From the Editor

doi:10.1515/ci.2004.26.6.i

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From the Editor

Published/Copyright: September 1, 2009

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From the journal Chemistry International -- Newsmagazine for IUPAC Volume 26 Issue 6

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From the Editor

I am not sure why, but while proofing this issue, I got stuck on the words “function” and “functional.”

Read first the echoes of the 7th International Symposium on Biomolecular Chemistry (in print p. 31), where George Whitesides spoke of the need to understand the fundamental nature of the cell as a system of chemical reactions, and the shift in emphasis in biology from structure to function. The word “function” is not only a keyword in biology, but in chemistry as well. Nowadays, chemists not only design new molecular architectures, they also manage to understand their properties and optimize their functions. As chemists move from studying structure/property relationships to analyzing structure/property/function, it becomes obvious that chemistry will form the foundation for growth in other sciences and technology. The recent MAM-04 and Fπ6 (in print p. 30) exemplified how progress in chemistry is leading to countless new technologies.

One can also view the idea of function in another context: the growing emphasis on “chemistry at the interfaces.” Functional properties have a prominent place in the interdisciplinary aspects of molecular science as reported in a recent double issue of the IUPAC journal Pure and Applied Chemistry that is devoted to a selection of papers presented at the 39th IUPAC Congress and 86th Conference (see p. 26). In the three symposia combined for this publication, the emphasis on “function” is in each case particular, but obvious.

Perhaps the best example of the “functional” aspect of chemistry is in a feature story by Josh McIlvain, who reports on the Chemical Heritage Foundation's recent exhibit “Her Lab in Your Life: Women in Chemistry” (see p. 8). The story and the exhibit itself feature a prescient quote from Ellen H. Richards, who in 1879 wrote: “We must show to the girls who are studying science in our schools that it has a very close relation to our everyday life.” While expressed in different words, the functional aspects of science were as important then as they are today.

Fabienne Meyers

edit.ci@iupac.org

www.iupac.org/publications/ci

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Page last modified 17 November 2004.

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From the Editor

President's Column by Leiv K. Sydnes

Features

- Strengthening International Science: An Overview of the International Council for Science by Carthage Smith

and Thomas Rosswall

- Women in Chemistry: Her Lab in Your Life by Josh McIlvain

- The Exhibit Online

- The Future of Chemistry Education by Lida Schoen

- Tetrahedral Chemistry Education: Shaping What is

to Come by Peter Mahaffy

- Chemistry Is Everwhere

IUPAC Wire

- Young Observers Going to Beijing

- Marian Góral Received the 2004 Franzosini Award

- International Year of Physics, 2005

Up for Discussion

- Electromotivity to Replace Electromotive Force?

by Vladimir Simeon

- Bonded by Stereobonds by Hubert Maehr

The Project Place

- Reference Methods, Standards, and Applications of Photoluminescence

- Glossary of Terms Used in Biomolecular Screening

- Practical Studies for Medicinal Chemistry Guidelines

- Internationally Agreed Terminology for Observations

in Scientific Communication

- Biophysico-Chemical Processes of Heavy Metal

and Metalloids in Soil Environments

Making an imPACt

- Quantities, Terminology, and Symbols in Photothermal

and Related Spectroscopies

- Electrochemical Detection in Liquid Flow Analytical

Techniques: Characterization and Classification

- Piezoelectric Chemical Sensors

- Guidelines for Callibration in Analytical Chemistry.

Part 2: Multicomponent Calibration

- Analysis of Light Elements in Thin Films Demonstrated

Using the Examples of SiO_XN_Y and AIO_XN_Y Films

- Mechanisms of Immunosensitization to Metals

Bookworm

- Chemistry at the Interfaces

- Macromolecules and Materials Science

- Introdução à Química Orgânica

Conference Call

- Polymers in Medicine, Nanotechnology, Degredation,

and Stabilization by R.D. Sanderson

- Biodegredable Polymers and Plastics by In-Joo Chin

- Functional and Nano Systems by Courtney Young

- π-Electron Systems by George Malliaras and John Reynolds

- Biomolecular Chemistry by David StC. Black

Where 2B & Y

- Food Safety, 3–4 March 2005, Brussels, Belgium

- Analytical Methodologies in Trace Metal Speciation, 6–9 April 2005, Luxembourg

- Hydrogen Energy, 13–15 July 2005, Istanbul, Turkey

- Polymer Gels and Networks, 10–14 July 2005, Prague, Czech Republic

- Nanostructured Advanced Materials, 5–8 September 2005,

Stellenbosch, South Africa

- Physics and Sustainable Development, 31 October–2 November 2005, Durban, South Africa

- Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins, 21-26 May 2007, Istanbul, Turkey

Mark Your Calendar

link to calendars of upcoming IUPAC-sponsored events

Index for 2004

pdf 67KB

November-December 2004 pdf (1MB)

Published Online: 2009-09-01

Published in Print: 2004-11

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ci.2004.26.6.i