This award from the Division of Chemistry supports two unique international meetings as part of the Chemical Sciences and Society Symposia (CS3). The CS3 convenes eminent high-level researchers from the US, UK, Japan, China and Germany to explore frontier chemistry research on Sustainable Materials (London, September 2010) and on Chemistry for a Better Environment (China, September 2011). Representatives from each country's science and technology funding agencies also participate in the symposia. These meetings have been developed multilaterally through discussions of the chemical societies in each participating country. This series has the potential to be of great value to the global chemistry enterprise and to the world at large as it will foster work in trans-national teams, across scientific disciplines, and beyond institutional boundaries. The workshop proceedings are promoted and distributed to the global science and technology community and the general public through journal articles and reports on the web, respectively. These results and recommendations illustrate chemistry's role in solving challenges in green energy and in pursuing economically-feasible and environmentally-benign commodity chemical production.
The Chemical Sciences and Society Summit (CS3) series has yielded benefits in both near-term, as well as longer-term outcomes. The outcomes are reflected in key evaluation aspects invoving its operation, productivity and strategic vision. 1) Firmly established CS3 as a unique and high-value platform for prominent scientists from five countries to jointly develop innovative and sustainable solutions for global challenges such as energy, health, food, and environment. CS3 has demonstrated operational efficiency--having organized three meetings, with the same amount of funds originally alloted for two meetings. As the result, all chemical societies involved (Germany, UK, Japan, China and US) have committed to continuing the CS3 series - with further improvements to add additional value. 2) Wide dissemination of 'white papers' as policy advocacy and public understanding tools (3 white papers have been produced within the grant period, one for each meeting). These papers outline opportunities and actions required for breakthroughs in crticial research areas relevant to society. For example, 'A Sustainable Global Society: How Can Materials Chemistry Help?' reached almost 300 science-based organizations, including many non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The papers have also been widely shared at no cost with members of the public and the scientific community within each of the five nations. These papers demonstrate the central role that Chemistry plays in solving global challenges. The white papers produced during this award period include the aforementioned, 'A Sustainable Global Society: How Can Materials Chemsitry Help', 'Chemistry for Better Health', and 'Organic Electronics for a Better Tomorrow: Innovation, Accessibilty, Sustainabilty'. All papers are freely available on the CS3 program's webpage. 3) Increase in national multilateral interest and engagement in international science cooperation, demonstrated by a post CS3 networking/meeting hosted by the German Embassy in Washington, DC in August 2009 and a joint press conference on the 2012 white paper on sustainable electronics held in New Orleans, LA in April 2013. 4) Built collaborative networks amongst prominent scientists to increase idea sharing, personnel exchange, and skill flow in support of solving global challenges. During the period covered by this award, 90 prominent international scientists have participated in the discussions--18 from the United States--and formed countless new collaborative alliances.
