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RSC chief executive, Robert Parker looks back on the 7th<\/sup> EuChemS Chemistry Congress
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Robert Parker, Royal Society of Chemistry AGM, Burlington House, London, 11 July 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWe are very proud to have played host to so many members of our international chemistry community in the UK this summer and there are some impressive numbers from our packed programme. We welcomed more than 1,500 delegates from 60 countries to Liverpool \u2013 a city with a history, present and future, rich in chemistry. The five-day programme followed a theme of \u201cMolecular frontiers and global challenges\u201d and included eight plenary lectures, more than 450 talks across nine parallel sessions, as well as networking opportunities and poster sessions. Memorably, the social programme also included hundreds of chemists dancing to the music of Liverpool\u2019s most famous exports, with an appearance from the excellent Bootleg Beatles!<\/p>\n
When EuChemS President, Professor Pilar Goya Laza, welcomed delegates to the congress, she rightly thanked the organising committees, chaired by Bengt Norden and Tom Brown. Pilar outlined the importance of science making connections across borders, saying: \u201cThrough EuChemS, we will continue to bring together your voice, and the voices from over thirty different countries into one common language, and to communicate our shared belief in chemistry, in science, in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The congress also included the presentation of the EuChemS European Chemistry Gold Medal to Nobel laureate Professor Ben Feringa. Ben was one of our plenary speakers in Liverpool, as well as in Seville in 2016, shortly before receiving his Nobel Prize. This year, Frances Arnold was plenary speaker in Liverpool and shortly after received the Nobel Prize, just the fifth woman to receive the prize.<\/p>\n
A theme of inspiring the next generation continued throughout the week, with members of the European Young Chemists Network (EYCN), who ran sessions for fellow early career chemists. One of their organisers, Fernando Gomoll\u00f3n Bel, said: \u201cThe mood has been really optimistic because people believe in the future of chemistry, because chemistry is actually the central science \u2013 it\u2019s found in materials, it\u2019s found in medicine \u2013 and a lot of the talks so far have focused on trying to find a positive attitude towards chemistry and finding the right mentors that can inspire great stories and great chemistry\u201d.<\/p>\n
In his closing speech, Royal Society of Chemistry past president, Professor Sir John Holman, reminded us why chemistry is, and must always remain, collaborative and international. \u201cChemistry must be bigger than a single country, bigger than a single strand of research, or a single sub-discipline. We must cross borders, not set them up. We must pass by frontiers and help to solve the challenges that affect all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
We are very proud to have played host to so many members of our international chemistry community in the UK this summer and there are some impressive numbers from our packed programme. We welcomed more than 1,500 delegates from 60 countries to Liverpool \u2013 a city with a history, present and future, rich in chemistry. The five-day programme followed a theme of \u201cMolecular frontiers and global challenges\u201d and included eight plenary lectures, more than 450 talks across nine parallel sessions, as well as networking opportunities and poster sessions. Memorably, the social programme also included hundreds of chemists dancing to the music of Liverpool\u2019s most famous exports, with an appearance from the excellent Bootleg Beatles!<\/p>\n
When EuChemS President, Professor Pilar Goya Laza, welcomed delegates to the congress, she rightly thanked the organising committees, chaired by Bengt Norden and Tom Brown. Pilar outlined the importance of science making connections across borders, saying: \u201cThrough EuChemS, we will continue to bring together your voice, and the voices from over thirty different countries into one common language, and to communicate our shared belief in chemistry, in science, in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The congress also included the presentation of the EuChemS European Chemistry Gold Medal to Nobel laureate Professor Ben Feringa. Ben was one of our plenary speakers in Liverpool, as well as in Seville in 2016, shortly before receiving his Nobel Prize. This year, Frances Arnold was plenary speaker in Liverpool and shortly after received the Nobel Prize, just the fifth woman to receive the prize.<\/p>\n
A theme of inspiring the next generation continued throughout the week, with members of the European Young Chemists Network (EYCN), who ran sessions for fellow early career chemists. One of their organisers, Fernando Gomoll\u00f3n Bel, said: \u201cThe mood has been really optimistic because people believe in the future of chemistry, because chemistry is actually the central science \u2013 it\u2019s found in materials, it\u2019s found in medicine \u2013 and a lot of the talks so far have focused on trying to find a positive attitude towards chemistry and finding the right mentors that can inspire great stories and great chemistry\u201d.<\/p>\n
In his closing speech, Royal Society of Chemistry past president, Professor Sir John Holman, reminded us why chemistry is, and must always remain, collaborative and international. \u201cChemistry must be bigger than a single country, bigger than a single strand of research, or a single sub-discipline. We must cross borders, not set them up. We must pass by frontiers and help to solve the challenges that affect all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
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