Seth Rasmussen, NDSU professor of chemistry and biochemistry, recently published a new book, titled “Igniting the Chemical Ring Of Fire.” The book was released this month through World Scientific Publishing.

The 484-page book tracks the development, and gives a detailed history, of professional chemistry communities in 10 countries of Pacific Rim. It gives insights into how and when the countries initiated local chemistry doctoral programs and became independent chemical entities.

According to Rasmussen, the book originated from a symposium he organized for the 2015 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies. When approached to publish the material from the symposium, he agreed to edit the book and assemble the group of 19 authors from seven countries.

Rasmussen wrote the introductory chapter of the book, which includes 15 chapters and covers various aspects of the histories of the chemical communities of Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Russia, Taiwan, United States and Vietnam.

“The motivation of the book was to share untold histories of the rise of chemical activities outside of the traditionally covered European countries,” said Rasmussen, who currently is conducting research in Australia as a Fulbright Scholar. “Although chemical research, education and industry started much later in many of these countries than in Europe, some of the countries covered are now major players in the field, including the US, Japan, China and Korea.”

Rasmussen joined the NDSU faculty in 1999. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Washington State University and his doctorate in inorganic chemistry at Clemson University. He held a postdoctoral position at the University of Oregon.

World Scientific Publishing is a leading independent publisher of books and journals for scholarly, research and professional communities. The company publishes about 600 books annually and about 130 journals in various fields.

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