the Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Estonia, for
his work on “Orthogonal chemistry in materials design:
Mixed-anion compounds as a case study”, and to Elora
Vedie of Université de Toulon, France, for her work on
Fabrication and characterization of biomimetic textures
for antifouling applications; Best Poster Award (sponsored by the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces)
to Thomas Girardet of Université de Lorraine, France,
for his work on Elaboration of functionalized iron oxide
nanoparticles by microwave assisted coprecipitation;
and Best Poster Award (sponsored by ACS Applied
Bio Materials) to Dimitri Hürlimann of the University ofBasel, Switzerland, for his work on Bioinspired molecular factories as cell mimics.

48

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

Research and Innovations in Chemical
Science: Paving the Way Forward
Experiences and reflections on the month-long
IUPAC-endorsed Virtual Conference on Chemistry
and its Applications, staged in August 2020.
by Lydia Rhyman, Hanusha Bhakhoa, Nandini Savoo,and Ponnadurai Ramasami
The Computational Chemistry Group of the Universityof Mauritius (CCUoM) [1] is involved in carrying out
research using computational chemistry methods tosolve chemistry and interdisciplinary problems. Apartfrom research work, CCUoM started a virtual conference on computational chemistry and its applicationsin 2013 (VCCC-2013) [2] and some of us shared our
first experience on the organization of the virtual event[3]. After organizing VCCC for three consecutive years,
the topics of the virtual conference were extended toother scientific fields using computational methods
and thus, an annual virtual conference on computational science (VCCS) was organized for four years. In
these virtual conferences, different aspects of a traditional face-to-face conference were maintained, suchas a website for the event, call for abstracts, abstract
submission, reviewing of abstracts, book of abstracts,
presentations, certificate of participation, conference
programme, call for full papers, and publication of theproceedings. The salient features of these virtual conferences were that they took place during the wholemonth of August, there was no live presentation, anominal registration fee was applicable, free registration was also possible, there was an online platform
for scientific interactions, and a virtual cultural dayConference Callwas held on the last day. There have always been good
responses for these virtual conferences with an average of 30 presentations and 100 participants from 25
countries. After each virtual conference, a survey was
conducted and the feedback was helpful in improving
on subsequent virtual events.
VCCS-2020 was planned for August 2020 but alas,
there was the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019.
On 19 March 2020, the Government of the Republic of
Mauritius announced a complete lockdown in Mauritius.
In light of this, we decided to apply the experience andfeedback that we gathered from our previous virtual
conferences and broadened the range of topics toinclude chemistry and interdisciplinary science subjects so as to promote scientific give-and-take while
the world was confined. By broadening the list of topics, we also provided more diverse opportunities forthe increasing number of participants that our virtual
conferences were attracting over the years. These
resulted into the birth of the virtual conference on
chemistry and its applications (VCCA-2020). A formal
endorsement request was sent to IUPAC. The request
was successfully approved which makes VCCA-2020
the first virtual conference that was endorsed by
IUPAC. In addition, we collaborated with other international institutions, namely the Organisation for
the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), theInternational Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP),
Springer, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) andElsevier, which eagerly supported VCCA-2020 andplayed an important role in promoting the virtual conference. OPCW sponsored the participation of seventy
participants from Sub-Saharan Africa.
As we were preparing for VCCA-2020, the scientific community kept research dissemination andnetworking ongoing as a result of the surge in virtual
conferences [4-6]. In fact, most of the conferenceswere transitioned to online events [7-10]. Virtual conferences offer possibilities which fit the changing needsof the new era of COVID-19; for instance, researchers
may attend a conference while abiding by the travel
restrictions and social distancing measures [11].
Moreover, virtual conferences provide a more inclusive
platform for scientific discussions whereby researchers
from laboratories and institutions with limited funding
can participate [12,13].
The starting points of VCCA-2020 were the setting up of the international advisory committee andthe website (https://sites.uom.ac.mu/vcca2020/).
The international advisory committee consisted oftwenty-two members from twenty-one countries.
Four Nobel Laureates, namely Robert Huber (1988

Ponnadurai Ramasami poses with a picture of Erwin Rudolf
Josef Alexander Schrödinger, who was celebrated with aseries of events during the virtual conference

Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry), Sir Richard Roberts(1993 Nobel Prize Winner in Physiology or Medicine),
Ada Yonath (2009 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry)
and Jean-Pierre Sauvage (2016 Nobel Prize Winner in
Chemistry), accepted our invitation to participate in
VCCA-2020. We also extended our invitation to prominent scientists who agreed to participate and they
were considered as keynote speakers. Simultaneously,
we proceeded with a call for abstracts.
The deadline for the submission of abstracts was 22
June 2020 and a total of 194 abstracts were obtained
from 46 countries. These abstracts were reviewed
and 190 of them were accepted. The corresponding
authors were then notified about a decision on theirsubmitted abstracts. They were also aked to complete
their registration and submit their presentations by the
20 July 2020. The registration fee was kept nominal
and the major costs were associated with logistics
and administrative purposes. It is worth pointing outthat compared to our previous virtual conferences,
we reduced the registration fee in order to broaden
participation so as to keep the momentum going interms of scientific collaboration and stay up to dateon the latest research as the world was on lockdown.
Nevertheless, a participant could register for free andaccess all the contents.
The participants were encouraged to submit
video presentations of 20-30 minutes and guidelines
were provided, although presentations in PDF andPowerPoint formats were also accepted. Ultimately,
there were fifty video presentations. To the best of ourknowledge, most of the virtual conferences consist
Chemistry International

April-June 2021

49

Conference Callof live presentations and we wanted to overcome thegeographic limitation and technical challenges. Thus,
we did not host any live presentation during VCCA2020 and all presentations were available on thewebsite as from the first day of the virtual conference..
As such, VCCA-2020 can be considered as flexible asparticipants were able to view or download presentations at their own convenience.
Christopher Brett, president of IUPAC, was the first
speaker of VCCA-2020 with a presentation entitled
IUPAC: Its Global Role and Activities (view recording at
https://youtu.be/1fgVj_2XNsg). The virtual conference
was concluded with two keynote presentations entitled An Inclusive Chemistry Community by Ale Palermo
from RSC and Supporting Research Continuity: Elsevier
Research Solutions by Khalid M. Shalan from Elsevier.
Based on our previous experience with virtual conferences and our technical know-how, we used the free
Web Wiz platform for the online discussion althoughseveral virtual conferencing software are now readily
available with significant cost. Once a participant posted
a question, query, or comment on the Web Wiz platform, all other participants were notified by email. All
the posts on the online discussion platform were moderated to better control the flow of discussion. However,questions/comments/queries which were not relevant
were not approved and therefore, not posted. In suchcases, we privately contacted the participant to informthem the reasons. It was important for us to moderate
the posts so as to avoid insignificant notifications whichwere sent by emails to all registered participants.
As part of VCCA-2020, 12 August 2020 was
marked as Schrödinger Day. We also marked theInternational Youth Day. The events were celebrated
as part of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.
Schrödinger Day is in recognition to Erwin Rudolf
Josef Alexander Schrödinger for his birth anniversary.
Erwin Schrödinger was born on 12 August 1887 andhe bagged the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics for theformulation of the Schrödinger equation. One of the
aspects of Computational Chemistry involves solving
the Schrödinger equation numerically.
International Youth Day is commemorated every
year on 12 August and the theme for 2020 was “YouthEngagement for Global Action.” The programme ofthe day was held online using Zoom with 300 participants. In the morning session, The Vice-Prime
Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education,
Science and Technology, Honourable Leela Devi
Dookun-Luchoomun addressed the participants andfocused on the need for capacity building. Jean-Pierre
Sauvage, 2016 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry and50

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

Hayat Sindi, Scientific Advisory Board Member of theUnited Nations also intervened in the morning session.
The afternoon research capacity building session was
conducted by Lydia Rhyman from the Computational
Chemistry Group and Khalid M. Shalan from Elsevier
Africa. Participation for the event on 12 August was
free but participants had to register and a certificate ofparticipation was provided through an automated process. The participants were also offered complimentaryaccess by Elsevier to use Reaxys for one month. A survey was conducted, and most appreciated the event
although some mentioned that the afternoon session
should extend for more than one day.
VCCA-2020 reached a successful end on 31 August2020. A total of 401 participants registered for the virtual conference. To mark the one-month long event,on the last day, we hosted a virtual cultural day on the
Web Wiz forum where participants were encouraged
to share videos highlighting the culture, music, foodand interesting places from their respective countries.
Moreover, there was the announcement of three best
presentations which were decided by independent
juries. Cash prizes were offered and sponsored by
the organizing committee of VCCA-2020 and ICTP.
Springer also offered book vouchers to the winners.
The awardees for VCCA-2020 are:Y. Ganga-Sah; Synthesis of Sterically Congested
Chiral2,2’-Bi(adamantyl)-Based
AlcoholandAminesO. Holtomo; Radiative Forcing Efficiency of
the Stereoisomers cis- and trans-CHCl=CH-CF3 in the
DFT FrameworkS. Kundu; Synthesis of N-Methylated
Amides Utilizing Methanol
After the end of VCCA-2020, a survey was carriedout among the participants to gain feedback (previouspage) and 25 % of them responded. According to thesurvey, most of the participants came to know about
VCCA-2020 through peers, email, and the internet,
which indicates that VCCA-2020 was well advertised
and promoted. The overall feedback about the Web
Wiz forum was positive, while 2 % of the participants
found the forum confusing. We thus deduced that scientific discussions through the Web Wiz forum wereeffective. In general, the feedback for VCCA-2020 was
positive. 70% of the participants attended a virtual
conference for the first time, which reflects the rise ofvirtual conferences in the COVID-19 era. A majority ofthe participants qualified the book of abstracts which
was circulated and the organizing committee as helpful and considered video and presentations with audio
to be better. Of all the participants who responded,
81 % are interested to participate in VCCA-2021, while
the rest have not decided yet.

Conference Call
We noted an increased interest to participate in a
virtual conference and this paradigm shift may soon
be an integral part of scientific interaction. However,some universities and funding bodies are still reluctant
to support and recognize participation in a virtual
conference. Another factor that benefits effective andefficient participation in a virtual conference is thetechnical skill which is required for better virtual presentation and interaction.
The virtual conference was followed by a call for
full papers for the conference proceedings. These
will be peer-reviewed and will be part of a special
issue for Pure and Applied Chemistry and a book to
be published by De Gruyter. Currently, the full papers
are under review and publications are expected to becompleted by mid March 2021.
On a concluding note, the organizing committee would like to thank all the international advisory

Based on positive responses to a post-conference survey,organizers are enthusiastic about future virtual events.

members, reviewers of abstracts, participants, sponsors and juries for the success of VCCA-2020. The
facilities from the University of Mauritius are fully
acknowledged.
The committee is planning for VCCA-2021 which
will be held in August 2021.

References:
1.
2.
3.

https://sites.uom.ac.mu/ccuom/
https://sites.uom.ac.mu/vccc2013/
Ramasami, P., Rhyman, L., & Jaufeerally, N. An
Experience in the Digital Age, Chem. Int., 2014, 36(4),8–9; https://doi.org/10.1515/ci.2014.36.4.8
4. M. Price. Scientists discover Upsides of Virtual
Meetings. Science, 2020, 368(6490), 457–458. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.368.6490.457
5. A Brave New Virtual Conferencing World. Nature
Cancer, 2020, 1, 751–752; https://doi.org/10.1038/
s43018-020-00108-1.
6. Speirs V. Reflections on the Upsurge of Virtual Cancer
Conferences during the COVID-19 Pandemic, British
Journal of Cancer, 2020, 123, 698–699; https://doi.
org/10.1038/s41416-020-1000-x
7.
Roos G., Oláh J., Ingle R., Kobayashi R., & Feldt M.
Online Conferences – Towards a New (Virtual) Reality,
Computational and Theoretical Chemistry, 2020, 1189,
112975; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comptc.2020.112975
8. Chichester-Constable D., Kirchhoff M. M., Luque R.,
MacKellar J., Moores A., & Sobkowicz-Kline M. Living in
a Virtual World: Report on the 2020 Green Chemistry &Engineering Conference, ACS Sustainable Chemistry &Engineering, 2020, 8(29), 10589–10590; https://dx.doi.
org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c05027
9. Houston S. Lessons of COVID-19: Virtual Conferences.
Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2020, 217 (9):e20201467; https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20201467
10. McDowell L., Goode S., & Sundaresan P. Adapting toa Global Pandemic through Live Virtual Delivery ofa Cancer Collaborative Trial Group Conference: The
TROG 2020 Experience, Journal of Medical Imaging
and Radiation Oncology, 2020, 64, 414–421; https://doi.
org/10.1111/1754-9485.13047
11. Fulcher M. R., Bolton M. L., et al. Broadening Scientific
Participation in Conferences during the Era of Social
Distancing, Trends in Microbiology, 2020, 28(12), 949–
952; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2020.08.004
12. Welch C. J., Ray S., Melendez J., Fare T., & Leach
M. Virtual Conferences becoming a Reality, Nature
Chemistry, 2010, 2, 148–152; https://doi.org/10.1038/
nchem.556
13. Going Virtual. Nature Genetics, 2020, 52, 549; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-020-0654-

Chemistry International

April-June 2021

51

YOUR SHORTCUT TO
IUPAC STANDARDSTEST THE NEW IUPAC DATABASE
Test the database yourself and activitate
your 30 days of free online trial.
Your access token: IUPAC-database
Discover how to get access:degruyter.com/accesstoken
This trial does not include any contractual obligations

IUPAC Standards Online is a database built from IUPAC’s standards and recommendations, extracted fromthe journal Pure and Applied Chemistry (PAC). The database will be the only product that provides for thequick and easy search and retrieval of IUPAC’s standards and recommendations which until now have remained
unsorted within the huge Pure and Applied Chemistry archive.
f

Useful: IUPAC’s standards and recommendations easily discoverablefComprehensive: standard values and procedures; nomenclature, terminology and symbols in chemistry
and materials properties of elements, etc.

f

Smart: topical structure, advanced search, cross linked entriesf

Covering topics in: Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Safety, Data Management, Education,
Environmental Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Materials, Medicinal Chemistry, Nomenclature andTerminology, Nuclear Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Theoretical & Computational,
Chemistry, Toxicology

degruyter.com/iupac

I U P A CADVANCING THE WORLDWIDE ROLE OF CHEMISTRY FOR THE BENEFIT OF MANKIND
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
is the global organization that provides objective scientific expertiseand develops the essential tools for the application and communication of chemical knowledge for the benefit of humankind and theworld. IUPAC accomplishes its mission by fostering sustainable development, providing a common language for chemistry, and advocating the free exchange of scientific information. In fulfilling this mission,
IUPAC effectively contributes to the worldwide understanding andapplication of the chemical sciences, to the betterment of humankind.

President
Prof. Christopher Brett, Portugal
Vice President
Prof. Javier García-Martínez, Spain
Past President
Prof. Qi-Feng Zhou, China/Beijing
Secretary General
Prof. Richard Hartshorn, New Zealand
Treasurer
Mr. Colin Humphris, United Kingdom

NATIONAL ADHERING ORGANIZATIONS
Australian Academy of Science (Australia)Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Austria)
Bangladesh Chemical Society (Bangladesh)
The Royal Academies for the Sciences and Arts of Belgium (Belgium)
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria)
National Research Council of Canada (Canada)Sociedad Chilena de Química (Chile)
Chinese Chemical Society (China)
Chemical Society located in Taipei (China)
LANOTEC-CENAT, National Nanotechnology Laboratory (Costa Rica)
Croatian Chemical Society (Croatia)
Czech National Committee for Chemistry (Czech Republic)
Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab (Denmark)
National Committee for IUPAC (Egypt)
Finnish Chemical Society (Finland)
Comité National Français de la Chimie (France)
Deutscher Zentralausschuss für Chemie (Germany)
Association of Greek Chemists (Greece)
Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Hungary)
Indian National Science Academy (India)
Royal Irish Academy (Ireland)Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities (Israel)
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Italy)
Caribbean Academy of Sciences—Jamaica Chapter (Jamaica)

Science Council of Japan (Japan)
Jordanian Chemical Society (Jordan)
Korean Chemical Society (Korea)
Kuwait Chemical Society (Kuwait)
Institut Kimia Malaysia (Malaysia)
Nepal Polymer Institute (Nepal)
Koninklijke Nederlandse Chemische Vereniging (Netherlands)
Royal Society of New Zealand (New Zealand)
Chemical Society of Nigeria (Nigeria)
Norsk Kjemisk Selskap (Norway)
Polska Akademia Nauk (Poland)Sociedade Portuguesa de Química (Portugal)
Colegio de Químicos de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico)
Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia)
Comité Sénégalais pour la Chimie (Sénégal)Serbian Chemical Society (Serbia)
Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (Singapore)
Slovak National Committee of Chemistry for IUPAC (Slovakia)
Slovenian Chemical Society (Slovenia)
National Research Foundation (South Africa)
Real Sociedad Española de Quimíca (Spain)
Institute of Chemistry, Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Svenska Nationalkommittén för Kemi (Sweden)
Swiss Academy of Sciences (Switzerland)
Department of Science Service (Thailand)
Türkiye Kimya Dernegi (Turkey)
Royal Society of Chemistry (United Kingdom)
National Academy of Sciences (USA)PEDECIBA Química (Uruguay)
Version 1/2021, last updated 1 March 2021

INTERNATIONAL UNION OF
PURE AND APPLIED CHEMISTRY

51st IUPAC GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND
48th WORLD CHEMISTRY CONGRESS
104th

IUPAC ! CCCE

2021

CANADIAN CHEMISTRY CONFERENCE
AND EXHIBITION

Solving Global Challenges with Chemistry

August 13-20

IUPAC ! CCCE

Register now for IUPAC | CCCE

2021

August 13-20
Celebrate with
50+ award
winners

Connect with
3000+ attendees
from home

Learn from
400+ invited
speakers

Grow your careerwith professional
development

2,500+ Presentations

Preliminary Program Available

Across Themes: Chemistry for Energy
Chemistry at the Frontiers
Chemistry for Health
Chemistry for Society
Chemistry for Sustainability

Early Bird Registration Deadline

May 2021
July 2021

IUPAC General AssemblyAugust 13-20, 2021

World Chemistry Congress | CCCE
August 15-20, 2021

A partnership among:

Endorsed by:

ccce@chemisnt.ca#iupac2021

iupac2021.org