This special issue of Supramolecular Chemistry commemorates the 8th annual International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (ISMSC-8; http://www.indiana.edu/ ∼ ismsc8), a meeting series with a history much deeper and more significant than its convening for eight times now can adequately imply. Indeed, arising out of the 2006 first-merger of the annual International Symposium on Macrocyclic Chemistry series – conceived and organised by Professors Reed M. Izatt and James J. Christensen in Provo, Utah in 1977 – and the biennial International Symposium on Supramolecular Chemistry – which originally began as the International Symposium on Clathrate Compounds and Molecular Inclusion Phenomena in Warsaw, Poland in 1980, initiated by Professor Janusz Lipkowski – the annual ISMSC meeting is now probably the most central and anticipated international meeting in the related disciplines. The ISMSC meetings cover all aspects of macrocyclic, supramolecular and related chemistries, bridging the traditional core areas of chemistry and interfacing with the biological, nanotechnological and materials arenas. And interest continues to grow as the influence of the fields widen; the ISMSC-8 accommodated over 320 registered participants from 31 countries during the week of 7–11 July 2013, in the Crystal City neighbourhood of Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac river from downtown Washington, DC, USA.
Very special thanks are due to this year's ISMSC organisers, Professors Lyle Isaacs and Jeffery Davis of the University of Maryland, and Professor Amar Flood of Indiana University. They managed to put together an excellent programme of science – four plenary lectures, two award presentations, 25 invited talks and two poster sessions (headed by Professor J.D. Tovar, member of the local organising committee), from which six short talks were selected – over a five day span that well represented and encompassed the broad scope, diversity and interdisciplinary nature of our field. Thematic sessions revolved around the subject matter of complexity (Plenary: Bert Meijer), assemblies, molecular machines and mechanical effects (Plenary: Fraser Stoddart), functional crystals (Plenary: Makoto Fujita), supramolecular polymers and materials, supramolecular chemistry of biology (Plenary: Samuel Gellman), surfaces and interfaces, and catalysis. Other invited speakers represented a mix of established and younger scientists and the venue offered the opportunity for students and postdoctoral scholars to present their work in the form of posters and selected oral presentations. The excellent support team of volunteer individuals – mostly students and post-docs from the respective research groups of the organisers – ensured a smooth running meeting.
ISMSC-8 also served as the venue for two major award presentations and lectures. Congratulations are due to Professor Eric V. Anslyn of the University of Texas at Austin, this year's recipient of the peer-nominated International Izatt-Christensen Award in Macrocyclic Chemistry, funded by IBC Technologies. Professor Anslyn's ground-breaking work and international leadership in supramolecular and molecular recognition chemistry made this a timely recognition. The meeting also hosted the award of the 2013 Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize, sponsored by ChemComm, named in honour of the winners of the 1987 Nobel Prize in chemistry and recognising significant, original and independent work in the area of supramolecular chemistry by a research scientist within 10 years of receiving his/her Ph.D. This year's recipient was Professor Tomoki Ogoshi from Kanazawa University for his outstanding work in macrocyclic and supramolecular chemistry. Professor Ogoshi has pioneered research on pillararenes, a new class of macrocyclic compounds.
This special issue features contributions of primary literature from 21 research groups that were represented at the ISMSC-8. Topics range from metal ion to ion pair binding and/or sensing to fundamental studies of non-covalent binding and the interactions themselves to metal–ligand self-assembly and supramolecular materials chemistry. It is our expectation that special issues such as this one may enjoy a broader than usual readership due to the excellent science and international interest that has always been characteristic of the ISMSC meetings. We are sure you will enjoy these contributions.
Towards the end of the ISMSC-8, it became clear that the meeting had achieved the organisers aim of continuing the rich tradition of excellent science and broad participation exhibited by the previous seven meetings and that the interactions between meeting attendees will further strengthen the field. We look forward to seeing many of the readers of this issue in Shanghai, China, 7–11 June 2014, for ISMSC-9.
Sincerely,