From Thailand to Spain

Javier Garcia Martinez

doi:10.1515/ci-2018-0434

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From Thailand to Spain

Javier Garcia Martinez

Published/Copyright: October 29, 2018

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From the journal Chemistry International Volume 40 Issue 4

One of the great benefits of belonging to IUPAC is that after several years interacting with chemists from so many countries, you end up having friends all around the world. In May, I visited Thailand to present at the Global Young Academy General Assembly, which I joined a few years ago. Later, in the second week of July 2018, I travelled to Spain for a program celebrating the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT2019.org) and the 100th anniversary of IUPAC (iupac.org/100). I used these opportunities to talk about the activities we are organizing around these events in 2019.

The Global Young Academy General Assembly

In the meeting in Thailand, which was attended by over 200 people, there were also some colleagues from IUPAC, such as Prof. Ghada Bassioni, who recently represented Egypt at IUPAC's latest Council in Sao Paolo. During my presentation, I talked at length about the Periodic Table Challenge and the Women’s Breakfast as examples of the various initiatives we are launching in 2019. Both activities received a very enthusiastic response from the attendees and several members of the Global Young Academy committed themselves to help from their different countries. I concluded my presentation by inviting all those attending to join us again next year at the World Congress on Chemistry in Paris and to get involved in the many activities that will be held in 2019 to raise public awareness and appreciation of the periodic table, chemistry in general, and IUPAC’s contributions to the advancement of the profession and towards more sustainable and responsible development.

In Thailand, I have several IUPAC colleagues who are good friends. I have worked with them for many years on the Committee of Chemistry Education and we regularly meet during IUPAC Council meetings. So without hesitation, I reached out to Professor Supawan Tantayanon, letting her know that I was in Thailand and that I would love to meet with her and other colleagues to discuss the recent Bureau meeting, to answer any questions they might have, and to talk about how to make the International Year of the Periodic Table and IUPAC´s Centenary an unforgettable occasion. In a matter of days, Prof. Supawan Tantayanon organized a dinner with some members of the Thai Chemical Society at an excellent restaurant in downtown Bangkok. During an unforgettable evening, we talked about IUPAC activities, how to better integrate Thai chemists into IUPAC Divisions and Committees, and about the activities planned for 2019.

Javier Garcia Martinez, 4th from the left, with his host and members of the Thai Chemical Society, including Supawan Tantayanon at the front.

There is nothing like a pleasant gathering to bring new projects to life and create new collaborations. The dinner ended with several action items that we will be working on in the coming months, especially in relation to 2019 events like the Women’s Breakfast and the Periodic Table Challenge. Thanks to the kindness of Prof. Supawan Tantayanon, Prof. Supakorn Boonyuen, and some of their students, I had the opportunity to experience more of Bangkok, Chulalongkorn University, and even the beautiful ruins of Ayutthaya.

Thailand is an extraordinary country of spectacular natural beauty, with a rich cultural heritage, and, even more importantly, filled with wonderful people who welcome everyone who visits with a smile and open arms. I would like to thank Prof. Supawan Tantayanon, Prof. Supakorn Boonyuen, the Chemical Society of Thailand, and all my fellow chemists in this beautiful country for their kindness and for the opportunity to share with them the plans we are working on and the excitement about the coming year of celebrations. Finally, and for all those who read this account, I would like to invite you to take advantage of the opportunity that being a member of such a global network as IUPAC gives you to connect with your colleagues around the globe; make the time to meet them and learn from them. Your experience will be much richer and new and exciting projects are likely to emerge from a pleasant dinner with fellow chemists who also care deeply about creating a better world through chemistry.

The History of Chemistry Summer School

Specialists in the periodic table and the history of chemistry and a good number of teachers and students met in La Rioja, Spain for three days at the VII summer school on the history of chemistry devoted this year to the 2019 International Year of the Periodic Table and the 100-year history of IUPAC [1]. The diverse audience included university professors, high school teachers, and students.

History of Chemistry Summer School, La Rioja, Spain, July 2018

The coordinators should be congratulated for organizing such a wonderful event, and also thanked for focusing the first day on the unique opportunity that the 2019 celebrations of IUPAC’s 100-year anniversary and the International Year of the Periodic Table represent.

I appreciated the opportunity to present the IUPAC project system, its organization, main activities, and its publications and talk about the different activities organized by the IYPT2019 and IUPAC100 working groups. I also shared some information, showed the websites, and provided the material available on both initiatives, while inviting those attending the summer school to participate in the 2019 World Congress of Chemistry in Paris.

One of the activities that I described was the Periodic Table of Younger Chemists. [see more in this issue p. 24] This received a lot of interest from the participants. Coincidentally, during the summer school, it was announced that the Spanish chemist, José Miguel Gonzalez Dominguez, a specialist in carbon nanostructures, was awarded the element carbon. [2]

The Periodic Table of Younger Chemists highlights the diversity of careers, creativity, and dedication of the young chemists leading us into the next century. It will honor 118 outstanding younger chemists from around the world who embody the mission and core values of IUPAC.

Professor Pascual Román, from the University of the Basque Country, talked about the local activities being organized to mark the International Year of the Periodic Table in Spain. In this context, he commented on the commemorative stamp that the Spanish Post Office has approved to recognize the three chemical elements discovered by Spaniards, vanadium, platinum, and tungsten. It so happens that the summer school was held in Logroño, La Rioja, the birthplace of the brothers D´Elhuyar, discoverers of wolfram (tungsten). [3] The International Symposium “Woman and Chemical Elements” will be held in Murcia on 11 February 2019, coinciding with the International Day of Women & Girls in Science.

The rest of the summer school days were devoted to presentations of relevant aspects of the history of chemistry, IUPAC, and other chemical societies. In this context, Professor Pilar Goya, president of EuCheMS, presented the activities that this organization is planning for 2019 on the occasion of the International Year of the Periodic Table. [4]

There is only half a year before the 2019 celebrations and in Spain we are preparing to contribute to the activities that will be carried out to make visible how IUPAC has contributed to our well-being and to create a common language for chemists. This summer school held at the University of La Rioja is only the first of many activities that Spain is organizing to celebrate the 100 years of our Union and the International Year of the Periodic Table.

References:

1. Summer Course on the History of Chemistry: Chemical Societies on the Centenary of the IUPAC Foundation and the International Year of the Periodic Table, http://bit.ly/2JLolUZSearch in Google Scholar

2. Periodic Table of Young Chemists: https://iupac.org/100/pt-of-chemist/Search in Google Scholar

3. Goya, P.; Román. P. Wolfram vs. Tungsten. Chemistry International 2005, 27 (4), 26–27; https://doi.org/10.1515/ci.2005.27.4.2610.1515/ci.2005.27.4.26Search in Google Scholar

4. European Chemical Society IYPT2019 http://www.euchems.eu/iypt2019/Search in Google Scholar

Online erschienen: 2018-10-29

Erschienen im Druck: 2018-10-01

©2018 IUPAC & De Gruyter. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. For more information, please visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ci-2018-0434