Blockchain Technology and its Use Along the Scientific Research Workflow

"At the Council meeting held during the 2019 World Chemistry Congress in Paris, a representative from one of IUPAC’s National Adhering Organizations raised the question “What is Blockchain Technology?” They went on to say that both “Blockchain” and “Artificial Intelligence” were prominent buzzwords and asked if IUPAC could provide information on how these technologies were impacting science in general and chemistry in particular. Coincidentally, at that same Congress, the technology had been the subject of a presentation by Richard Shute, one of the authors of this paper, and the technology had already captured the interest of Bonnie Lawlor, another of the authors of this paper, to the extent that she published an article in Chemistry International (CI) on the topic the following year. As a result of the question raised at the Council meeting, Javier García-Martínez, IUPAC President 2022-2023, suggested that a white paper on Blockchain be developed ....

While not a technologist herself, Lawlor agreed to organize a team of experts to develop a white paper on the technology, and in 2020 the group began interviewing experts around the world and researching how the technology is being applied along the scientific research workflow. Over the next few pages, we want to provide a high-level overview of what you can expect when the paper is published in Pure and Applied Chemistry in the coming months. The paper will drill down in much more detail, plus provide a wealth of reading material for those interested in learning more."