46th World Chemistry Congress/IUPAC-2017 and 40th Annual Meeting of the SBQ

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Editorial Singular, incredible, unforgettable. After almost 100 years, this was the first time South America hosted the IUPAC World Chemistry Congress. Around 700 scientific activities were held, incorporating all areas of chemistry, with the participation of more than 3,500 people from 66 countries around the world. Among several innovations, we introduced a ground-breaking 360° stage system that captivated the participants. With up to 8 conferences taking place simultaneously in a single space, without separate rooms or dividing walls, the audience managed to watch one or more activities without having to move around.

At such a special moment, during the 40-year anniversary celebrations of the SBQ, we were the world capital of Chemistry. It is impossible not to be overwhelmed when recalling the extraordinary conference of current Nobel Prize winner Sir Fraser Stoddart who, with his eyes welling up and his voice breaking, described the fascinating world of nano-machines and demonstrated some of the determining factors in achieving personal and professional success.

Among those present, the atmosphere was of pure harmony and euphoria. In their smiles and enthusiastic participation, their pride of hosting the most global event of the Chemical Sciences was palpable. Together we have built a beautiful history, which fills us with joy and has made these last 7 years of dedication and work all worthwhile. Brazil and South America already have their places guaranteed on the world map of Chemistry. IUPAC-2017 is leaving us with a tangible legacy, which should be in favor of our society, our researchers, professors and, especially, our young students, who represent our future.

Congratulations to the SBQ and to all who have helped us make this dream come true!

Adriano D. Andricopulo Rossimiriam Pereira de Freitas

Globalized Chemistry Rajesh Pandit was the sole representative from Nepal at the World Chemistry Congress. He is a physicist and chemist who specializes in polymers and is the deputy head of the Tri-Chandra campus of Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, as well as being a director of the Nepalese Polymer Institute. “Our chemistry course is 50 years old and the university attracts 3,000 students to our science and technology courses each year”, Pandit said. “We are developing the research and science environment in Nepal.”

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The Largest Scientific Event in the History of Chemical Sciences in Latin America With participants from 66 countries, the 46th World Chemistry Congress delivered a strong message of sustainability One of the largest scientific events in the world, the 46th of $113.5 bn, and generates 2% of scientific publications World Chemistry Congress (IUPAC 2017) was held in São in chemistry. “Hosting the world’s leading chemists to Paulo between July 9 and 14, graced with the presence debate the development of science is an honor and an of three Nobel Prize Winners and around 3,500 chemists acknowledgment of the SBQ’s 40 years of tireless work”, from all continents. “Today, Brazil has been put on the he remarked. world map of chemistry”, announced professor Adriano The president of the Organization for the Prohibition of D. Andricopulo (IFSC-USP), president of the Congress’ Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ahmet Uzumcu, sent a video Organizing Committee, during the opening ceremony. greeting the participants. “We have worked together with “We are making a dream come true: it is the first time IUPAC to promote chemistry for peaceful purposes and an IUPAC has convened in the country that increasingly more sustainable use of the supplies the planet’s oxygen”, stated the science”, he stated.

“We are making a president of IUPAC, professor Natalia SBQ ex-president and secretary of dream come true: it Politics and Programmes for Reserach Tarasova. She highlighted the importance of scientists taking an ethical stance in is the first time IUPAC and Development, of Brazilian´s Ministry the face of serious world issues. “The UN has convened in the of Science, Tecnology and Innovation, objectives for sustainable development country that supplies Jaílson B. Andrade, hailed the importance offer us guidelines on where we should the planet’s oxygen” of advanced planning: “It took several focus our efforts”, she said. years of hard work so that we could host – Natalia Tarasova, The opening ceremony was held in IUPAC 2017.”

IUPAC front of an audience of approximately The conference of the opening 2,500 people and included a performance ceremony was held by professor Robert of a wide range of Brazilian music by the USP Comunicantus Huber, from the Max Planck Institute, a Nobel Prize Winner Chamber Choir. That night, award ceremonies for the IUPAC in 1988 for his work in the determination of the three2017 Distinguished Women in Chemistry and 2017 IUPAC dimensional structure of a photosynthetic reaction center.

International Award for Young Chemists also took place.

The World Chemistry Congress saw the presentation The president of the Brazilian Chemical Society (SBQ), of 2320 scientific posters, with analytical chemistry and professor Aldo Zarbin (UFPR), highlighted the strength synthesis being the most popular themes, with 281 and of chemistry in Brazil, which today has the world’s 277 papers respectively. The largest foreign delegations eighth largest chemical industry sector with a revenue were those of the United States of America and Canada.

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nObel

The Science, Life and Charisma of Sir Fraser Stoddart Nobel Prize winner for Chemistry in 2016 tells us about his nano-machines and is treated like a popstar, taking hundreds of selfies and signing autographs

If IUPAC-2017 brought the cream of the crop of world chemistry to Brazil, the event will have left nothing but good memories for Scotsman Sir Fraser Stoddart, winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The afternoon after his conference, Sir Fraser spent around three hours taking photos and signing autographs, receiving the full popstar treatment from the young and enthusiastic crowd. “I’m overwhelmed, this is the first time this has happened in my life”, he said, between autographs.

“I wasn’t aware of his work, and it was great to learn about it. Besides the scientific aspects, he also showed his humble, human side and came here to be closer to us”, remarked Helena Mannochio Russo, who is taking a Master’s Degree in natural product chemistry and was taking part in an SBQ event for the first time.

Sir Fraser had already tugged on the audience’s heartstrings that morning, when he was visibly moved during his conference, speaking about love, family,

freedom, politics, creativity, art and chemistry. A chemistry so advanced – his nano-machines based on mechanical bonds – that he compared it to aviation in 1927. “The Nobel Prize was an acknowledgment of the basic research. Before Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic we didn’t know where aviation could take us. Today we know that mechanical bonds will change the world, but we have no idea about the different applications which will come from them, besides the most obvious ones such as in medicine and in the information technology industry.”

In 1991, the researcher managed to thread a molecular ring onto a molecular axle and then demonstrated he was able to control the movement of the ring along the axle, thus establishing a whole new field of chemistry. He has published more than 1,200 papers and trained over 400 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. An only child, he was raised on a farm close to the city of Edinburgh “without electricity until 18 years old, with lots of love and

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support from parents, rewards for effort and a great incentive to the risk of discoveries.”

He encouraged researchers to persevere with their ideas, even in the face of criticism or a lack of attention from the scientific community. “Those on the outside do not have the answers you are searching for. I’ll repeat something I was told by one of my teachers: find a large problem and pursue your solution”, he advised. By quoting a paper by Jean-Pierre Sauvage (his Nobel laureate colleague in 2016, along with Bernard Feringa), he encouraged chemists to publish good papers in Portuguese. “Good papers will be read and they will make an impact, regardless of which language they are written in. Try it in Portuguese.”

The 46th World Chemistry Congress also included conferences from Nobel Prize winners Robert Huber (1988) and Ada Yonath (2009).

Religion and Nationalism are Two Albatrosses of Humanity At a time in which social conflicts are being exacerbated across all continents, and nationalist and religious leaders are emerging in politics, Sir Fraser Stoddart left us with a warning. “Religion and nationalism are the two biggest albatrosses of humanity, which will be very hard to free ourselves from”, he told to SBQ, commenting upon Albert Einstein’s famous aphorism from his essay “On Science and Religion”: “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

“I think that over the course of time, human beings will be able to answer the questions about where they

came from and what they should be striving for, and I don’t think that religion will show this path, as they take shortcuts for explanations which are bizarre”, he observed. “If we didn’t have religion and nationalism in our lives, we would be going into a much more peaceful era. We are still paying the price for an ancient religious conflict with many wars.”

Active on Twitter, where he defines himself as someone who “mingles art with science”, Sir Fraser expressed his dismay on social media at the walls and barriers that separated the business class passengers on his flight to São Paulo. “We need to break down the barriers that keep people apart. The very notion of countries does not fit into an ideal world”, said the Nobel laureate.

The researcher defends the importance of a minimal scientific knowledge for all citizens in order to improve the development of society. “I think we need to re-evaluate our notion of democracy. If it means that people with increasingly distinct levels of knowledge have the same representation in the polling booth, then I think it doesn’t work. Perhaps it would be a case of evaluating whether citizens require a minimal level of knowledge before they can vote.

See what happened recently in the United States and the United Kingdom (the victory of Donald Trump and Brexit). These decisions were very harmful to these populations”, he opined.

On his part, Sir Fraser says he has done the best he can in regard to communicating with people from different countries, in particular, young people.

“I’m happy to be on Twitter and see that people are interested in knowing what I have to say.”

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symPOsIA

Innovations in Medicine, Energy and Industry The 46th World Chemistry Congress touched on many have become really dependent on batteries, but we still themes in which applied chemistry has a more obvious don’t really have portable electricity”, she said. “And this impact on people’s lives. Across all the symposia and is just beginning. Think about the internet of things and conferences, beyond questions of basic science, there the number of sensors that will need batteries to keep were several debates about medicine, energy and us connected.” industry, vectors of scientific innovation.

Professor Grey was one of the conference speakers at The chemical industry was represented by the IUPAC-2017, where she presented some of the results of Chemistry for Innovation in the Chemical Industry her approximately 20 years of research on the subject. symposium and the Abiquim Technology and Innovation “We want to develop batteries with more capacity, which Seminar, which brought together executives from can tolerate more charge cycles and be safer”, she said, various market-leader companies such as Dow, BASF, referring to recent incidents of explosions in cell phone Solvay-Rhodia, Braskem, Elekeiroz, batteries. “Batteries which last longer “For 150 years we among others. “It’s very important to mean less resources, cost and waste.” have always worked have industry and academia together”, The “definitive battery” that Grey’s together with said Willi Nass, vice president of group are trying to make possible are the academia in our technical services for BASF in South so-called lithium-air batteries (Li-air), a research centers. In America. “For 150 years we have always process that exchanges the heavy metal South America, our worked together with academia in our oxides used in our current rechargeable agenda prioritizes research centers. In South America, our batteries (lithium-ion) for oxygen. This the field of genetic agenda prioritizes the field of genetic makes for batteries with more energy and improvement of improvement of crops: plants which are less weight. “It is still not a commercially crops: plants which resistant to drought and disease.” viable technology, but we have already are resistant to For Rafael Pellicciotta, head of advanced so much”, she said. “Our work innovation at Elekeiroz and coordinator drought and disease.” is not just to understand how batteries – Willi Nass of the Abiquim technology committee, work, but principally how they fail.” the participation of industry at IUPACLi-air batteries were also the subject 2017 was a milestone. “I am very satisfied because of the Berkeley researcher Bryan McCloskey. He we have been able to have an intense rapprochement showed the possibilities of using electrochemistry between the professionals who work in technology and in non-aqueous electrolyte batteries to resolve the innovation in industry, students, professors, institutes product’s limitations regarding the discharge of the and academia.” cathode, one of the factors still impeding its viability.

Have you ever imagined only needing to charge your Other topics also discussed in the rooms of the WTC smartphone once a week? Or what about having an events center were other ways to better use biomass, electric car which can travel the 780 kilometers between ethanol, biofuels and other solutions for electric cars.

Rio de Janeiro and Bahia, without having to stop for gas? To give you an idea, the leading electric cars on the market today can run for around 160 kilometers New Drugs and the Same Old – hardly enough for someone in Rio de Janeiro to visit Resistance the countryside.

Israeli scientist Ada Yonath, winner of the Nobel If all goes to plan, this is where research such as that of University of Cambridge professor Clare Grey will Prize in Chemistry in 2009, warned about the growing take us. “If we think about the mobility revolution, we resistance of bacteria to antibiotics and spoke about

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Clare Grey

Glaucius Oliva

Ada Yonath

Willi Nass

her research for the development of a new class of Resistance to antibiotics is also the motivation of selective and efficient antibiotics which act directly in German scientist Katharina Landfester of the Max Planck the ribosome, impeding the bacteria from replicating Institute, who presented a conference about her work its DNA. Yonath received the Nobel Prize precisely in the development of polymeric nanocapsules for the for her work in determining the threestorage, transport and delivery of drugs.

“Hosting IUPACdimensional structure of the ribosome, “Hosting IUPAC-2017 in Brazil is a 2017 in Brazil is in other words, for the first time science milestone for chemistry and Brazilian a milestone for could “see” a ribosome exactly as it is and medicinal chemistry. The impact of this chemistry and better understand its inner workings. event will last for many years through Brazilian medicinal After this achievement, Yonath the collaborations it is fostering”, stated chemistry. The deepened her research by attempting professor Glaucius Oliva (IFSC-USP), a impact of this event to open a path for the development of conference speaker and coordinator of will last for many drugs that can act directly in the ribosome. a symposium on medicinal chemistry in years through the “The large pharmaceutical industries have which he spoke about his research into collaborations significantly decreased their investments the development of drugs against the it is fostering” – in researching new antibiotics because zika virus.

Glaucius Oliva of the risk of being inefficient due to In his opinion, academia in Brazil does resistance. So our group decided to invest not yet have the culture of developing our efforts in this direction”, she said in her conference. drugs. “This is done by the pharmaceutical industry, “Today, we know that antibiotic resistance exists and but little by little we are bringing this entrepreneurial evolves even if the person has never taken antibiotics. culture to academia and it is becoming rooted in young The bacteria want to live.” chemists. This event is proof of this.”

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sbQ 40 yeArs

SBQ Announces Foz do Iguaçu 2018 and Increase in Publications The success of the 46th World Chemistry Congress was an unforgettable 40th anniversary present for the SBQ. With more members than last year, their accounts approved, praise from the IUPAC board about the event and the certainty that Brazilian chemistry has been taken to another level, they now have the challenge to hold the 41st Annual Meeting in Foz do Iguaçu in 2018.

“The 40 years of the SBQ had its high point with the conference of Sir Fraser Stoddart. It has been a while since we have had a current Nobel Prize winner with us, and his empathy with the audience was sensational.

We have reached the peak of our internationalization, we are on top and we can’t let this fall”, declared the president of the SBQ, professor Aldo Zarbin. Norberto Peporine Lopes, Zarbin’s successor as of May 2018, highlighted the presence of young people and women at the event. “This was remarkable. The IUPAC board were impressed with the motivation of the young people

of Brazil”, he stated during the organization’s ordinary general assembly.

The secretary general of the SBQ , professor Rossimiriam Freitas (UFMG), presented figures from the event and announced Foz do Iguaçu as the host for the next Annual Meeting, scheduled for May 20 to 24, 2018. “The positive feedback from the participants was incredible, everyone was very enthusiastic. All of us who have actively participated in the organization of this grand event are very happy with the results. Myself in particular, as I was in direct contact with hundreds of the participants during the organization phase”, she declared.

Professor Luiz Henrique Catalani highlighted the internationalization and also the significant presence of the chemical industry (who held a symposium and a seminar) at the event. “It is a partnership which has been built with more enthusiasm in the last four years, and one which we must foster”, he stated.

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The board of directors praised the work of the previous boards who laid the path for IUPAC 2017 to be held in Brazil. The idea appeared and was developed during the administration of César Zucco, the hosting bid was made official during the administration of Victor Ferreira, Brazil was awarded the event during the administration of Adriano D. Andricopulo and was then organized by the current administration. “We must also mention professor Fernando Galembeck, one of the first people from the SBQ to make contact with IUPAC”, stressed professor Vanderlan Bolzani, Brazil’s representative at IUPAC. In a year of economic crisis, the Assembly celebrated the fact the World Chemistry Congress resulted in profit, the result of the large coordinated effort of the organizers.

The organization’s balance sheets showed an increase in revenue from new memberships and publications, which are becoming even more important in the funding of SBQ activities. “Our members realized the importance of being part of a strong and representative scientific community such as our own, as well as submitting papers to our publications”, highlighted Zarbin.

SBQ Board of Directors

The Importance of Presenting Papers The 40th Annual Meeting of the SBQ, held during the World Chemistry Congress, highlighted the value of the traditional coordinated sessions of scientific divisions. In total there were 12 sessions with 96 presentations from undergraduate and post-graduate students, as well as researchers, held on the same day as the conference of Nobel Prize winner Sir J. Fraser Stoddart. The papers were selected by the members of the SBQ. Giulia Murbach de Oliveira, 20 years old and attending her third year of an undergraduate course at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), was ready to present her paper about the diffusion of ionic liquid in charged clefts, during the poster session. She had been preparing for a long time for her first large scientific event when she received a surprise invite from the SBQ to present her work at the Physics-Chemistry/Theoretical Chemistry coordinated session.

“It was a surprise because I never thought I would be chosen”, she said. “I’m very critical [of my own work] and I got a bit agitated during the presentation, but my colleagues told me I did well. It was a really gratifying experience.”

Giulia said she had studied the diffusion of ionic liquids for around a year with her professor, José Leonardo Amaral de Siqueira. “It is a work which aims to study the efficiency of different materials for use in supra-capacitators. In practice we are talking about better ways to store energy”, she explained.

The 40th anniversary of the SBQ also held special significance for chemist Danilo Pereira de Sant’ana, who

Giulia Murbach de Oliveira

graduated from UFRJ, with a PhD from Unicamp and post-doctoral research in Berkeley. His work was chosen for the World Chemistry Congress’ organic synthesis symposium. “It’s a fantastic experience. While there is a certain apprehension in presenting to the international community, in English, it’s really gratifying to have my work chosen out of so many others”, he said.

He is a member of the SBQ since his graduation and considers the scientific meeting incredibly important in the career of all chemists. “It was at an Annual Meeting where I met my post-doctoral supervisor. Meeting other chemists from around Brazil and abroad is an opportunity everyone should make use of.”

Giovanni Amarante, from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, receives the Química Nova Award for Young Authors from Professor Susana Torresi, editor of Química Nova.

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DISCUSSION PANEL

IN SEARCH OF A SUSTAINABLE PLANET The world is changing. Resources are showing signs that they are running out and, more importantly, society has begun to understand that this is a problem.

Chemistry is a key player in this search for solutions.

This was the overbearing message of the first panel of the 46th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress, where representatives from industry and chemical societies from seven countries debated the future of chemistry.

“Twenty years ago, the understanding was that climate change did not exist”, said IUPAC president, professor Natalia Tarasova. “Ten years later, we understood that there was a problem, but that we weren’t a part of it. Today we are fully experiencing these changes, but it is too late to stop them.” Tarasova mentioned the United Nations sustainable development goals. Zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, and responsible consumption and production are some of these goals – “and chemistry is present in all of these”, she pointed out.

“These are global problems, for which we also need a global approach”, said professor Aldo Zarbin (UFPR), president of the Brazilian Chemical Society (SBQ). Zarbin spoke about the internationalization of the scientific community – “cultural diversity is just as important as diversity in the subjects being researched”, he said.

According to Zarbin, 30% of scientists work outside of their home country and since 2015 there have been 25% more papers authored by researchers of different nationalities.

Diversity was another matter which was extensively addressed. “Diversity brings innovation”, said John Biggs, P&D director of Dow in Latin America, who represented the Brazilian Chemical Industry Association (Abiquim).

According to him, the search for individuals of different genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations is heavily emphasized in all large companies in the sector.

Ingrid Montes, director of the American Chemical Society (ACS), presented figures which show that the participation of women in science is still low.

“Sustainable chemistry depends on talent, and we have to attract young people if we want to guarantee to have the talent of the future. Science is changing, we have to change education too.” – John Holman, Royal Chemical Society “The proportion of men to women in the world is 1 to 1, but in science, 74% are men”, she said. Of the patents registered in the United States, 93% belong to men, and at the leadership positions in companies, female representation is also restricted – out of senior professionals, only 9% of CEOs are women.

Also took part in the panel Thisbe Lindhorst, president of the German Chemical Society, Zhigang Shuai, general secretary of the Chinese Chemical Society, Sir John Holman, president of the Royal Chemical Society, and Richard Hartshorn, general secretary of IUPAC. The panel was coordinated by professor Paulo Cezar Vieira (UFSCAR), former president of the SBQ.

Global Leaders in Chemistry

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PlenAry leCTUre

MacMillan’s Photocatalysis in Public Domain Researcher has not patented reactions invented with the help of visible light

David MacMillan

David MacMillan is often cited as one of the most demonstrate some mechanisms which were previously important chemists of the last 10 years. At Princeton, this unknown”, he explained. young Scotsman who uses visible light in photocatalysis Regarded among his peers as a future Nobel Prize has created a series of new reactions that allow us to winner, MacMillan pondered the importance of the arrive at known molecules in much cleaner, quicker and prize in relation to the impact of the research itself. “The cheaper ways, and better still, it allows us to arrive at new prize is important, but it is only an individual recognition. molecules which are useful to humans.

I believe the impact of my work for He spoke at one of the nine conferences “In the many countries society is a bigger prize.” of the 46th World Chemistry Congress, He said that he always tries to I have visited, I where he took many photos and signed ensure he has free time off work to noticed that each several autographs for the participants. find inspiration – one of his hobbies culture has its own His group developed around 60 new is flying planes – whenever possible. personality and that “It’s something really important. Every reactions, of which ten are already used on a grand scale by the pharmaceutical this reflects in science. human being is capable of making industry. “I never applied for any big achievements, but we know our In Brazil, things are patents. I’m paid by the money from brain doesn’t work well all of the time. very practical and taxes and I believe this knowledge Doing different things, thinking of other even without the should be available to everyone. things, being in different places, all of ideal resources, I It would be irresponsible of me to this allows the mind to expand and lets earn more money this way”, he told have noticed that the the individual gain broader perspectives SBQ. “Sometimes the university gets about things.” country has always annoyed as they would like to patent MacMillan says he is an admirer of been at the top of it, but I know that when I’m 90 years the quality of “knowing how to live” old I’ll look back and be happy with the chemistry ever since I of the Brazilian people, and that he started doing science.” would like to establish collaborations decision I made.”

His research with visible light began with Brazilian researchers. “In the many 11 years ago in face of the difficulty in finding a solution countries I have visited, I noticed that each culture has to a problem. His first significant breakthrough was its own personality and that this reflects in science. In made in the laboratory in 2007 and published in 2008. Brazil, things are very practical and even without the “We discovered that when emitting UV light, the ideal resources, I have noticed that the country has intense energy broke organic bonds. So we began using always been at the top of chemistry ever since I started catalysis with visible light and managed to find a way to doing science.”

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AWArDs

IUPAC held the award ceremonies for the Distinguished Women in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Award, and the IUPAC-Solvay International Award for Young Chemists. The awards were presented by the president of the organization, Natalia Tarasova.

Distinguished Women in Chemistry

Lifeng Chi

Concepciรณn Gimeno

Misako Aida

Zafra Lerman

Thisbe Lindhorst

Yvonne Mascarenhas

Veronika Ruth Meyer

Ingrid Montes

Frances Separovic

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Solvay International Award for Young Chemists

Matthew Ross Golder

Andreas Thomas Haedler

Ekaterina Vinogradova

Christopher Michael Lemon

Leonardo Scarabelli

Chenjie Zeng

Sebastian Angel Suarez

Fergus Eoin Poynton

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IUPAC General Assembly

Montreal Is

Chosen For 2021

In 2019, in Paris, around 8,000 chemists are expected to attend

The hospitality and the vivacity of the young students are some of the things the members of IUPAC and the attendees from 66 different countries will take with them from their six days in São Paulo during the 46th World Chemistry Congress. “There was a certain skepticism when Brazil made their candidature (to host the event)”, said Natalia Tarasova, president of IUPAC. It was the first time the country had appeared among the list of hosts, the mood was uncertain and the location was very far from the Europe-North America axis where most of the meetings take place. “But we are really satisfied. The organization was perfect, carried out with a lot of effort and skill”, she noted.

Now, work begins in preparing for future editions.

The IUPAC General Assembly always takes place parallel to the congress, bringing together the leadership of the association with a view to planning their guidelines for the next few years. The future president, council and committee members are all chosen during the assembly, as well as the host cities of future congresses.

Canada was chosen to host the 2021 edition, given the responsibility of holding the largest chemistry event in the world in the city of Montreal. “We’ve hosted the event twice already, in 1981 and 2003 in Vancouver and Ottawa”, said Neil Burford, director of the Canadian Society of Chemistry (CSC) and Canada’s representative in IUPAC. The Canadians were up against China, Thailand and Israel for the right to host the 2021 congress. The Hague was chosen as the host city for 2023, overcoming four other candidate countries. Just like Brazil, the Netherlands will host the world congress for the first time in their history.

It is estimated that from the preparation of the bid to the event itself, six years of work are required, including financial analyses, drawing up a scientific agenda, sending invites and registrations, accommodation,

adapting infrastructure, number of rooms, access routes and a dozen other responsibilities closely watched over

by IUPAC. Burford said that only preparing Canada’s candidature took three years’ work: “It’s a great privilege for us, as we greatly value international collaboration and IUPAC is the best stage for this”, he said.

Since 2013 it has been decided that Paris will host the 2019 edition of the congress, as it was there in 1919 that the IUPAC was founded. “It’s our centenary year”, highlighted Lynn Soby, executive director of IUPAC. “And it will be completely atypical. While we usually count on having around 3,000 participants, in Paris we will have around 8,000.”

Christopher Brett Enters the Line of Succession Another important decision made at the 2017 IUPAC General Assembly in São Paulo was the election of the organization’s future president. Christopher Brett, a British chemist based in Portugal, was chosen for the role. Emeritus professor of the Chemistry Department of the University of Coimbra, Brett will take over the vice-presidency for the biennium of 2019-2020, and will then assume the presidency in 2021 and 2022.

This is because IUPAC has a very particular way of defining its board. Presidents are first elected to a two-year term as vice-presidents, then automatically stepping up to the presidency. On January 1, 2018, vicepresident Qi-Feng Zhou of China will take over from the current president, Natalia Tarasova. “I understand that, when we are young, we receive a lot of support from the chemistry community”, said Brett, about what this new role means to him. “When we get older, it becomes our turn to help the community.”

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Canadian delegation

Heavy Metals Ratified This year, the IUPAC general assembly had another extraordinary task: ratifying the addition of four new elements to the periodic table. “It is a process that takes between six and seven years, or even longer, from the moment the discovery is claimed”, said the executive director of IUPAC, Lynn Soby.

Once a group of researchers believes they have discovered a new element, they must first notify IUPAC and wait for evaluation. The discovery then needs to be published and revised by the world’s leading scientific journals. The evaluation is long, careful and led by an extensive team of scientists who are not only connected to chemistry, but also to physics.

“The first frenzy is announcing the discovery.

Then there is the frenzy of choosing names”, says Soby. The laboratories responsible for the discovery get to suggest the name and the two-letter symbol to denote the element, by way of a process which is also open to collaboration from society.

Approved in December 2016, the new elements, discovered by researchers from the United States, Russia and Japan, have been named nihonium (Nh), moscovine (Mc), tennessine (Ts) and oganesson (Og), respectively occupying positions 113, 115, 117 and 118 of the periodic table. All are part of the so-called “heavy metals” group, which are isotopes created artificially by bombarding atoms and which last for few seconds before dissipating.

It is worth noting that this is the first time in history four elements have been named at the same time and the confirmation was made in Brazil, a gift for the 40 years of the Brazilian Chemical Society.

Neil Burford

Christopher Brett

Lynn Soby

SBQ Directors and Council (2016-2018) Presidente: Aldo J. G. Zarbin (UFPR) Presidente Sucessor: Norberto Peporine Lopes (USP) Vice-Presidente: Marília Oliveira F. Goulart (UFAL) Secretário Geral: Rossimiriam Pereira de Freitas (UFMG) Secretário Adjunto: Silvio do Desterro Cunha (UFBA) Tesoureiro: Andre Galembeck (CETENE) Tesoureiro Adjunto: Fernando de Carvalho Silva (UFF) Conselho Consultivo: Adriano D. Andricopulo (USP) Conselho Consultivo: Etelvino José Henriques Bechara (USP) Conselho Consultivo: Fernando Galembeck (UNICAMP) Conselho Consultivo: Maria Domingues Vargas (UFF) Conselho Consultivo: Ronaldo Aloise Pilli (UNICAMP) Conselho Consultivo: Vanderlan da Silva Bolzani (UNESP) Conselho Consultivo: Vitor Francisco Ferreira (UFF) Conselho Fiscal: Glaura Goulart Silva (UFMG) Conselho Fiscal: Roberto de Barros Faria (UFRJ) Conselho Fiscal: Romeu Cardozo Rocha Filho (UFSCar) Organizing Committee Adriano D. Andricopulo (USP) – Chairman Luiz F. Silva Jr - in memoriam (USP) – Secretary General Roberto Torresi (USP) – Secretary General Adriano L. Monteiro (UFRGS) Aldo José G. Zarbin (UFPR) Claudio José De A. Mota (UFRJ) Fernando Figueiredo (Abiquim) – CEO Fernando Galembeck (UNICAMP) – Coordinator of the National Advisory Board Jailson Bittencourt De Andrade (UFBA) – Coordinator of the Preparatory Meetings Luiz Henrique Catalani (USP) – Coordinator of the Local Committee Maria Domingues Vargas (UFF) Mariana Doria (SENAI CETIQT) – Researcher Paulo Coutinho (SENAI CETIQT) – Biosynthetic Institute Manager Rochel Montero Lago (UFMG) Vanderlan Da Silva Bolzani (UNESP) – Coordinator of the International Advisory Board Vitor F. Ferreira (UFF) Fernando Tibau (ABIQUIM) – Innovation and Regulatory Affairs Manager Local Committee Luiz F. Silva Jr - in memoriam (USP) Luiz Henrique Catalani (USP) – Coordinator Pedro Henrique Camargo Cury (USP) Roberto Torresi (USP) Thiago Paixão (USP) Financial Committee Norberto Peporine Lopes, Brazil – Coordinator Rossimiriam P. de Freitas, Brazil

PERSONnEL Editors: Adriano D. Andricopulo and Rossimiriam P. Freitas Texts: Juliana Elias, Lino Rodrigues and Mario Henrique Viana English Version: Euan Marshall Photos: Eduardo Viana Art and Layout: Editora Cubo