Volume 46, Issue 3

Ensuring the efficient functioning of the Union has been the challenge of the Secretaries General for more than a century. The journey of administering the Union began at 49 Rue des Mathurins, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris where the headquarters of the Société de Chimie Industrielle and the French NAO were located. The first Secretary General of the Union, Jean Gérard, also served as Secretary General of these host organizations, and as such the arrangement provided the newly formed Union with stable administrative support and a physical address.

Just as organic reactions necessitate the interaction of different molecules, groundbreaking discoveries in chemistry burgeon from a diverse mix of minds working in close collaboration. While the COVID-19 pandemic presented unforeseen challenges by restricting physical interaction and international research, technology stepped in as a game-changer. Digital connections transcended geographical borders, fostered friendships and ignited a spirit of cooperation like never before. This article delves into the PARTY Approach, where (P)assion, (A)spiration, (R)elationship, (T)eamwork and (Y)outh come into play. Here, we explore the stories behind a remarkable trio brought together by their shared passion for chemistry, sustainability and education. Through their conversation, we will discover how friendships blossomed across borders, fuelled by a collective drive to make a positive impact on the world.

At the Council meeting held during the 2019 World Chemistry Congress in Paris, a representative from one of IUPAC’s National Adhering Organizations raised the question “What is Blockchain Technology?” They went on to say that both “Blockchain” and “Artificial Intelligence” were prominent buzzwords and asked if IUPAC could provide information on how these technologies were impacting science in general and chemistry in particular. Coincidentally, at that same Congress, the technology had been the subject of a presentation by Richard Shute [1], one of the authors of this paper, and the technology had already captured the interest of Bonnie Lawlor, another of the authors of this paper, to the extent that she published an article in Chemistry International (CI) on the topic the following year [2]. As a result of the question raised at the Council meeting, Javier García-Martínez, IUPAC President 2022-2023, suggested that a white paper on Blockchain be developed (Note: Artificial Intelligence was made the focus of the global, virtual 2021 World Chemistry Leadership Meeting (WCLM) and a brief article on that special event was published in the July 2022 issue of CI [3]).

A random person on the street may have never heard of IUPAC, but it is very likely that they have some familiarity with Wikipedia. This is extraordinary, as a sign how much the world has changed over the last twenty years, but it is not surprising.

We are delighted to announce that the 2024 Thieme–IUPAC Prize has been awarded to Franziska Schoenebeck of RWTH Aachen University. Professor Schoenebeck becomes the 16th recipient of the prize and joins a distinguished group of scientists whose research has had a major impact on the field of synthetic organic chemistry. The prize, which is awarded every two years and includes an award of € 5000, will be presented to Schoenebeck at the ICOS-24 conference before her Thieme–IUPAC lecture.

The Stepto Lecture award was established in 2016 to honour the memory of Bob Stepto, who passed in 2015, at the age of 78. Professor Stepto served IUPAC for 28 years, including his tenure as Chair of the Commission on Macromolecular Nomenclature (now known as the Subcommittee on Polymer Terminology) from 1991 to 2000, followed by his presidency of the Polymer Division from 2002 to 2005. An essential aspect of this award is that the recipient should not only be an exceptional polymer scientist acknowledged as a global leader in their research area but, in the true spirit of Bob, should also have made a lasting contribution to the polymer science community beyond their research, whether through IUPAC or other avenues. The recipient is chosen by the Polymer Division based on nominations received during the year of the biennial World Polymer Congress (MACRO Meeting).

The SCI ® (Society of Chemical Industry), the Editorial Board of Polymer International and the IUPAC Polymer Division are delighted to announce that Athina Anastasaki, Assistant Professor of Polymeric Materials at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, is the winner of the 9th Polymer International-IUPAC award for Creativity in Applied Polymer Science.

IUPAC announces the call for nominations for the IUPAC 2025 Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering Awards. The purpose of the awards program, initiated as part of the 2011 International Year of Chemistry celebrations, is to acknowledge and promote the work of women in chemistry/chemical engineering worldwide. In 2011, 23 women were honored during a ceremony held at the IUPAC Congress in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 2 August 2011. At each of the subsequent IUPAC Congresses, 12 women received this recognition; in Istanbul in 2013, in Busan, Korea in 2015, in Sao Paulo in 2017, in Paris in 2019, virtually in 2021, and in The Hague in 2023. A similar award ceremony will take place during the 2025 IUPAC Congress in July in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

IUPAC-Zhejiang NHU International Award has been established in 2019 to emphasize the importance of advancements in Green Chemistry and the value of sciences to human progress, and to encourage young and experienced chemists. The award covers all the topics of Green Chemistry, such as Green and Renewable Feedstocks, Green Synthetic Routes, Green Solvents, Green Catalysis, Green products, Green Energy, and as broadly defined by OECD as Sustainable Chemistry. See http://www.oecd.org/chemicalsafety/risk-management/sustainablechemistry.htm and reference therein, including Proceedings of the 1999 workshop, ENV/JM/MONO(99)19/PART3, p. 204

The IUPAC FAIR Chemistry Cookbook is a new living resource developed to enable the chemical sciences community to move toward sharing and reusing data, code, metadata, etc. that are F indable , A ccessible , I nteroperable , and R eusable or FAIR .

Professor Allen J. Bard, president of IUPAC during the biennium 1991-93, died in Austin at the age of 90 on February 11, 2024. He was a world-renowned electrochemist, recognized especially for placing the study of electrochemical reactions on a level of sophistication similar to that of homogeneous chemical processes.

The eminent Bulgarian chemist Christo Balarew was born on June 23, 1934 in Sofia. He received his MSc degree in chemistry from the Sofia University. Balarew devoted many years of his life to the service of Bulgarian chemical science and education. For most of his life he worked at the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He was a scientist, teacher, public figure, member of a number of international organizations, editorial boards of scientific journals, organizing and scientific committees of international scientific forums.