Faculty in the News – NBC Dateline

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UCLA chemistry lecturer and author Eric Scerri, world expert on the periodic table, discusses the 150th anniversary of the periodic table with NBC TV.

A reporter from NBC’s Dateline visited UCLA to talk with Scerri about the periodic table. The short video, which aired on July 22, 2019, can be viewed here.

Scerri recently visited Saint Petersburg, Russia to attend the 4th International Conference on the Periodic Table, which he helped to organize. While there, Scerri visited the statue of Dmitri Mendeleev, the Russian chemist who created the periodic table, and the famous giant periodic table, which are both featured on the front cover of his first book on the periodic table. 

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In St. Petersburg, Russia – Scerri in front of a statue of Mendeleev and the famous giant periodic table.

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At the International Confernece on the Periodic Table in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

It has been a busy year for Scerri. He has given several lectures in a dozen countries this summer, and he has been interviewed by many media sources including Future Tech,  The Daily Bruin, BBC Radio 4, and Chemical & Engineering News. Scerri also discussed his passion for the periodic table in a recent UCLA College video.

Scerri is the author or editor of twelve books and a full-time lecturer in the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the international journal Foundations of Chemistry that covers the history and philosophy of chemistry, and chemical education. He was the historical consultant for the 2015 PBS docudrama Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements in which he is interviewed extensively about the creator of the periodic table, Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev. To learn more about Scerri, visit his website.

Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.