The Israel Chemist and Chemical Engineer Issue 9 · January 2023 · Tevet 5783 5 Letter from President of ICS Dear Colleagues, With the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences fading away, we are back on track. Skipping the 2021 Annual Meeting of the ICS was painful, but we kept our traditional award ceremony and held it at the Open University campus on July 1, 2021. The 86th ICS Meeting, which took place on September 12–13, 2022, 2.5 years after the 85th Meeting, was a happy gathering of many ICS members, with long-missed in-person networking and exchanging ideas and recent discoveries. Unfortunately, the Chinese delegation we expected to host canceled their arrival due to the pandemic. We all thank the chairpersons of the organizing committee, Profs. Charles Diesendruck and Saar Rahav of the Technion. We look forward to the 87th Meeting, which will take place on July 4–5, 2023, at the International Convention Center, Jerusalem, as part of the International Chemistry Congress (ChemCon2023). The event, which will include the two-day 87th ICS Meeting, a one-day “Good Carbon” symposium (July 3, 2023), and a three-day international exhibition, reflects a fruitful collaboration between the ICS and the Haaretz/ TheMarker Group. The ChemCon2023 wil l create high interest and synergism among chemists, chemical engineers, businesspeople, venture capitalists, government agencies, startup entrepreneurs, chemical industry leaders, and the public. The 87th ICS Meeting will include nearly 100 lectures in four parallel sessions, over 300 posters, and various social events. The traditional ICS Prize Ceremony will recognize outstanding scientists, graduate students, teachers, and the prominent green chemical industry. Following our long tradition, we’ll host a large delegation from Denmark, consisting of 11 professors including Nobel Prize Laureate Morten P. Meldal, and 20 graduate students from the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark, and Aarhus University. The Meeting is organized by a joint team from Ariel University, Tel Aviv University, and the Hebrew University, chaired by Profs. Alex Schechter and Flavio Grynszpan. The “Good Carbon” Symposium wi l l focus on using compounds of a single carbon atom, such as natural gas and carbon dioxide emissions, as feedstock for the chemical industry. The symposium will highlight the methanol-based economy, methanol-to-olefins (MTO) processes, synthetic fuels, novel fuel cells, and clean energy. 2023 will be my second year as Vice President and Presidentelect of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), and in 2024 I’ll start my two-year term as the Union’s 41st President. In this capacity, I wish to promote the Chemist’s Oath as a global initiative, planning to run the first pilot in Israel. As is the case for the Hippocratic Oath, the Chemist’s Oath will have a moral value rather than a legally binding commitment. It will enhance the newly graduated chemist’s ethical behavior and professional pride. The following text of 57 words is my proposed draft of the Chemist’s Oath. Believing in collective wisdom, I invite you to modify the text while keeping it clear and concise. ‘Bywhat I holdmost sacred, I solemnly swear to pursue scientific truth and expand knowledge ethically and responsibly. I will promote diversity, equity, inclusivity, and mutual respect for all. As a member of society at large, obligated to all my fellow human beings, I will use my chemical expertise to sustain life and protect the environment.’ With your help, I wish to crystallize the final version and offer it as a pilot among the 2023 chemistry graduates in one or two countries before proposing it through IUPAC to the global community. Finally, please help develop the ICE magazine under the leadership of Prof. Arlene Wilson-Gordon, and contribute an article to the ICE on any topic you like, including popular science, history of science, report on an event, opinions, etc. Please, don’t hesitate to contact Arlene or me on these matters. Enjoy your reading, Ehud Keinan President, the Israel Chemical Society
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