Volume 45, Issue 3

As I finish writing this column, the Covid-19 global health emergency has just been officially declared as over. The impact that it has had on us all, directly and indirectly, cannot be underestimated. There are many that would like our way of life to go back to how it was to before, remembering the good aspects but forgetting the others. We were already in a crisis situation with almost terrifying global warming scenarios, particularly with respect to carbon dioxide emissions. The “lockdown” in 2020 during which industry shut down showed the effects of pollution, or rather the lack of them. Then industry started once more and the carbon footprint began to rise again. Now, in 2023, much of this appears to have been forgotten owing to economic issues and inflation, partly linked to materials and energy, but the clock continues to tick. There are lessons and decisions for the future, many of which will not be easy. Here are some reflections on IUPAC in the recent past and looking forwards.

The United Nations declared 2022 as the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD 2022) [1]. Since 2022 was also the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Chemical Society (CCS), CSS celebrated these two important events with a special outreach project aimed at bringing attention to chemists and the important work they do while also highlighting the creative and humanistic aspects of scientific research [2]. The “Chemist is Cool” (sic) Research Group Style and Creativity Competition was a great success, and CCS was honored to have it be selected as one of the featured activities of the IYBSSD 2022.

Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is a concept that describes approaches and strategies to addressing and tackling risks and dual use potentials of research and development (R&D) activities that have significant societal and environmental impact [1]. Built on a scientifically rigorous foundation of RRI knowledge and expertise, the translation into applied and practical contexts such as chemical R&D is underway [2]. Here, a framework for integrating environmental and ecological ethics dimensions into chemists’ scientific integrity and good scientific practice guidelines is suggested under the umbrella of RRI.

From 18 to 25 August, IUPAC will convene in The Hague. This is not the first time. One of the earliest IUPAC conferences, in 1928, also took place in the Dutch city. This was a truly historic meeting, because it was there that decisive steps were taken toward the reintegration of German, Austrian, and Hungarian chemists who had been banned from international science since the First World War, as has earlier been described by Jorrit Smit and Danielle Fauque in this magazine. An informal gathering the following year, in The Hague’s beach resort Scheveningen, finalized the process [1]. The rifts of war had been repaired; internationalism revived.

“I do not know enough about the American people to be criticizing their customs…there is but one thing that I know much about, and that is chemistry. Politics do not interest me.”

IUPAC and Solvay announce the winners of the 2023 IUPAC-Solvay International Award for Young Chemists, presented for the best Ph.D. theses in the chemical sciences, as described in 1000-word essays.

During the 52nd IUPAC General Assembly to be held in The Hague in August 2023, the Council will be asked to elect a Vice President, a Secretary General, and members of the newly established Executive Board and Science Board. IUPAC National Adhering Organizations have been invited to submit nominations. (see News posted 17 January December 2022, https://iupac.org/iupac-elections-for-the-2024-2025-term-call-for-nominations/)

On a visit to Japan, Javier García-Martínez, President of IUPAC, met with representatives of the Chemical Society of Japan and the Science Council of Japan at the Chemical Society of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on February 15th, 2023. His visit provided a great opportunity for the chemical community to learn more about IUPAC´s ongoing work and to discuss potential areas of collaboration. The Chemical Society of Japan is one of the oldest and largest scientific societies in Japan, with a membership of over 30 000 researchers, engineers, and students who are actively engaged in various areas of chemistry.