Aimed at the Latin American scientific community in the field of Chemistry, LatinXChem virtually brought together more than a thousand people in September, establishing itself as the largest conference ever held on Twitter. With an open forum model, the event enabled interaction and the strengthening of contact networks in the Latin American region. Within the program, in addition to the presentation of posters in different formats, such as videos and gifs, there were also conferences by important Chemistry researchers, including Frances Arnold, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The idea for the event, according to Gabriel Merino, professor at the Center for Research in Advanced Studies in Mexico, had already been thought of, but for the Mexican country. Due to the new coronavirus pandemic and the impossibility of in-person activities, he says he started contacting professors from other countries to expand the conference's horizons. Thus, LatinXChem was born, which, with a low organizational cost, as it was virtual, managed to bring together the presentation of 1.200 posters.
“After the pandemic, we saw that it would be cool to hold the event not only in Mexico, but throughout Latin America. The main idea was to do something for the students, because they didn't have the opportunity to show their research. Due to the pandemic, we don't have a lot of money at the moment, so it's a good idea to try to use technology”, says Gabriel.
Luciana Gonzaga de Oliveira, professor at the Chemistry Institute (IQ) at Unicamp, was one of the organizers of LatinXChem, which involved the engagement of 17 professors from countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Chile. According to the teacher, one of the gains of the event was the boost to internationalization. “LatinXChem was a great opportunity to strengthen collaborations between research groups in Latin America. Many of us had no idea of the science that was being developed in other countries in the region, and the event was a great opportunity for collaboration,” she says.
Conference via Twitter
At the conference via Twitter, the presentations were divided into thematic areas: Analytical Chemistry; Biological Chemistry; Catalysis; Chemical Education; Energy and Sustainability; Environmental Chemistry; Inorganic chemistry; Nanosciences and Materials Chemistry; Organic chemistry; Physical Chemistry and Theoretical Chemistry. The works were accepted in three languages: English, Portuguese and Spanish, to enable the greatest possible participation. For each area, judges chose the best posters, who received prizes. Three Unicamp students were awarded: Bianca Ferreira (1st place/Analytical Chemistry); Bruna Domingues Vieira (2nd place/Biological Chemistry) and Leonardo Duarte (4th place/Theoretical Chemistry). Check out the work:
Hi @LatinXChem. I'm presenting my work about the adsorption of the membrane filter with Bisphenol A. I'm up to answer your questions!#LatinXChem #LatinXChemAnalytical # AC84 pic.twitter.com/Idk8lDqQNg
— Bianca Ferreira da Silva (@biancaf_dsilva) September 7, 2020
Hi @LatinXChem, this is my work: “Structural and evolutionary analyzes of Cpz8, a primitive PAPS-dependent sulfotransferase”. #LatinXChem #LatinXChemBio #BIO075 pic.twitter.com/L3RKFUra0D
— Bruna Vieira (@falanuna) September 7, 2020
Hello @LatinXChem, I'm Leo, a Ph.D. student from @unicampoficial, and this is a sample of the project I'm working on: "Interacting Quantum Atoms (IQA) Energy Derivatives for Molecular Vibrations." #THEO013 #LatinXChemTheo. I'm happy to be part of the very first #LatinXChem! pic.twitter.com/ctCGP75BAn
— Leonardo Duarte (@duarte_lj) September 7, 2020
Strengthening connections in Latin America
According to Luciana, despite the awards, the most important point of LatinXchem was the interaction and discussions, not the competition. “We could see the whole community celebrating for the winners. It was a demonstration of empathy and how we can have a stronger connection with our colleagues in Latin America,” she notes. On the day of presentation of work, September 7, were generated more than 250 thousand impressions, which show how many people viewed the tweets, and around 20 million impacts on Twitter.
The format of presentations on Twitter, according to another organizer of the event, Maria Gallardo-Williamns, professor at North Carolina State University and a native of Venezuela, was an idea inspired by an initiative by the Royal Society of Chemistry, which usually holds events using the platform. She says that the scope of interactions and the number of registrations were exceeded. “Our expectations were not that high for what happened. We thought we would have around 300 people participating and we had 1.200. There was the participation of 42 countries, most from Latin America, but also from African countries and Europe and Asia. It was a global event that provided a great experience,” she says.
With the positive experience of LatinXchem, the group of teachers who organized it intend to hold more events. “We will have the opportunity to organize a series of webinars and courses that we want to continue offering. We want to create bridges between our countries to share research in the field of Chemistry, creating a stronger community in Latin America”, says professor at the University of the Americas Puebla (UDLAP) Miguel Rojas, also a member of the organization.
Find out more about the event at Twitter (@LatinXChem) and website.
