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The CoReACTER Blog

Communication is a critical aspect of our jobs. As practitioners of science and engineering, we are responsible for clearly communicating our findings to our scientific peers. We also value our role in sharing information with the public and the press, and in teaching and training junior researchers. This blog is part of our efforts to meet these responsibilities!

Every post here has been written by ReACTERs, discussed in a CoReACTER group organizational meeting, and approved through a collective decision-making process. This does NOT mean that each post reflects the views of each individual ReACTER, and in general, only the authors of a post and the CoReACTER as an organization should be held responsible for the views espoused in a given post.

In general, we will not take down a post once it has been edited and approved, as we would not want to pretend that our mistakes had not happened. Exceptions would include if, for instance, we had posted information without appropriate permissions or consent. If we find that we have made incorrect or harmful statements, we reserve the right to edit posts (clearly indicating where edits have been made and why they were made), and in serious cases we may make further posts apologizing for improper statements or explaining how our views have evolved. These guidelines are part of our practices of accountability.

Posts

Above a set of gray scales, the text \

Foundations of Chemical Ethics: 0. Foundations of Foundations


Evan Walter Clark Spotte-Smith (EWCSS) (they/them)
Posted on: Jan 6, 2025
In this preview, EWCSS introduces a new series on ethics in the chemical sciences. They discuss their motivations for embarking on this journey, their intended scope and goals, and they raise some possible directions for future posts.

Two reaction mechanisms are shown using 3D renderings of molecules. In one, labeled \

What If They're Wrong?


Evan Walter Clark Spotte-Smith (EWCSS) (they/them)
Posted on: Jan 6, 2025
Inspired by a blog post by the mathematician Igor Pak, EWCSS considers mechanisms (e.g., reaction mechanisms) as a form of chemical conjecture. Using a recent example involving electrolyte decomposition in lithium-ion batteries, they explore the p...

All source code and software associated with this website is released under the MIT license. The text, including blog posts, are released under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Please attribute this work overall to The CoReACTER; Evan Walter Clark Spotte-Smith. Individual posts should be attributed to their authors. Last modified: January 31, 2025. This website was built with the Julia programming language and the Franklin.jl static web framework, building off of the "basic" template.