Volume 46, Issue 2

The year 2024 marks the beginning of important changes at IUPAC, the result of a journey that began in 2019 and crystallized in some of the most important decisions for IUPAC’s future in recent decades, adopted at our latest General Assembly in The Hague last August. In this column, I would like to talk about the many things we have accomplished together in recent years but most of all the future, about the many opportunities I see for IUPAC in the years ahead.

Red can be the color of passion and danger, or luck and prosperity. Blue can be the shade of sadness—singing the blues—or a sign of tranquility and serenity. As the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky once affirmed, in his 1911 treatise Concerning the Spiritual in Art , “Color is a power which directly influences the soul.” Color is also culture: we’ve colored our environments, clothes, and bodies for thousands of years, since early humans applied simple organic stains derived from the plants around them. The art and science of dyeing is an ancient one; today it’s an economic and commercial powerhouse. The arrival of the first synthetic dyes in the 1850s—discovered by happenstance from experiments with coal tar waste—brought us a rainbow of new possibilities for fashion and textiles, from color “fads” and trends to new means for self-expression. But synthetic color’s dark side lingers in polluted waterways. A new exhibit at the museum of the Science History Institute explores these complex legacies. Bold: Color From Test Tube To Textile takes visitors on a colorful 150-year journey through the history of synthetic dyes, examining the people and places who’ve shaped our modern understanding of color—from the laboratory to the factory floor, from the runway to retail, and beyond.

During the 49th World Polymer Congress held 17–21 July 2022 in Winnipeg, Canada, Graeme Moad presented the Stepto Lecture Award [1], describing the mechanism and terminological evolution of reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) [2, 3, 4], including more recent intricate designs through the use of light and electrical propulsion.

The IUPAC World Chemistry Congress (WCC) in The Hague attracted delegates from all locations and all ages to share exciting research, new insights and recent developments, and to build new relationships. Among them were two students from a STEM specialisation high school in Singapore who came to present a poster on their research project, Mattias Kon and Jovern Teo. They share their reflections on the experience in this article, conversing with Marietjie Potgieter, chair of the Committee on Chemistry Education.

Craig M. Crews has been awarded the 2024 IUPAC-Richter Prize in Medicinal Chemistry. Crews is a Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology at Yale University. His discovery and implementation of the PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs) technology for removing specific unwanted proteins revolutionized the field by identifying a new method for affecting protein function. The fact that this technology has been widely adapted and investigated not only within the pharmaceutical industry, but also in academia, demonstrates the significance and impact of this work. While no drugs have yet been approved, several are in development and these molecules are progressing, because they are effective and safe. He also played a key role in the discovery of carfilzomib, an approved proteasome inhibitor for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The acceptance lecture will be held in Rome, Italy (1-5 September 2024) at the XXVIII EFMC International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry.

In December 2023, the International Science Council (ISC) appointed 100 new Fellows, in recognition of outstanding contributions to promoting science as a global public good. Among them is former IUPAC President, now Past President, Professor Javier García Martínez, and former Bureau member Professor Ghada Bassioni. The Fellowship is the highest honour that can be conferred on an individual by the ISC. Together with the 123 individuals that were appointed in 2022, the new ISC Fellows will support the ISC Council in its mission at a critical moment for science and sustainability for science as we enter the UN’s International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD) in 2024.

The Divisions of IUPAC may award the status of Emeritus Fellow to former members of the Divisions and its erstwhile Commissions and Subcommittees who have made outstanding contributions to IUPAC and, through chemistry, to the chemical sciences in general. The appointment of Emeritus Fellow reflects the member standing as a scientist and continuing service to the divisions and to the Union.

Ty Coplen, a long time member of IUPAC and in particular of the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights, has been presented with one of the 2023 Presidential Rank Awards (PRA) chosen by President Joe Biden. The PRAs are one of the most prestigious awards in the career civil service, recognizing the important contributions of public servants across the US federal government.

The International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD) is committed to working in partnership with others to ensure that chemistry fulfils its potential of contributing to sustainability for people and for the physical and biological systems of the planet. A new orientation, “One-World” Chemistry has been proposed, which recognises the interconnectedness of human, animal, and planetary health and embraces the need for chemistry to adopt systems thinking and crossdisciplinary working to tackle the planetary challenges.

In 1989 the Subcommittee on Solubility Equilibrium Data (SSED) inaugurated the Franzosini Award to assist a promising young contributor to the Solubility Data Project.  In 2023 the Franzosini Award was renamed the Franzosini Prize and elevated to an award in recognition of outstanding and sustained contributions to the field of critical evaluation of data in solubility and related chemical equilibria. At the same time the Balarew Award was inaugurated to recognize an Outstanding Young Scientist working in the field of critical evaluation of solubility and/or related chemical equilibria.

The InCHI Trust announces 2024 to be a year of transition for the International Chemical Identifier (InChI), which is already showing noticeable delivery.

IUPAC Standards Online is a database built by De Gruyter from IUPAC’s standards and recommendations, which are extracted from the journal Pure and Applied Chemistry (PAC). “Standards” are definitions of terms, standard values, procedures, rules for naming compounds and materials, names and properties of elements in the periodic table, and many more. The database is the only product that provides for the quick and easy search and retrieval of IUPAC’s standards and recommendations which until now have remained unclassified within the huge Pure and Applied Chemistry archive.

IUPAC and De Gruyter are pleased to announce that Pure and Applied Chemistry (PAC) now invites submissions of research articles and review articles.

In October 2015, the The Hague Ethical Guidelines were adopted by OPCW and were endorsed by IUPAC 4 May 2016. In line with that development, attention has been focused on formulating core values for chemists, focusing specifically on the ethical aspects of the use of chemical knowledge, as well as the use of chemicals within the environment. There are many examples of misuse of chemical knowledge, as demonstrated in the TV series Breaking Bad focusing on the production of illicit drugs. Within chemical industry the use of (micro)plastics, the use and production of pesticides is another issue. Within education, codes of academic conduct have always played an important role. Recently more attention has been given in education to ethical use of chemical knowledge and the relationship between the use of chemically produced compounds, and the production of chemical compounds and the environment. This is demonstrated for example by the development of Green Chemistry.

The Spring 2024 Newsletter of the Inorganic Chemistry Division is now available. It was compiled thanks to Division II members’ input. Please keep sending your items, including pictures, or suggested topics for future issues, via email to the Newsletter Editor: Dan Rabinovich <D_RABINOVIC@uncg.edu>