The European Chemical Society (Euchems) David J

DOI:10.1002/chem.201803512 Essays

& Science and Society The European Chemical Society (EuChemS) David J. Cole-Hamilton[a]

Abstract: The European ChemicalSociety(EuChemS) coordi- ous activities, workshops and awards. Particularly,EuChemS nates the work of almost all the European Chemical Societ- has fostered growth in its young members through the Eu- ies. As an organization,itprovides an independentand au- ropeanYoung Chemists’ Network. Beyond Europe, EuChemS thoritative voice on all matters relating to chemistry,and try has collaborated with variousorganizations in bringing to place chemistry at the heart of policy in Europe. Further- chemistry out of the lab and into society in building asus- more, EuChemS seeks to develop its members through vari- tainable future for everyone.

Introduction and Structure bers) presidedover by aPresident (Pilar Goya Laza, Madrid), Vice President (David Cole-Hamilton, St. Andrews) and Treasur- The European Chemical Society,formerly (2004–2018) the Eu- er (Eckart Rühl, Berlin). All the day-to-day work is carried out ropeanAssociation for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (Eu- by aSecretariat based in Brussels consisting of the General CheMS)and before that (1970–2004)the Federation of Europe- Secretary (Nineta Hrastelj), Communication and Policy Officer an Chemical Societies (FECS), is an organisationthat coordi- (Alex Schiphorst) and Administrative Officer Marta Kucza. nates the work of almost all the European Chemical Societies. Scientifically,EuChemS covers most areas of chemistry Its aim is to provideanindependent and authoritative voice throughDivisions and Working Parties. on all mattersrelating to chemistryinthe European context and beyond and to place chemistry at the heart of policy in Activities Europe. Since chemistry impinges on everything we do, it is es- sentialthat chemical aspects be considered when drafting and EuChemS engages in awide variety of activities, including ad- debating all new legislation. vising European Institutions(science-policy communication), EuChemS has 41 Member Societies covering 32 countries in raising public awareness,conferences, science communication GeographicalEuropeand Israel.These numbersare expected to citizens and engaging with the international community. to increase by 1with the admission of Bulgaria at the General EuChemS is registered in the Transparency register and is a Assembly in August, 2018. Through these Member Societies, recognised stakeholder of ECHA and EFSA. EuChemS speaks on behalf of ~150000 professional chemists. There is an increasingnumber of carefullyselected Supporting Scientific evidence-based advice to European Institutions Members (currently 6), which are Societies, Federations, Cen- (science-policy communication) tres of Excellence, Research Networks or Institutescovering areas of chemistry,but who do not have their own individual Since many EuChemS member societies are from countries members. EuChemS collaborateswith these supporting mem- within the European Union, EuChemS lobbies the European bers in activities which are mutually beneficial such as Parlia- Parliament and Commission throughwriting to key members mentaryWorkshops, Conferences, open meetings, and Europe- of the Commission, replyingtoEuropean Commissionconsul- an Union (EU) proposals. The presidents of the Memberand tations, releasing position papers, andrunning workshops in Supporting Societies make up the General Assembly,which and for the European Parliament. EuChemS attends and con- meets annually and decides on various issues as defined by tributes to many European meetings and debates whilst two the constitution. currentExecutive Board members are members of the MEP– EuChemS activities are overseenbyanExecutive Board con- Scientist pairing scheme (MEP=Member of the European Par- sisting of elected and appointed members (currently 17 mem- liament). Pavel Drasˇer is paired with Pavel Poc,MEP and Iam paired with Catherine Stihler,MEP.This scheme allows MEPs to [a] Prof. Dr.D.J.Cole-Hamilton learn much more about science and scientists to learn much EaStChem, SchoolofChemistry,University of St. Andrews more about how the European Parliamentworks. In addition, St. Andrews, KY16 9ST,(UnitedKingdom) practical support and assistance is offered in both directions. E-mail:[email protected] Because we representalarge number of chemists, we also Part of the Special Issue for the 7th EuCheMS Chemistry Congress consisting of contributions from selected speakersand conveners.Toview the com- use our independentand authoritative voice to lobby beyond plete issue, visit Issue 46. Europe.

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Letters wept inside. One aspect where being in the EU has been hugely beneficialtothe UK and to the rest of Europe has been Recent direct approaches to the President of the European the whole area of research andinnovation, largelydelivered Commission include aletter on Scientific Advice.[1] The propos- throughthe Framework programmes. Through the European al not to have ascientific adviser, which wasopposed in the Research Council (ERC), where intensecompetition has driven letter,was dropped and aHigh-Level Group on Scientific up the qualityoffundamentalresearch, through mobility ac- Advice containing expertscovering wide areas of science now tions, which have expanded the gene pool and brought new operates. The strict regulations to limit carbon omissions ideas and ways of thinking to all European countries including agreed by the Commissionand subsequently reflected in the the UK, through collaborative projects which allow large con- Paris agreement werelargely in line with the arguments put sortia to be built between academia and industry to tackle through the EuChemS letter[2] on climatechange and we really important problemsand which give new developments strongly opposed[3] the removal of fundingfrom the Hori- for industry throughoutEuropeincluding the UK, through zon 2020 budget of money to fund the joint infrastructure major international facilities or through the emergingEurope- fund. Although this was not completely successful, the Europe- an Innovation Council (EIC), which will drive up standards in in- an Research Council, whichfunds fundamental research in novationand commercialisation just as the ERC has for funda- Europewas completely protected. mentalresearch, the quality and impact of research and inno- It would be disingenuoustoclaim that these evidence- vation has improved immeasurably more than it couldhave based letters on their own led to any change of thinking in withouttheseinstruments. The UK has been amongstthe fore- the circles of European power, but they added to the weight most countries in participation in all aspects of the Framework of evidenceupon which the Commissionmade its decisions programmes and has helped in their design and construction. and recommendations. EuChemS recognises the importance of the UK to the Outside of the EU, we have worked with Professor Ehud Framework programmesaswell as the importance of the Keinan, President of the Israeli Chemical Society, in his at- Framework programmestothe UK so it has published aposi- tempts to persuade Israel to ratify the Chemical Weapons Con- tion paper forthe European negotiators.[13] This argues strong- vention(CWC), which it has already signed. Keinanwrote to ly that the settlementbetween the EU andthe UK should give the President and then the Prime Minister of Israel but, receiv- provision for the UK to remain fully integrated into Hori- ing no response, he published an open letter to Prime Minister zon 2020 and its successors, concluding: Netanyahu.[4] EuChemS supported this activity by publicising “Research and industrial competitiveness acrossthe EU greatly the open letter,[5] publishing in English for the first time,[6] writ- benefitfrom the input of UK researchers and vice versa. With- ing ajoint article,[7] and by writing individual letters to Prime drawalofthe UK from the many funding schemes would Minister Netanyahu, as well as PresidentsObama and Trump. remove some of the key quality drivers and fundamentally We believe that awareness of this issue has been significantly damage research and innovation in Europe as well as in the raised,although we still await apositive outcome. United Kingdom…As negotiations proceed to determine the relationship between the EU and the UK followingthe latter’s withdrawal, EU scientists urge the negotiators to retain as EU Consultations strong as possible arelationship between EU and UK research- EuChemS responds to as many of the EU consultations which ers. Continued collaboration without borderswill improvere- relate to chemistry as it can. Usually we involve experts search across all European countries for the benefitofman- through our Member Societies, but increasingly throughthe kind.” Divisionsand Working Parties. The strong evidencebase for our responses meansthat often commentsmade in the Eu- ChemS submissionsare quoted directly in final reports. Very recent examples of EuChemS responses include those on Mis- sions in Horizon Europe,[8] trans fats,[9] acrylamide[10] (these last two in collaboration with our Division of Food Chemistry), antimicrobial resistance[11] (with supporting member,the European DavidCole-Hamilton is Vice-President of Eu- Federation for Medicinal Chemists), European CulturalHeritage ChemS, havingbeen President from 2013– [12] 2017. He held the Irvine Chair of Chemistryin Labels (with the Working parties on Chemistry for Cultural St. Andrews (1985–2014). Much of his recent [13] Heritage and History of Chemistry) and Brexit. work has concerned the developmentofnew catalytic processes for the upgradingofplant wastes. In addition to his work with EuChemS, Brexit Davidspendssignificant time helping the RoyalSocietyofEdinburgh develop policy on Ilove my country and am adevoted European, so it breaks my school-based education and on aresearch heart that the UK has voted to leave the EU. As Iflew in from and innovation strategy for the UK as it Brussels afew days ago over the green and pleasantland of leaves the EU. Britain, sparkling in the vibrant green of late spring,Icould not help wondering what will happentoour country now and I

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Workshops in and for the European Parliament chemistry.Perhaps the most important one in recent times is Solar Driven Chemistry,coordinated by EuCheMS past Presi- EuChemS organisesregular workshops to inform European Par- dent, Ulrich Schubert.[19] This encourages thinking about the liamentarians of key issues relating to chemistry.These are use of sunlight in chemical reactions and in fuels and proposes chaired by Members of the European Parliament(MEPs) and ways in which sunlight or heat can be used to reducethe cur- attract other MEPs. Some are held in collaboration with STOA, rent consumption of fossil fuels. This white paper has been the Scientific Foresight group of the European Parliament. widelywelcomed by the community and taken forwardinto a Often these engender lively debate and high-level reports are proposal for aflagship project specifically on the use of the released afterwards. Some recent workshoptopics include: sun for energy purposes This proposal has passed the first [14] making chemicals from CO2; antibiotic resistance in collabo- hurdleand Executive Board member,Nicola Armaroli, is now ration with the European Federation of Medicinal Chemists heavily involved in the next phases for the development of the (EFMC)chaired by P. Rubig MEP;[15] Endangered Elements, proposal. chaired by Ian Duncan MEP;[16] (Re)searching for jobs (Figure 1), chaired by Catherine StihlerMEP;[17] and Glyphosate Directassistance to the Commission (Figure 2), chaired by Pavel Poc MEP.[18] Aforthcomingone on Parkinson’sdisease, which will focus on causesand cures, also As the profile of EuChemShas risen the European Commission chaired by Pavel Poc promises to be very stimulating. has started to include EuChemS nominees in its High-Level Groupsand has invited EuChemS to nominate members of Missions.Wolfram Koch, Geschäftsführer of the German Chemi- Positionpapers cal Society and EuChemS Executive Board member,sits as Eu- From time to time, EuChemS, sometimes in collaboration with ChemS representative on the Open Science Policy Platform, others, publishes position papers on key emerging areas of which advises Commissioner Moedas. Following its submission to the Consultationonthe Circular Economy,[20] EuCheMS has acceptedinvitations from the Com- mission to participate in EC Missionsonthe Circular Economy to Chile,[21] China,[22] South Africa,[23] Columbia[24] and soon, Japan and Indonesia. Nicola Armaroli, ExecutiveBoard Member and previous Chair of the Working Party on Chemistry and Energy,has been an energetic and highly valued member of most of these missions, although his place was very ably taken by Santiago Luis, then Chair of the Division for Chemistry in the Environment, in South Africa. These Missions involve visits to important industrial and government run establishments aimingtorepair,recycle and reuse common household and industrial goods. This is akey technology to ensure asustainable future, so exchanging best practice, ideas and methodologies is crucial in accelerating the Figure 1. Viviana Fluxà,Reiner Salzer,Catherine StihlerMEP,David Cole-Ham- pace of the introductionofthe circular economy. ilton, Margaret Waters, and Cristina Todasca at the European Parliamentary Workshop on (Re)Searching for jobs. Informing the public Regularlecturesorhalfday meetings are held to inform the general public of chemical aspects relevant to key debates. Some of these are heldinthe context of welcoming member states as they take on the Presidency of the European Council In this context,Italy was welcomed through athree day meeting on Energy, Food and the Environment.[25] This meeting stimulated great media interest and one of the speakers (now aEuChemS Board member), Nicola Armaroli, was interviewed on state television. For the Netherlands presidency,ameeting on Open Access[26] was held in Amsterdam and one on Medi- cines in the Circular Economy[27] greetedthe Maltese Presiden- cy. Other open lectures have included ahalf-daymeeting in Ed- inburgh on Zero Carbon Energy[28] and an extremelysuccessful Figure 2. Pilar Goya, Pavel Poc, MEP and Pavel Drasˇer at the EuropeanParlia- series of seven lectures and Round Table discussions laid on by mentary Workshop on Glyphosate. EuChemS then Executive Board member and one of this year’s

Chem. Eur.J.2018, 24,11811–11820 www.chemeurj.org 11813 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim Essays recipients of the European Service Award, Sergio Facchetti, in As aresult of the amazing work of the OPCW,only 4coun- the European or Italian pavilions at EXPO 2015inMilan.[29] tries remain to be persuaded (Israel, Egypt,Southern Sudan, These lectures by international experts all attractedgood audi- and North Korea). Ihave already detailed the efforts of Ehud ences andstimulated energetic discussions (Figure 3) Keinan with regard to Israel but more must be done. Even thoughSyria signed and ratify the CWC after using chemical weapons in 2012, and all their stock were destroyed under in- spection in agreement with the requirements of the Conven- tion, chemical weaponshave been used in that troubled country several times. First, the use of chlorine hit the headlines. Chlorineiswhat is called adual-purpose chemical. It is essential for use in water purification and chemical synthesis, but, a cylinderofchlorineplaced in abarrel containing highexplo- sives becomes achemical weapon.Atthe EuCheMS General Assembly held during the 6th European Chemistry Congress held in Seville in September,2016, 36 Presidents of Chemical Societies or their deputies signed The Seville declaration on the use of chlorine in warfare.[32] It reads: “We, the Member Societies of the European Association for Chemical and MolecularSciences (EuCheMS), deplore the use Figure 3. Roseangela Marchelliand Sergio Facchetti at around table discus- of chlorine in the Syrian conflict or any other and call upon the sion on The Molecular Secrets if Italian Gastronomy EXPO, Milan. international community to bring to justice those responsible for the misuseofchlorine.” Chlorine has been used since in Syria, but an even more sin- Chemical Weapons ister development was the use of sarin in Douma, Syria in April Following my visit to the most moving commemoration of all 2018. Although the source of the sarin has not been con- those who have been damaged or have died as aresult of the firmed, recent press reports have hinted that North Korea, use of chemical weapons,which was organisedbythe Organi- which is known to hold stockpiles of chemicalweaponsmay sation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in have been involved. Whatever the source,the use of sarin is Ypres in April, 2015, where Ijoined Dr.Thomas Geelhaar,then completely unacceptablesoEuChemS issued anotherpress re- Presidentofthe German Chemical Societyand Professor David lease.[33] Phillips, previousPresidentofthe Royal Society of Chemistry The futility of chemical weapons and the importance of The (Figure 4) in standing“besideall right thinking people in de- Hague EthicalGuidelines also feature in an Editorialinthe jour- ploring chemical weapons andcalling for their completeelimi- nal Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry penned by Hart- nation in all countries,”[30] EuChemS has taken astrong public mut Frank, Chair of the EuChemS Working Party on Ethics in stand in favour of the complete elimination of the dreadful Chemistry,Jonathan Edwards,OPCW andme.[34] scourgeofchemical weapons from the planet by writing articles[31] and making public statements. Engaging with members Conferences The major conference run by EuChemS is the biennial Eu- ChemSChemistry Congress (ECC), inaugurated in Budapest in 2006. The ECCshave grown to become the most important pan chemistry congresses in Europe, becoming major festivals of chemistry and attracting over 2000 people to Seville in 2016. They involve high level speakersinall areas of chemistry with the idea that individualresearchers can see where their chemistry might expand into cognate areas. It is aplace to meet chemists from your own and other disciplines and to build new collaborations. The 7thCongressinLiverpool 26– 30th August2018[35] will also include anumber of themed symposia proposed by EuChemS professional networks as well as Awardpresentations and the disclosure of the first sites to be awarded European Chemical Landmarks.[36] In the odd numbered years, most of the Division hold their Figure 4. David Phillips, David Cole-Hamilton and Thomas Geelhaar at the biennialmeetings covering almost all aspects of chemistry in a OPCW Commemoration, Ypres, April, 2015. focused way.Inmany cases these are stand-alone conferences,

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Figure 5. Attendants at the EYCN Delegates’ Assembly in Turin. EuChemS President, Pilar Goya is 6th from the right in the second row (Light blue top) with EYCN President Alice Soldµ nexttoher (Green). but sometimes, in order not to proliferate new conferencesDi- given the closing Lecture at ECC-6 in Seville. The first of the visions or Working Parties(e.g.,Chemistry and Energyor new style of EuChemS Lecture Award,[39] which is for work car- Chemistry in Life Sciences)team up to enhance well estab- ried out by peoplewithin 10 years of their PhD, will be pre- lished conference series. sentedtoAnna Laura Capriotti (Figure 7), Sapienza University, Many Divisionsrun highly successful summer schools and Rome,for her work on LCMS appliedtothe determinationof the European Young Chemists’ Network (Figure 5)[37] hasre- peptidesand small molecules presentinfood, beverages, and cently initiated aEuropean Young ChemistsCongress.This is a biological samples at very low concentration. She will give a hugely exciting development, where young chemists from lectureatEuroanalysis in Istanbul.[40] aroundEuropecan get togethertodiscusschemistry. It will be the place where new groupings are built and proposalsdevel- oped. It will allow even more penetration of young people into the European chemical community and fundingstreams. The next one will be held in Bremen, Germanyin2019. Divi- sions and Working Parties provide the focus forarange of activities within their area of expertise. Amongst them the Euro- pean Young Chemists’ Network EYCN runs very many different activities aimed at improving curricula vitae, honing interview skills and generallife skills.

Awards EuChemS has developed aseries of Awards, some of which will be awarded for the first time this year.The first ever Euro- pean ChemistryGold Medal[38] will be awarded to Ben Feringa, Figure 6. EuropeanGold Medal winner,Ben Feringa giving the closing Groningen (Figure 6), for his work on molecular machines, for (August Wilhelm von HofmannDenkmünze) lecture at ECC-6 weeks before which he also won the Nobel Prize in 2016 shortly after he had being awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

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Survey for Chemists. He ran asecond one jointly with ACS and is now preparing for athird. Read his publication in Chemistry –AEuropean Journal,[42] which received amongstthe top 5% of downloadsfor the year of publication. Anew European Chemical Landmark scheme has been initiated this year to honourpeople or places who/which have had amajor impact on chemistry in Europe. There are two catego- ries, European and Regional.The first awards will be presented in Liverpool to The Ytterby mine, Sweden(European Level), where 9new elements were discovered in the 19th century. The award seems highlyappropriate sinceweshall celebrate the International Year of the PeriodicTable in 2019. The Land- Figure 7. 2018 EuCheMS Lecture Award winner,Anna LauraCapriotti mark at the regional level will go to ABEA in ChaniaCrete, Greece for applying chemical principles and vertical integration so that all parts of the olive harvest can be utilised in table EuChemS rewards servicefor chemistry in Europe and toEu- olives,olive oil, various types of soap,refinedkitchen oil, ChemS.[41] This year,three such awards have been made animal feed -even olive kernels were used as the energy (Figure 8). Franco de Angelis has offered leadership and finan- sourceinburningovens. In so doing ABEA becameaparadigm cial stability to EuChemS through being its Treasurer for the for other companies to imitate. last 6years. He has been President of the Italian Chemical Soci- Various Divisionshave initiated awardsand the Italian Chem- ety,President of the European Chemistry Thematic Network ical Society together with Federazione Nazionale degli Ordini (ECTN), which coordinates the teaching of chemistry at tertiary dei Chimici edei Fisici in Italy (formerly ConsiglioNationale de level throughout Europe, and co-President of ChemPubSoc Chimici)sponsor the European YoungChemist Awards,[43] pre- Europe. Sergio Facchettiled the team that sorted out what sented at the ECC. EuChemS sponsors aprize every year for had gone wrong in the Soveso disaster and, as aresult was in- the best chemistry contribution at the European Union Contest vited to become aspecial advisor to the US President. He also for Young Scientist (EUCYS).[44] proposed and developed the isotopicanalysisthat was used to confirmthat high levels of lead in peoplenear large road networks did indeed arise because of the use of lead in petrol. Internationalisation These two monumental contributions make Sergio an ideal person for aService Award, but in addition, he has given an as- In recent years, EuCheMS has been seekingtofind ways with tonishing 47 years of very active service to the Executive which it can productively collaborate with similar organisations Boards of EuCheMS and FECS. Finally,Reiner Salzer has, aroundthe globe.Special symposia have been held with the through his work with the ECTN, been instrumental in setting Federation of Asian Chemical Societies at ECC-5 in Istanbul up and developing the labels for degrees such as Euromaster and with Federation of Latin American Chemical Societies in and Eurobatchelor,thus ensuring someconsistency in stand- Seville. ards acrossall EU universities. He has extended this work by in- The European Young Chemists’ Network (EYCN)[37] is akey itiating discussions with ACS on global standards in education, player along with ACS in initiating discussions and setting up which have now been joined by the Federation of Asian an International Young Chemists Network (IYCN)[45] affiliated to Chemical Societies and by IUPAC. Reiner also initiated, pro- IUPAC. EuChemS is also working with IUPAC on someprojects, posed ran and analysed the First European Employment especially the International Year of the Periodic Table and one

Figure 8. EuCheMSServiceAward winners, Sergio Facchetti, Franco De Angelis andReiner Salzer.

Chem. Eur.J.2018, 24,11811–11820 www.chemeurj.org 11816 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim Essays of the Bureaumembers, Jan Reedijk (Leiden) attends, on invita- tion, EuChemS ExecutiveBoard meetings. AMemorandum of Understanding[46] betweenEuCheMS and the ACS, whose individualmembership number is similar to the sum of those from EuChemS Member Societies, was signed in Seville during ECC-6 (Figure 9). The two societies agreed to work togetherto“promote the ethical use of chemistry” and “collaboratefor the good of the chemical en- terprise, of their members, and of the subject of chemistry” in such areas as events, surveys,lobbying, ethics and safety, global challenges, exchange programmes, the public understanding of chemistry,etc. ACS members can attend ECCs and members of EuCheMS Member Societies can attend ACS meetings at areduced registration rate.

Figure 10. Agroup of Mexican students enjoying ABCChem in Cancun,Jan- uary 2018.

EYCN runs ahighly successful Young Chemists Crossing Bor- ders[50] scheme, which allows 5–6 young European Chemiststo attend ACS meetings and 5–6 young chemists from the USA to attend the European Chemistry Congress.

Where is EuChemS going? In addition to attempting to continue to raise its profile and in- fluence through continuing to do all the thingsdescribed above to ahigherlevel,EuChemS is involved in anumber of very excitinginitiatives that will come to fruition over the next 1–2 years. Twoofthe major things are anew courseonEthics Figure 9. Amemorandumofunderstanding being signedbetween the ACS for chemistsand activities surrounding the International Year represented by DianeGrob-Schmist, past President (centre), and EuCheMS of the Periodic Table in 2019. (NinetaHraselj and David Cole-Hamilton).

Good chemistry:methodological, ethical and social dimen- Already,joint workshops in the area of education and em- sions ployability have been held in ECC-6 Seville[47] and in the ACS Fall meeting, 2017, Washington. Another is planned for Liver- Chemistry is asubjectwhere we seek after the truth based on pool. There is collaboration over the Employment Surveys,the experimental observations. It is, therefore, essential that hones- third of which is on-going[48] and in trying to develop global ty and integrity are at the forefront of every chemist’s mind. Al- standards in chemistryteaching. thoughinyears gone by most people wereraised in an envi- One significant development to come out of this collabora- ronment where religious instruction, practiceand observance tion was the first Atlantic Basin Conference on Chemistry (ABC- playedanimportant part, this is usually not the case now. Chem, Figure 10).[49] This conference,which is aimed at bring- Whatever one thinks of such instruction, there can be little ing together chemists from countries around the Atlanticand doubtthat most religionsinstil into their followers adeep especially at building collaborations between people from dis- sense of what is right and wrong;what is acceptable or unac- parate countries who would not otherwise meet, is sponsored ceptable. The demiseinreligious teaching of ethics, morals,in- by ACS, the Brazilian Chemical Society, the Canadian Society tegrityand honesty has not been compensated by adramatic for Chemistry,EuChemS, and the Mexican Chemical Society, rise in teaching of these issues in schools or in many cases in and is supported by the Federation of Chemical Societies of families, so many peoplestarting on ascientific careerwill be Africa, the South African Chemical Institute, and the Federation less aware of what they should do than were their predeces- of Latin AmericanChemical Societies. The first ABCChem, held sors. In addition, few teachers in chemistry departments have in Cancun, Mexico attracted >200 people from around the At- the ability or motivation to teach ethical principles. lantic and provided aforum for chemistsofvery different With this in mind, EuChemS has commissioned its Working backgrounds to exchange ideas and start to build collabora- Party on Ethics in Chemistry and Division for Education in tions. Discussions are ongoing as to where,when and whether Chemistry to develop and on-line module (1 ECTS credit) suita- this experiment should be repeated. ble for delivery to final year Masters’ students or first year post-

Chem. Eur.J.2018, 24,11811–11820 www.chemeurj.org 11817 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim Essays graduates. The course will be capable of being taken entirely where the entire wall of one chemistry buildingisahuge Peri- as an on-line course, but teachers who wish to teach asimilar odic Table (11–12thFebruary, 2019). The Working Party will course themselves will be abletouse any or all of the on-line also produce abook entitled Womenintheir element. The His- materialtosupport their teaching. The course will consist of toric Role of Female Scientists in the(Pre)History of the Periodic 16 x45-minute lectures broken up by originalcases for dissec- Table edited by Annette Lykknes and their Chair,Brigittevan tion or discussion, quizzes, assignments and an assessment. Tiggelen. 1ECTS credit will consist of aselectionofcore and optional The EuChemS Executive Board has endorsed aproposal to lectures tailored to meet the needs of the particular student(s). produce aPeriodic Table for schools, which will be made avail- The lectures have already been recorded by Dr.Jan Melich, able in electronic or wallchart form. The idea is that this Peri- who is an expert in scientific ethics from Germany currently odic Table will complement existing ones, by featuring element workinginTaiwan.Heisalso developing many of the case availability andvulnerability as well as highlighting which ele- studies. Currently Iwona Maciejowska, Chair Division for Chemi- ments appear in amobile (cell) phone. It will look quite differ- cal Education, is leading ateam aimed at producing the quizz- ent from any other wallchart but will inspire discussionand es, assignments and assessments. It is anticipated that the thought. whole course will be ready for approval by the EuChemS Gen- Avideo game aimed at 11–15-year olds has also been com- eral Assembly in August and that it will be piloted by aselect- missioned. It will involve variouschallenges in order to collect ed number of chemistry departmentsthrough the last quarter individualelements or whole groups sometimes under difficult of 2018. Reacting to feedback from the piloting universities, circumstances. Once again this will be made available free of the curse will be modified and then made availabletochemis- charge. try departments affiliated to all EuChemS Member Societies at Finally, EYCN, in collaboration with IUPAC and the EuChemS no cost to them. DivisionofChemical Education are holding asecond video making competition, ChemistryRediscovered, with the title, In Your Element. There will be two contestantcategories:12–17 International Year of the PeriodicTable and 18–30 years old. The competition is due to be launched In 2019, it will be 150 years since Dmitri Mendeleev wrote on 1st October. down the version of the Periodic Table that we now use.[51] This development usheredinsignificant advances in the un- The future of Chemistry derstanding of chemical systems and the development of new chemicalreactions. Following aproposal from IUPAC, support- Some peoplesay that chemistry is amature subjectwith little ed by EuChemS amongstothers, UNESCO has proclaimed 2019 more to offer,but you only have to look at the 17 UN Sustaina- [53] as the International Year of the PeriodicTable of Chemical Ele- bility Goals to see that chemistry has ahuge role to play in ments (Figure 11).[52] EuChemS is workingwithits Divisions, saving the planet. Without chemistry we are nothing;without Working Parties and Member Societies, together with IUPAC to chemistry we cannotsurvive. When we look at the great chal- develop anumber of activities throughout the year to cele- lengesfacing us:global warming and climatechange, clean brate the PeriodicTable. and abundantfood and water for all, zero carbon emission in- Just to give you aflavour of some of the new activities that dustryand transport, replacing fossil fuel feedstocks for chemi- are proposed, the Division for Inorganic Chemistry will hold its cal production with renewables, clean air for everyone, remov- biennialconference in St. Petersburg, one of the places where al of plasticpollution for the seas, developing acleanersafer Mendeleev worked, with the centrepiece being acelebration world, curing new and more complicated diseases,giving a of the Periodic Table.The Working Party on the Historyof betterquality of life to those who live longer,tacklingdiseases Chemistry together with IUPAC and the University of Murcia arisingfrom poor lifestyles, the list is endless, we see that new will run an international symposium, Settingtheir Table: chemistry must be developedfor all of these challenges and Womenand the Periodic Table of Elements in Murcia, Spain, much of this must be done right here in Europe. We must train the very best people to have the very best ideas and carry out the very bestresearch at the highest level. Europe, more than anywhere else has the ability to do this—and do it it must. In EuChemS, we have taken the first steps in thinking about how we shouldprioritise these issues and what advice we can give others in terms of developing astrategy.Inour response on potential missions for Horizon Europe,[8] we proposed a series of missions that should be seen as very high priorities:

1) Enabling Our Ageing Population—Developing new technologies, services andsystems to support an aging population Figure 11. Logo for the International Year of the Periodic Table, proclaimed is apressing current challenge that will take on furtherur- by UNESCO for 2019. gencyasthe proportion of older people increases globally.

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Themes would encompass advances in personalised medi- 8) Smartnon-invasive MedicalDiagnostics—This mission will cine, medical diagnostics and assisted living technologies, lead to smart fast non-invasive diagnostics for awhole as well as new modelsfor social care and services tailored range of diseases, as well as imaging hard and soft tissue for an ageing population. allowing the phasing out of X-radiographyand other po- 2) Averting an AntimicrobialResistance Apocalypse—A mission tentially harmful techniques. that addresses the challenge of antimicrobialresistance using aone-health approach. Alongsidethe development As required for missions,all of these involveseveraldifferent of new drugs and types of therapeutics, strandsunder this disciplines, but chemistry is centraltoall of them. They repre- mission could include understanding mechanisms of resist- sent huge challenges, but they really must be tackled and the ance and understanding the spreadofresistance(particu- problems overcome.Chemistry will make the major contribu- larly through environmental pathways), identifying ways to tion and above all, we shall provide hope of ahappy sustaina- prevent the spread and transmission of infection, develop- ble andfulfilled life for generationstocome. Without chemis- ment and implementation of rapid and accurate diagnos- try that is impossible. tics, and effective public health interventions, including EuChemS has ahuge amount of work to do! publicunderstanding of and attitudes towards antimicrobial resistance. Keywords: chemistry · Europe · general chemistry · science 3) Sustainable Low Carbon Energy for All—A mission to deliver and society advances across energy efficiency,exploitation, storageand distribution to ensure adequate, equitable and sustainable energy for all. The mission will need to encompassresearch [1] Letter to European Commission,“Chief Scientific Adviser”, http:// into materials and processes to deliver new and improved www.euchems.eu/wp-content/uploads/141117letter Chief Scientifi- technologies, as wellasroutes to implementation on the cAdviser.pdf. scale needed for public and industrial use. In addition, re- [2] Letter to the European Commission andthe European Parliament, “Re- duction of greenhouse effect gases”, http://www.euchems.eu/wp-con- search into markets, consumer attitudes and preferences tent/uploads/EuCheMS letter greenhouse.pdf. will be essential to understand how to undertake changes [3] Letter to the European Commission,“Transfer of funds from Horizon across the current system. 2020 to the new European Fund for Strategic Investments”, http:// 4) Forming afit-for purpose Food Landscape—This mission will www.euchems.eu/wp-content/uploads/150205letterResearchFunds.pdf. [4] E. Keinan, (in Hebrew) http://www.calcalist.co.il/local/articles/0,7340,L- deliver safe, sustainable and sufficient food supplies across 3688668,00.html. the world.Itwill encompass methods to improve produc- [5] EuCheMSNews,“Chemists Urge Israel to Ban Chemical Weapons” Pub- tion, develop innovations in new foods, reduce waste and lished on:July 7, 2016,http://www.euchems.eu/president-israeli-chemi- ensure food safety and authenticity.Examining our social cal-society-publishes-open-letter-state-president-urging-ratification- chemical-weapons-convention/. and cultural relationships with food, alongside research [6] English translation of Ref. [4]: http://www.euchems.eu/wp-content/up- into public health interventions that encourage improve- loads/2016/07/Chemical-Weapons-open-letter-translation.pdf. mentsindiet would also be partofthis mission. [7] D. J. Cole-Hamilton, E. Keinan, The Conversation,Publishedon: Septem- 5) Nuclear Energy and Waste—A mission that will address ber 16, 2016,https://theconversation.com/why-ratifying-the-chemical- weapons-convention-is-in-israels-best-interest-63889. whether to continue or not with nuclear and which will de- [8] EuCheMS Response to Public Call for Feedback on Missions in the velop the expertise as many things have to be done to re- Future Framework Programme 9: http://www.euchems.eu/policy-and- place nuclearortotreat waste. communication/policy-positions/euchems-response-to-public-call-for- 6) AClean Sustainable World—This mission strivestoengen- feedback-on-missions-in-the-future-framework-programme-9/. [9] EuCheMS Response to the Public Consultation on Trans Fatty Acids, der resource efficiency,the circular economy the protection http://www.euchems.eu/policy-and-communication/policy-positions/eu- and replacementifcritical elements and the use of sunlight chems-response-public-consultation-trans-fatty-acids/. to drive chemical and fuel manufacture. Urgent targets in- [10] Feedback from EuCheMS on Acrylamide Mitigation Strategies, https:// clude reducing the use of, reusing and recycling plastics ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/initiatives/ares-2017-2895100/ feedback/F1943 en. with an aim to have zero plastics being added to the envi- [11] EuCheMS Response to the Public Consultation on Antimicrobial Resist- ronmentby2030;recycling and reusingphosphorus from ance, http://www.euchems.eu/policy-and-communication/policy-posi- human waste, traceability and recycling of all elements in tions/euchems-responce-public-consultation-antimicrobial-resistance/. disposable electronic gadgets.There is alarge social ele- [12] EuCheMS response to the consultation on the evaluation of the Euro- pean HeritageLabel Action, http://www.euchems.eu/euchems-re- ment in altering attitudes towards recycling,recycled sponse-to-the-consultation-on-the-evaluation-of-the-european-heritage- goods and reduced packaging. label-action/. 7) Eliminating Lifestyle Diseases—led by sociological and psy- [13] Research and EducationWithout BordersAfter Brexit:APosition Pa- chological effortstochange behaviours that lead to such perhttp://www.euchems.eu/policy-and-communication/policy-positions/research-education-without-borders-brexit-position-paper/. illnesses as obesity,diabetes, addictions and anorexia, this [14] Integrating CO2 in the Value Chain:The Role of Chemistry,http:// Mission will use all the tools of food chemistry and formula- www.euchems.eu/policy-and-communication/policy-workshops/inte- tion as well as medical interventions to improve the health, grating-co2-in-the-value-chain-the-role-of-chemistry/. quality of life and life expectancy of asector of society that [15] Solving Antibiotic Resistance,http://www.euchems.eu/policy-and-communication/policy-workshops/solving-antibiotic-resistance/. is growing at an alarming rate. [16] ProtectingEndangered Elements, http://www.euchems.eu/policy-and- communication/policy-workshops/protecting-endangered-elements/.

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[17] (Re)searching for Jobs, http://www.euchems.eu/policy-and-communica- s.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/1804-Chemical-Weapons-Use-declaration/policy-workshops/researching-for-jobs/. tion.pdf. [18] Glyphosate:Harmless Tool or Sneaky Poison?http://www.euchems.eu/ [34] H. Frank, J. E. Forman, D. Cole-Hamilton, Toxicol. Environ. Chem. 2018, policy-and-communication/policy-workshops/glyphosate-harmless-tool- 100,1-5. sneaky-poison/. [35] 7th EuCheMS Chemistry Congress: https://www.euchems2018.org/. [19] EuCheMS Position Paper:Solar Driven Chemistry, 2016 http://www.eu- [36] EuCheMSNews,“ANew Award—EuCheMS Historical Landmarks”, Pub- chems.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/161012-Solar-Driven-Chemis- lished onSeptember5,2017, http://www.euchems.eu/new-award-eu- try.pdf. chems-historical-landmarks/ [20] EuCheMS Response to the Public Consultation on Circular Econo- [37] European Young Chemists’ Network(EYCN): http://www.euchems.eu/di- myhttp://www.euchems.eu/policy-and-communication/policy-positions/ visions/european-young-chemists-network/. euchems-responce-to-the-public-consultation-on-circular-economy/. [38] European Chemistry Gold Medal:http://www.euchems.eu/awards/euro- [21] EuCheMSNews,“EuCheMSatthe EC Mission to ChileonCircular Econo- pean-chemistry-gold-medal/. my”, Published on April 11,2016,http://www.euchems.eu/euchems-ec- [39] EuCheMS Lecture Award:http://www.euchems.eu/awards/lecture- mission-chile-circular-economy/. award/. [22] EuCheMSNews,“Circular Economy—EuCheMS at European Commission [40] EuroanalysisXXConference:http://euroanalysis2019.com/. Mission to China”, Published on November22, 2016,http://www.eu- [41] EuCheMS Award for Service:http://www.euchems.eu/awards/award-for- chems.eu/circular-economy-euchems-european-commission-mission- service-new1/. china/. [42] R. Salzer,P.Taylor,N.H.Majcen,F.DeAngelis, S. Wilmet, E. Varella, I. Ko- [23] EuCheMSNews,“EuCheMSatthe Circular Economy Mission to South zaris, Chem.Eur.J.2015, 21,9921. Africa”, Published on May 15, 2017,http://www.euchems.eu/euchems- [43] European Young Chemist Award:http://www.euchems.eu/awards/euro- circular-economy-mission-south-africa/. pean-young-chemists-award/. [24] EuCheMSNews,“EuCheMS at the Circular Economy MissiontoColom- [44] EuCheMS European Union Contestfor Young Scientist (EUCYS)Award: bia”, Published on November 15, 2017, http://www.euchems.eu/eu- http://www.euchems.eu/awards/euchems-eucys-award/ chems-circular-economy-mission-colombia/. [45] International YoungerChemists Network (IYCN): https://iupac.org/proj- [25] Chemistry for the Future of Europe—Energy,Food, Environment, ects/project-details/?project nr= 2017-002-1-020. http://www.euchems.eu/policy-and-communication/policy-workshops/ [46] EuCheMSNews,“EuCheMS–ACS Sign Memorandum ofUnderstanding”, chemistry-for-the-future-of-europe-energy-food-environment/. PublishedonSeptember 13, 2016,http://www.euchems.eu/euchems- [26] Science:How Close to Open?http://www.euchems.eu/policy-and-com- acs-sign-memorandum-understanding/. munication/policy-workshops/science-close-open/. [47] Preparing for Employment in aGlobal Workforce, http://www.euchem- [27] From Waste to Health,http://www.euchems.eu/policy-and-communica- s.eu/policy-and-communication/policy-workshops/preparing-employ- tion/policy-workshops/from-waste-to-health/. ment-global-workforce/. [28] Zero Carbon Energy:The Future, http://www.euchems.eu/policy-and- [48] http://www.euchems.eu/policy-and-communication/projects/euchems- communication/policy-workshops/zero-carbon-energy-the-future/. acs-employment-survey-2020-planning/. [49] Atlantic Basin Conference on Chemistry: http://abcchem.org/. [29] EuCheMS News,“OutcomesofEuCheMSCNC Lectures at Expo 2015”, [50] EYCN News,http://www.euchems.eu/divisions/european-young-chem- PublishedonMarch 15, 2016,http://www.euchems.eu/outcomes-eu- ists-network/news/. chems-cnc-lectures-expo-2015/. [51] D. I. Mendeleev, OsnovyKhimii [Elements of Chemistry],St. Petersburg, [30] Chemists Against Chemical Weapons, http://www.euchems.eu/policy- 1869. and-communication/policy-positions/chemists-against-chemical-weap- [52] “2019isproclaimed the International Year of the Periodic Table of ons/. Chemical Elements”, Published on March 22, 2018,https://en.unes- [31] D. J. Cole-Hamilton, The Conversation,Published on April 22, 2015, co.org/news/2019-proclaimed-international-year-periodic-table-chemi- https://theconversation.com/a-century-after-wwi-gas-attacks-scientists- cal-elements. must-unite-against-chemical-weapons-40521. [53] United NationsSustainable DevelopmentGoals, https://www.un.org/ [32] EuCheMSNews,“The Seville Declaration on the use of Chlorine in War- sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/. fare”, PublishedonOctober 12, 2016,http://www.euchems.eu/seville- declaration-use-chlorine-warfare/. [33] EuCheMSPress Release,“EuCheMSstatementonthe use of Chemical Manuscript received:June 26, 2018 Weapons in Syria”, PublishedonApril 11,2018,http://www.euchem- Version of record online:July 31, 2018

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