2019: The International Year of the Periodic Table
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly’s 72nd Session has now proclaimed the year 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements.
An International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements in 2019 will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements by the Russian scientist Dmitri I. Mendeleev, who is regarded as one of the fathers of modern chemistry. The defining 1869 breakthrough of Mendeleev was the prediction of properties of five elements and their compounds. He also left space in the periodic table for elements to be discovered in the future.
An International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements in 2019 will offer to UNESCO’s International Basic Sciences Programme an important opportunity to fulfil its mission of promoting international cooperation in the basic sciences for sustainable development, as well as in science education and capacity-building, namely through a Microscience Programme dedicated to the periodic table of chemical elements.
Chemical Elements play a vital role in our daily lives and are crucial for humankind and our planet, and for industry. The International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical
Elements will give an opportunity to show how they are central to linking cultural, economic and political aspects of the global society through a common language, whilst also celebrating the genesis and development of the periodic table over the last 150 years.It is critical that the brightest young minds continue to be attracted to chemistry and physics in order to ensure the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators in this field. Particular areas where the Periodic Table and its understanding have had a revolutionary impact are in nuclear medicine, the study of chemical elements and compounds in space and the prediction of novel materials.
This International Year will also trigger a wide range of cooperative undertakings within the context of the follow-up of the 2011 International Year of Chemistry and the 2014 International Year of Crystallography.
“As the global organization that provides objective scientific expertise and develops the essential tools for the application and communication of chemical knowledge for the benefit of humankind, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry is pleased and honored to make this announcement concerning the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements” said IUPAC President, Professor Natalia Tarasova.
