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22 April 1915 marked the first large scale introduction of chemical weapons in warfare, when chlorine gas was released into enemy trenches near Ypres, Belgium. Since that time many hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or injured by chemical weapons. As recently as 2012, chemical weapons were used in the current Syrian conflict.
100 years after the first use, on 21 April 2015, Ambassadors to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) gathered in Ypres to commemorate those who have died as a result of these awful agents, to present a commemorative plaque to the town of Ypres, to reveal a new declaration on chemical weapons, the Ypres Declaration, and to review progress in eli- minating these weapons.
Chemists were represented by Thomas Geelhaar (President of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker), David Phillips (a past President of the Royal Society of Chemistry) and David Cole-Hamilton (President of EuCheMS). They called for a complete world-wide ban on chemical weapons and for no chemist to take part in their development or deployment.
Following presentations by regional re- presentatives of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Defence Minister of Belgium, a representative of the UN Secretary General and the Mayor of Ypres, the plaque was unveiled and the Ypres Declaration read out. Delegates then moved to the Menin Gate for the last post and a bagpipe lament. It was a very moving occasion where it was very important that chemists showed that they are totally opposed to the use of chemical weapons.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which justly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013, is renewing its efforts to complete the total elimination of chemical weapons. Of 196 countries in the world, 191 have signed and ratified the treaty which means they must disclose and dispose of all stockpiles of chemical weapons, the most recent being Syria in 2012 and Myanmar (Burma) in 2015. Israel has signed but not ratified whilst Angola, Egypt, North Korea and Southern Sudan have not signed.
However, we were sharply reminded that some chemicals which have perfectly innocent uses, such as chlorine for water treatment, can be misused as chemical weapons. A few days before the commemoration, barrel bombs containing chlorine were dropped from a helicopter in Syria, reminding us that such chemicals must be kept under strongly controlled conditions.
David Cole-Hamilton, EuCheMS President
<a href="mailto:djc@st-andrews.ac.uk">djc@st-andrews.ac.uk</a>


<h2>Zero carbon energy</h2>
As an early contribution to the European Sustainable Energy Week, EuCheMS, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Society of Edinburgh jointly organised a conference on ”Zero Carbon Energy — The Future” at the Royal Society of Edinburgh on 27 May.
About 50 people were addressed by world experts in the field. After the opening words of David Cole-Hamilton, EuCheMS President, Mercedes Maroto-Valer (Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh) introduced the ”Energy Tri- lemma”: Resources of fossil fuels are running out, their use is causing global warming and many places that have reserves of fossil fuels are politically delicate, leading to worries about the security of supply. She went on to discuss methods for reutilising CO2 in fuel manufacture.
Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin (EPFL, Lau- sanne) then spoke about dye-sensitised solar cells of which he is one of the inventors, along with Michael Grätzel. The transparency of such cells allows them to be used as windows with variable colours. These cells have been commercialised and efforts are now being made to improve their efficiency.
James Durrant (Imperial College London) talked about systems which allow sunlight to decompose water directly into hydrogen and oxygen. Recent research has shown that efficiencies as high as seven percent are possible. Ten percent would allow all the world's energy needs to be met by the amount of sunlight falling on an area the size of Libya.
Peter Wasserscheid (University Erlangen- Nuremberg) talked about a new process for storing hydrogen by reaction with aromatic hydrocarbons that are already used commercially as heat transfer fluids. Such a fluid with six percent hydrogen can easily be transported in current gasoline handling equipment. This might have great potential for use in mobile applications such as trucks and cars.
Each lecture was followed by a lively discussion. EuCheMS thanks Bristow Muldoon (Royal Society of Edinburgh) and Mindy Dulai (Royal Society of Chemistry).
Nineta H. Majcen

Commemorating the first victims of chemical weapons

22 April 1915 marked the first large scale introduction of chemical weapons in warfare, when chlorine gas was released into enemy trenches near Ypres, Belgium. Since that time many hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or injured by chemical weapons. As recently as 2012, chemical weapo...

The European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN) held its General Assembly in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 27 to 29 April, together with the 19th Annual Meeting of the European Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Education Network (EC2E2N2).
During the event a Memorandum of Understanding between EuCheMS and ECTN (see EuCheMS newsletter May 2015) was signed by the presidents of the two associations, Francesco de Angelis (ECTN) and David Cole-Hamilton (EuCheMS). Also, Pavel Drasar (Czech Chemical Society) was elected the new President of ECTN, following de Angelis, who becomes vice-president. Thirdly, the ECTN held a joint session with their partner agencies ASIIN (Germany), UKA (Poland), the Italian Chemical Society and ANECA (Spain) for the award of Eurolabels. The General Assembly was also the occasion for five new working groups of ECTN to begin work.
The EC2E2N2 project is coming to the end of its three year funding period. After 19 years of continuous funding from the European Commission Erasmus programme, there will be no opportunity to apply for further funding. The project has created seven working groups dealing with a wide range of topics, e. g. sustainable entrepreneurship, the impact of chemistry on everyday life and virtual education. All groups will be making their final reports before the end of 2015.
Anthony Smith, General Secretary ECTN
<a href="mailto:anthony.smith@cpe.fr">anthony.smith@cpe.fr</a>, <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"><a href="https://www.ec2e2n.net" target="_blank">www.ec2e2n.net</a></ext-link>


<h2>EuCheMS and ENMIX</h2>
At the EuCheMS General Assembly 2014, the European Nanoporous Materials Institute of Excellence (ENMIX) was approved to become a supporting member of EuCheMS.
ENMIX is a non-profit organisation arising from the EU-FP 6 Network of Excellence ”In situ study and development of nanoporous materials”. ENMIX was an appropriate measure to secure the established contacts and constitutes an attractive platform for research organisations, governmental bodies and industry. It acts as a unique and international competence and knowledge center for research and consultation in the field of nanoporous materials. Application of nanoporous materials can play a pivotal role in solving problems such as increasing energy demand, limited fossil feedstocks, global warming and environmental pollution. The strength of ENMIX lies in the integrated approach covering all fields from the synthesis and characterization of materials to their final application. Another objective of ENMIX is to strengthen European industry and to contribute to its global competitiveness.
Elias Klemm and Venceslav Kaucic, ENMIX
<a href="mailto:elias.klemm@itc.uni-stuttgart.de">elias.klemm@itc.uni-stuttgart.de</a>
<a href="mailto:venceslav.kaucic@ki.si">venceslav.kaucic@ki.si</a>
<ext-link ext-link-type="uri"><a href="https://www.enmix.org" target="_blank">www.enmix.org</a></ext-link>
Evonik and EYCN cooperate
The European Young Chemists' Network (EYCN) signed a three-year cooperation agreement with Evonik Industries at the 10th Delegate Assembly in Berlin in April. The agreement provides travel grants and internships for members of EYCN while allowing Evonik Industries to present itself to young scientists as an employer in EYCN's media activities. This agreement between European academics and industrialists is a rather new experience. EuCheMS President David Cole-Hamilton says: ”This will set an example for others and create good opportunities to promote exchange of knowledge, expertise and experience. It is the first agreement of its kind, but we hope not the last.” EuCheMS is confident that this and future similar agreements will represent a positive channel of communication between academia and industry. kjs/EuCheMS


<h2>Policy News</h2>
Round table on science policy
Ulrich Schubert, EuCheMS Vice-President, participated in a round table on ”Influencing EU science policy” at the European Physical Society Council 2015. Schubert spoke about how EuCheMS provides policy input through workshops organised for EU officials and Members of European Parliament.
(Re)searching for jobs
The event ”(Re)searching for jobs”, organised by EuCheMS in Brussels on 2 June, brought together academia, industry, policy-makers and citizens to discuss the many barriers that young researchers face when entering the labour market. After the opening words of MEP Catherine Stihler, EuCheMS President David Cole-Hamilton provided his view on how universities can embed transferable skills in their courses and allow young students and researchers to make the best out of their degrees. Following presentations by invited speakers many questions arose from the audience on how to develop further the quality of curricula and teaching.
Changes to Juncker Plan
There is encouraging news regarding the reallocation of Horizon 2020 Funds to a European Investment Fund, the so-called Juncker Plan. Following pressure from the scientific community, amongst others from EuCheMS, and other negative feedback, the European Commission presented a new proposal safeguarding funding for ERC, Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions and the programme ”Spreading excellence and widening participation”, even though cuts will be made to the budget. The proposal will still have to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
EuCheMS, <a href="mailto:secretariat@euchems.eu">secretariat@euchems.eu</a>

Commemorating the first victims of chemical weapons

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