UCLA chemistry lecturer and author Dr. Eric Scerri delivers the opening plenary lecture at the annual meeting of the Italian Chemical Society, in Milan, on “A brief historical and philosophical account of the development of the periodic system”.
The Società Chimica Italiana-SCI 2024 – XXVIII National Congress took place this summer at the Allianz MiCo Congress Center in Milan. The theme of the event was “Chemistry Elements of Future”. The SCI National Congress represents the main Chemistry event in Italy.
Scerri also recently published an article titled “Laws of nature according to some philosophers of science and according to chemists”, in the Springer journal Foundations of Chemistry on which he welcomes comments from chemists.
Scerri is a chemist, author and leading historian and philosopher of chemistry, specializing in the periodic table of the chemical elements. He is the author of The Periodic Table, Its Story and Its Significance, (Oxford University Press, 2019) and numerous other books on this and related topics. His writing includes a number of books directed at the general public such as A Very Short Introduction to the Periodic Table, and 30-Second Elements. He is a frequent contributor to popular science magazines such as Scientific American and New Scientist.
As a full-time lecturer in chemistry and history and philosophy of science at UCLA for the past 25 years, Scerri regularly teaches classes of 350 undergraduates. This fall he has begun teaching a course on philosophy of science that is being jointly offered by the chemistry and philosophy departments at UCLA. His research ranges across many areas including chemical education, and historical and philosophical questions such as the relationship between chemistry and quantum physics.
In November 2020, Scerri was ranked 2nd in all chemical influencers in the world over the last decade (2010-2020) by AcademicInfluence.com, which is a team of academics and data scientists who are working to provide “an objective, non-gameable influence-based” ranking for the people, schools, and disciplines that make up higher education.
Scerri has been a consultant for TV and radio programs and appears in TV interviews. He was featured extensively in the PBS television series titled “The Mystery of Matter” and has given lectures to general audiences on all six continents.
