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Comment: Advancing a common language of chemistry for all

by Hayley Brown, chair, ACS Committee on Nomenclature, Terminology, and Symbols
September 19, 2024 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 102, Issue 29

 

Hayley Brown.
Credit: Dow
Hayley Brown

The common language of chemistry is a marvel. Practitioners of chemistry—from students and teachers to professional researchers, legal experts, and translators—have agreed on standardized terms and representations for chemical concepts—a degree of unity that makes our modern world workable. The American Chemical Society Committee on Nomenclature, Terminology, and Symbols (NTS) works to support and enable this common language for chemistry, drawing on a diverse body of members to deliver on multiple collaborations across the society and beyond to honor and advance this agreement. We educate, facilitate, and advocate for the use of chemical representations that contribute to a universal understanding of chemistry.

NTS strives to serve all chemists, and it’s a delight to partner with individuals and groups inside and outside ACS to develop resources in support of practitioners everywhere. For example, the Braille Authority of North America (BANA), jointly supported by ACS NTS and the ACS Committee on Chemists with Disabilities, approved a recent update to the Nemeth Code for braille. The update to the code—available on the BANA website in PDF and BRF (Braille-ready format) formats—resolved and removed outdated symbols and usage cases while significantly expanding the scope of the chemical representations available, including extensions to address stereochemical and polymeric representation, and many other forms of chemical description beyond general chemistry. The update also introduced a tactile graphics section for Braille transcribers and users. Additional parallel efforts in support of American Sign Language are continuing into 2025 as NTS works to standardize the signs for the elements of the periodic table. We hope to have these standards available for public review by early 2025.

NTS is also working to expand the impact of the committee’s work through additional partnerships. In support of this effort, we’re initiating a committee-​sponsored ChemLuminary award. Local sections, divisions, and other committees are eligible to nominate themselves for this award, which recognizes an outstanding event that promotes the mission of the NTS Committee to educate, facilitate, and advocate for the effective use of representations in chemistry for all.

As the field of chemistry progresses, the relevant nomenclature, terminology, and symbols to describe new findings and new understanding must match that progress

As the field of chemistry progresses, the relevant nomenclature, terminology, and symbols to describe new findings and new understanding must match that progress. ACS NTS has, for several years, supported the broader International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) through the public comment process for proposed new guidelines. In 2023–24, the committee has provided feedback in new areas, including the IUPAC Definition of Materials Chemistry and the Glossary of Terms for Mass and Volume in Analytical Chemistry. Driving agreement on new definitions, supporting the standardization of terminology, and enabling more robust and safer chemical labeling goes to the heart of the committee’s mission.

As we look to an exciting future of advances in chemical research and technology, the shared language we use as chemists becomes increasingly important. Our strength as a discipline relies heavily on our ability to converse with each other, to teach each other, and fundamentally to understand each other. For those who want to engage more in supporting the human drive toward a universal understanding of chemistry through enabling a common language for chemistry, I encourage you to reach out and participate with ACS NTS.

Views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of C&EN or ACS.

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