Pacifichem Potpourri

Hawaii in December, with chemistry. What could be better?

So when the 5th International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies-Pacifichem 2005, for short-came to Honolulu in mid-December, so did more than 11,000 attendees from 70 countries. This was a record: The previous Pacifichem, held five years ago, drew some 9,000 participants from 58 countries.

The 2005 conference, which was sponsored by chemical societies in the U.S., Japan, Korea, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, offered oral and poster presentations in 950 sessions covering all areas of chemistry. The sessions ran from 7:30 AM to 10 PM, so conferees could leave their hotel room in the morning when it was still dark outside (sunrise was around 7 AM) and not return until after dark in the evening. But many people seemed to take time out to walk along Waikiki Beach, watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean, or do some island-hopping.

Here's a small assortment of research highlights that were presented by scientists from Japan, Australia, and the U.S.