Information, knowledge, and human learning for chemistry: the visionary contribution of Professor Alain Krief

Abstract

This is not a paper about the current state of chemistry but rather the author’s perspective on a strategy for the future of chemistry and other scientific and technical disciplines. This future vision is based on synergies of natural sciences and technical disciplines on one side and the science of information, i.e., informatics, on the other. It relates the author’s interactions during 2003-2023 in professional collaborations with Alain Krief, now Emeritus Professor at the University of Namur. It is argued that the scientific value of Prof. Krief’s work - particularly related to his well-known interest in “chemical knowledge transfer” - extends beyond the scientific-technical domain of chemistry to include a much broader area of natural sciences and associated technologies. Prof. Krief’s signal contribution has resulted from his profound interest in information, knowledge, and human learning, which has been at the core of our exchanges during the last 20 years.