The Periodic Table at the University of Murcia

All the matter that surrounds us consists of the atoms contained in the Periodic Table, and their combinations. These combinations are the molecules that, which as a result of the enormous variety of chemical transformations, have made possible, among other things, life on this planet.

From its origin, chemistry as a science has been the engine that has allowed humanity to advance, contributing to the continuous improvement to quality of life and life expectancy. The negative perception that society has towards chemistry is fully unjustified. One must remember that at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the world population was 1.2 billion people and had a life expectancy of approximately 40 years, while today an estimated population of more than 7.4 billion inhabitants have a life expectancy higher than 80 years old in developed countries. Chemistry has provided pharmaceutical drugs to cure diseases, safer and more nutritious foods, clean drinking water, fertilizers and insecticides to improve agricultural productions, fuels, hygiene and beauty products, and many other things. Our quality of life depends entirely and positively on chemistry, and chemistry is called to continue to play a leading role towards solving the great challenges of humanity by providing appropriate solutions based on sustainability criteria in the near future.

In 1940, when the regional economy of Murcia was based almost exclusively on an archaic primary sector of small family farms, Prof. José Loustau y Gómez de la Membrillera, the first dean of the Faculty of Sciences, consolidated the implantation of the Degree in Chemistry at the University of Murcia. The school thus became a unique scientific studies program at the university level in the south-east of Spain. This helped the birth and consolidation of many agro-food industries, in particular canning industries, (devoted to the processing the excellent fruit and vegetables e.g. Hero, Crown Food, etc.), of the Region of Murcia. The Faculty of Chemistry provided the necessary knowledge and expertise. In the same way, in the 1960s, REPSOL implemented its first oil refinery in Cartagena (Murcia) where the graduates in chemistry of the University of Murcia were incorporated. This refinery has continuously grown to become the first Spanish refinery, and one of the most important at the European level. It also consolidated an important chemical sector in its surroundings (e.g. SABIC), where companies now employ hundreds of graduates.

Since 1940, the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Murcia has graduated more than 4000 students in all fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, physics, and biochemistry, as well as 500 Ph.Ds. In our classrooms and laboratories, we have trained the excellent professionals who lead or have lead the staff of a large number of industries in our region. These include all sectors, such as food, energy, cosmetics, chemical-pharmaceutical, and more. All these factors contributed to the Government of the Region of Murcia awarding the Gold Medal of the Region of Murcia to the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Murcia in 2015. This award, which is the highest distinction of the region, coincided with the 75th anniversary of the first graduation of chemists, as a “recognition of the social and economic importance of its training and its role as a reference in the formation of human and scientific capital of the region, as well as for its scientific productivity and contribution to the increase of excellence research at the University of Murcia”, as stated in Decree 77/2015, BORM on 15 May 2015. It was the first time that the Government recognized and awarded a university centre. Without any doubt, the chemistry and chemical developments in the Murcian industries have decisively contributed to the economic development and the standard of living of Murcia.

In this context, and promoted by the Faculty, this year a consortium of twelve of the most important companies from Murcia, (including AMC Juices Ltd, Tecnological Centre of Marble, Crown Food Spain Ltd S.A., Grupo Fuertes Ltd., Hero Spain Ltd.; Estrella de Levante Ltd; Hidrogea Ltd.; Linasa Ltd., J.J. Albarracin Ltd., Marín Giménez Ltd, REPSOL Ltd. and TAHE Cosmetic Ltd.), also wanted to pay tribute to the Faculty of Chemistry for the important role played in the development of the industrial sector of Murcia. The construction of the giant periodic table has been the aim, made possible by the particular design of the building of the Faculty of Chemistry where the façade is formed by glass windows and walls arranged in bevel. Eduardo Batan, architect of the University of Murcia, provided the technical feasibility. Each of the 118 chemical elements is included on a coloured metal panel (0.75 x 0.75 m), and represented by its symbol, atomic number, and atomic mass. These panels are screwed onto screens located directly on the facade of the Faculty. The surface of this giant periodic table is approximately 150 m², likely the largest permanent Periodic Table in the world. This large size allows all the elements to be seen when walking around the perimeter of the University of Murcia campus or even from the tramway.

The artistic ensemble will be finalized with a 50-seat grandstand. Every year, the Faculty meets students from many high-schools as prospective students in the chemistry program. Usually, we prepare a complete journey for the young students, including a tour of the Faculty, a simple experiment conducted in the lab, and now a seminar about the periodic table using this grandstand as an open-air classroom for their “first lesson” at the university.

The periodic table built on the facade of the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Murcia converges past and future, work and perseverance, training and economic development, science and beauty. This facade is a new icon for chemistry and the city of Murcia, and we encourage all chemists to visit Murcia.

In the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Murcia, we are extremely proud of the work we have done in these 77 years, and sincerely grateful to the Region of Murcia and its industries for this recognition, which supports us for the important pages of the future that we must write together.

Written and shared by Prof. Pedro Lozano, e-mail: plozanor@um.es, Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Murcia. www.um.es/web/quimica/