Vol. 30 No. 3
May-June 2008

From the Editor

From Vida y Obra de Dimitri Mendeleyev by Aysha Zreika.

At some point in our lives, most of us have had a favorite comic strip or comic book, whether of a superhero in our childhood or of a humorous character in a recent Sunday newspaper. Cartoons come and go, some are more fashionable than others, and some might be popular here and yet unknown there. They can be funny, serious, dark, or hilarious. They can be childish or strictly for adults. But no matter what the genre, comics are hard to ignore. And if one believes that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” it is no surprise that comics continue to be a powerful means for telling a story.

The effectiveness of comics as a graphic art form is evident in the feature article by Javier Garcia-Matinez and Pascual Román Polo on Spain’s Year of Science, which honored Dimitri Mendeleev. The authors review a number of activities celebrating science, including a unique competition in which students designed comics about Mendeleev’s life. A selection of these comics are available for viewing at the Real Sociedad Española de Química’s website <www.rseq.org/comic> or <www.rseq.org/comic2007.htm>. These may be a helpful tool for teachers and students who can use the cartoons to learn more about Mendeleev and his most well-known legacy: the periodic table.

From Vida y Obra de Dimitri Mendeleyev by Aysha Zreika.

Aside from the comics competition, Spain’s year of science was full of other events and hands-on activities. Such celebrations are effective for sharing enthusiasm about science, explaining the opportunities provided by a science education, and for promoting general ideas about science. As IUPAC has embarked on a plan to celebrate chemistry in 2011, the reports that echo from these local, regional, or national events all constitute a valuable resource for everyone involved in planning future activities. Let us know about your past experiences, ideas, and plans. Within CI, we shall keep you posted!

Fabienne Meyers
[email protected]

Cover: This collage includes drawings extracted from the three prize winning entries in the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry’s (Real Sociedad Española de Química) competition for high school and college students for the best comic about Mendeleev’s life. The artists are as follows: Sergi Segura Font (black and white comic entitled Dimitri Mendeleyev), Aysha Zreika for Vida y Obra de Dimitri Mendeleyev (first row, second square to the left and the four central squares, and the two on this page above), and María de la Cueva León Merino for her comic Mendeléiev (1834-1907) (top and bottom right square).