"Why Chemistry?!" [antikvár]

PREFACE International Conference on Chemistry at the Service of Society "Why Chemistry ?!" was held in Krakow, Poland, on December until December 5*", 2007. The venue of the conference was the Auditorium Maximum of the Jagiellonian University. The conference was organized under auspices of the Academia Europaea by the Krakow Branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. Jagiellonian University and the European Chemistry Thematic Network Association. Chemistry is one of the few scientific disciplines which - on one hand - is the basis of many other research fields and on the other hand - developed Its ovm industry. Products of this industry contributed to a large extent to the development of our civilization and the spectacular progress in chemical sciences made possible the achievement of the main goal of our civilization - a continuous improvement of standard of living. Chemistry not only positively changed the habits of people, but also tremendously influenced our social structure. Chemical concepts lie at the basis of many different disciplines such as molecular biology, phannacology, plant physiology, materials engineering, nanosciences and even cosmology, contributing to the interdisciplinarity of chemical sciences. Chemists are the privileged few who experience everyday more and more exciting spectacles of a never-ending series of emerging molecular patterns, able to perform novel complex duties. In spite of that the public image of chemistry is diametrically different - only the dangers entailed by chemization of our life are noticed and chemistry is considered as the main culprit of the deterioration of the environment and as responsible for many disasters of mankind. If chemistry is to make further progress and contribute to the sustainable development at rapidly growing worid population, which soon will reach 10 billion people, this public image must be quickly changed. It should be remembered that the more sophisticated is the technology the more responsible must be the behaviour of people who operate this technology - they must have broader and broader knowledge and the deeper and deeper sense of responsibility. Therefore education in chemistry appears to be extremely important. The aim of this conference is to illustrate various faces of chemistry, the fascination of creating new materials but also the hazards and risks connected with the use of chemicals. Professor Jerzy Haber President of the Krakow Branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences Chairman of the Conference