The 2025 USA–Macedonian Workshop Series in Modeling in Chemistry and Biochemistry is a result of the convergence of two ideas which originated by the two co-chairs of this event.
The first idea represents a long tradition of international scientific collaboration nurtured over nearly three decades. The roots of this initiative trace back to January 1998, when Prof. Subhash C. Basak began serving as the US Chair of the pioneering Workshop Series on Mathematical Chemistry. The organization of the First Indo-US Workshop at Visva Bharati in 1998 was stimulated by the understanding of the global thinking of Tagore. Professor Sinha and professor Basak thought that it was fitting to have the first event of a global subject like mathematical chemistry on the campus founded by Tagore. On that occasion they published as a separate printed booklet the discussion of the 1930 meeting between Albert Einstein and Rabindranath Tagore and the booklet was distributed to all participants of the workshop.
The second idea has originated in the mind of prof. Kuzmanovski during his high school days (second half of the 80s) when he first read some of the works of Rabindranath Tagore - the Indian poet, philosopher and visionary, who was the first Nobel Prize Winner from Asia.
Over the years, the Workshop Mathematical Chemistry series became a vibrant platform for scholarly exchange, bringing together researchers from India and the United States to advance the frontiers of mathematical chemistry. The first Indo-US Workshop took place at Visva Bharati, the university founded by Rabindranath Tagore.
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Professors Dilip K. Sinha (Vice-Chancellor of Visva Bharati, Santiniketan, India) and Subhash C. Basak are inaugurating the First Indo-US Workshop on Mathematical Chemistry on 9 January 1998 with the lighting of the holy lamp in the perennial Indian tradition. The inaugural function took place under the auspicious mango trees of Visva Bharati. |
This was a highly successful workshop with speakers from countries of four continents, viz., Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. Papers presented at the meeting were published in American Chemical Society publication: Journal of Chemical Information and Compute Science (JCICS) after peer review. This booklet by Basak & Sinha gives a short summary of their experience in organizing mathematical Chemistry workshops in India, USA and South America.
In terms of tangible products that originated from our math chem workshops & lecture series organized in India, USA & South America, three important items are:
- Papers published in different volumes of peer-reviewed journals like ICICS/J IM & SAR/ QSAR. For brevity we are giving link only to the first workshop papers in JCICS.
- The booklet by Basak & Sinha and
- The following five books: [1], [2], [3], [4] and [5].
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Some of the participants of the First Indo-US Workshop on Mathematical Chemistry in front of Taj Mahal. |
The idea of an Indo-US Workshops and its offshoots like this US-Macedonian Workshop or Symposium on Applied Mathematical Chemistry (1999) was also supported by pioneers of mathematical chemistry like Professors Milan Randic, Alexandru T Balaban, Nenad Trinajstic and other reputed scientists from China, Croatia, Slovenia, etc. Some of them are presented on the following picture.
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Symposium on Applied Mathematical Chemistry (1999), Duluth, Minnesota, USA. Seated (L to R): Sonja Nikolic (Croatia), Subhash Basak (USA, organizer), Milan Randic (USA, organizer) Nenad Trinajstic (Croatia). |
One of the key offshoots of the Indo–US workshops was the creation of the Indo–US Lecture Series, designed to mentor young scholars from both countries. This mentoring initiative fostered the growth of a new generation of researchers and inspired further international scientific engagement.
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Group photo from the Second Indo-US Workshop on Mathematical Chemistry, Duluth, Minnesota, USA. |
Building on this momentum, the collaborations eventually expanded beyond the Indo–US framework, paving the way for a Mathematical Chemistry Workshop Series involving countries across North and South America. These gatherings not only strengthened global research networks but also catalyzed the publication of five high-quality books on mathematical chemistry and its applications, produced by prestigious international publishers and widely used by the scientific community.
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2025 - Silver Jubilee Indo-US Workshop, Saranathan College of Engineering, Tamil Nadu, Trichy, India |
In a same way as the love of science and art brought together Tagore and Einstein in the 1930s the discussions of art (poetry, visual arts,...) and science (manly chemistry, mathematical chemistry and machine learning) brought together professor Basak and professor Kuzmanovski on a same place (in India and Macedonia) in 2025.
The cumulative discusstions and relationships forged through these conversations laid down the foundation for a new collaborative endeavor — the US–Macedonian Workshop Series, with the inaugural event scheduled for October 2025 in Skopje, Macedonia. This new series aims to continue the tradition of fostering cross-border scientific partnerships, advancing research in mathematical chemistry, and nurturing young scholars from both nations.
From 1998 to 2025, the journey has been one of sustained vision, scientific excellence, and the belief that collaborative inquiry across cultures leads to transformative advances. The USA–Macedonia Workshops will carry forward this legacy into a new geographic and intellectual frontier.
