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Vol. 32 No. 4
July-August 2010

From the Editor

While joking over our iconic “C” logo for the 2011 International Year of Chemistry, a friend of mine suggested that the “C” should be for Communication. “Yes,” I replied, and from there we went on debating the many communication challenges we all experience in our professional and personal worlds.

image of Fabienne MeyersWe agreed that most chemists are not at the forefront of exploiting communication opportunities readily available in the online world. Fortunately, we noted, there are “explorer chemists” out there who do adapt selected technologies, which then percolate into our world, bringing unforeseen benefits to how we do things. It may be true that other scientific communities embrace new tools much faster, but in the end, I am sure we will get there. A new generation of chemists will undoubtedly bring along new tools, some transferred from other social contexts.

The discussion changed course when we realized that there are many folks, including specialists in communication, who are very interested in the behavior of chemists and their challenges in communicating. One key reference I recommend reading is a recent commentary titled “Communicating Chemistry” by Theresa Velden and Carl Lagoze, published in Nature Chemistry on 1 December 2009 (Vol 1, p. 673–678; doi:10.1038/nchem.448), and the related white paper.

Related to this topic, I was delighted by the suggestions from Javier Garcia-Martinez, one of our youngest members and an advocate of new communication opportunities. On page 4 in print, he offers CI readers his views on Chemistry 2.0 and how new social networking tools can bring folks closer to chemistry. Javier’s enthusiasm is palpable. He shares with us his favorite sites and apps, and highlights the many educational opportunities.

To keep IUPAC moving forward, relevant, and sustainable in today’s changing world, new voices and views are necessary. I believe it is important that we keep bringing into our community a wide range of expertise and folks with “outside the box” attitudes and ideas, and that we continue to embrace global diversity. Since IUPAC functions through the hard work of dedicated volunteers worldwide, it is up to everyone to step in, get engaged, and bring change. A perfect opportunity for involvement is upon us: IUPAC is requesting nominations for members of all divisions and commissions (see p. 19 in print for details). This only happens once ever two years and meanwhile, for now, in an old fashioned way, you won’t find us on Facebook, nor be able to follow us on Twitter.

Fabienne Meyers
[email protected]

 

Cover: The image depicted on the cover is a reproduction of the book cover from Analogue-based Drug Discoverysee feature on page 12 in print; reproduced with permission from Wiley-VCH.

 


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