It gives me great pleasure that Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements dedicates this special issue to present papers from the 27th International Symposium on Organic Chemistry of Sulfur (ISOCS-27) held in Jena, Germany, July 24–29, 2016.
I am very grateful to Professor Martin D. Rudd, Editor-in-Chief, and Professor Konstantin Karaghiosoff, European Editor, who were tremendously helpful in accomplishing this special issue.
ISOCS has a long international tradition and after its inception in 1964 in Liblice, CSR, the conference has been held every 2 years at various places throughout the world. The previous event was in 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey, and the next one will be in Tokyo, Japan, in 2018 and will be organized by Professor Kei Goto.
Chemistry at Jena has a long and successful history dating back to 1789, when Friedrich August Göttling was appointed chair of chemistry at the University of Jena. In 2016, our chemistry faculty is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the chemical institute that was brought to life by Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (the successor to Göttling) in 1816 with great support of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, at the time minister of science to the local Duke of Sachsen–Weimar–Eisenach. In this chemistry institute (the building is located at Neugasse 23 and still used by the university), Döbereiner discovered the catalytic activity of platinum, invented “Döbereiner's lighter,” and made progress in defining systematic “triad” rules for the chemical reactivity of the elements, an early form of the periodic table.
Doyens of sulfur chemistry: Professor Eric Block and Professor Richard S. Glass.
ISOCS-27 presented an interesting scientific program centered around the following directions in organosulfur chemistry, ranging from medicinal chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, synthetic chemistry, supramolecular as well as material chemistry to industrial applications. Looking at the names of those who accepted our invitations to give talks, it was clear that a high scientific level for the meeting was guaranteed. It had been one of our major motivations to enable scientists, especially younger chemists, to give short oral communications, which have been selected by the Organizing Committee. On Tuesday afternoon, a special session that had been organized for 14 young scientists to give them an opportunity to present their exciting work to the whole auditorium, was held.
Nearly 200 participants from 25 countries registered; six Plenary Lectures and 18 Invited Lectures were presented with an additional 35 oral presentations and a total of 75 poster reports on the frontiers of all aspects of Organic Sulfur Chemistry. We express gratitude for the exceptional quality of the contributions from every participant.
Participants at ISOCS-27.
In addition, the exciting scientific program was accompanied by a social and cultural program of further events: an evening reception in the historic town hall with the Lord Major of the City of Jena, a conference trip to Weimar following the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe trace to the famous Goethe Garden House, part of a UNESCO World Heritage “Classical Weimar” to the Villa Haar, a building in the neo-renaissance style erected after the Villa d´Este in Tivoli, an organ concert
in the St. Michael town church, and finally the conference banquet on top of the mountain “Hausberg” at the restaurant “Fuchsturm” with a unique view over the whole city of Jena.
Excursion to Weimar, Villa Haar.
Handover of the banner to Professor Kei Goto, the organizer of ISOCS-28.
I am deeply grateful to the precious support of the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie (FCI), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the Taylor and Francis Group, who sponsored three poster awards, and many industrial sponsors as well the Friedrich Schiller University, the GDCh and the city of Jena. Without them we would not have been able to host ISOCS-27.
Sincere thanks are due to the International Committee and the National Advisory Board for their important contributions to the scientific contents, the Local Organizing Committee especially the vice-chairs Hans-Dieter Arndt (Jena) and Grzegorz Mloston (Lodz), Ms. Hannawald from Conventus, my secretary Ms. Sarah Tippner and my research group for their invaluable help given in the organization of the symposium.