On the occasion of the next 60th anniversary of the creation of the Organic Chemistry Department at IQS, and coinciding with Doctor Honoris Causa awarded by Ramon Llull University to Dr David W. MacMillan with the University of Princeton and Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureate in 2021, the IQS School of Engineering recently held the commemorative exhibition “Organic Chemistry is Astronomy at the Molecular Level,” dedicated to showcasing the past, present, and future of one of the first departments in the university’s history.
Entitled "Organic Chemistry is Astronomy at the Molecular Level," IQS recently held an exhibition to showcase the past, present, and future of its Organic Chemistry Department.
The exhibition includes an emotional tribute to its founding professors: Prof. Manuel Sanz Burata SJ (1912-1995), Prof. Juan Julio Bonet Sugrañés (1940-2006), Prof. Josep Irrure Pérez, Prof. Ramon Carbó Carré, Prof. Sebastià Julià Arechaga, and Prof. Pedro Victory Arnal SJ (1928-1994), featuring a description of their research groups and their contributions in the field of Organic Chemistry. The exhibition also showcases the continuous improvement in the department’s history, reaching to today’s Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, led by Dr Ana B. Cuenca González, its members, and the two associated SGR research groups: the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Group (GQF) and the Chemical Reactions for Innovative Solutions (CRISOL) Group.
The Organic Chemistry Department leads IQS in the number of doctoral theses defended – 140 between 1968 and 2023 – and boasts more than 520 scientific publications in prominent areas of research (natural products, organic synthesis, asymmetric induction, medical chemistry, computational chemistry, etc.). The department also has a long tradition of awarding honorary doctorates, from the first awarded in 1978 to Dr Vladimir Prelog to Dr David W. MacMillan this year.
Some highlights from the exhibition include the presentation of the original manuscripts of the doctoral theses by its founders, as well as a sample of how organic chemists work, using “stardust” to create new molecules.
Dr Jose I. Borrell Bilbao, Director of the Organic Chemistry Department for 20 years (2002 – 2021), was the curator of this commemorative exhibition. In his words, “this exhibition pays tribute to the 60 fruitful years of the Organic Chemistry Department at IQS, which has sought to highlight the parallels between space exploration and the universe, on the one hand, and organic molecules and research about them, on the other hand, based on the phrase that gave the exhibition its title: Organic Chemistry is Astronomy at the Molecular Level, coined by Dr Alfred Werner (1866 – 1919) from the University of Zurich.”