In this presentation, instead of having an abstract presentation of the facts, I would like to share my concerns about the future of physical chemistry and be more of a listener to see what the audiences have to share. I see a need for a thorough statistical analysis to understand what fractions of physical chemists have really chosen their field and, except being university professors, how they are impacting on their society. I think new assistant professors in physical chemistry should discover a direction to do independent research except repeating their Ph.D. thesis. I see a gradual merger among physical chemistry and many other disciplines. There are some challenges to be overcome for this successful merger and the direction could be understood by the funding priorities of the big granting agencies in USA, Europe, Japan, and China. Some of these challenges that shape the future direction of physical chemistry are including, but not limited, to the followings: a) Utilize the properties of nanoscale materials and materials that are not homogeneous, b) Design important chemical products using flexible, energy efficient, environmentally benign synthetic methods, c) Develop microporous materials by high storage density of hydrogen in order to reach to US DOE (Department of Energy) target, d) Design materials that are lighter, stronger, and more easily recycled, e) Design nanomaterials with high reactivity for environmental remediation, f) Design self-cleaning coatings, g) Carefully study the needs of the society and manufacture any new substance that can have industrial impact and cut the dependency of the society to other countries, h) Understand and control how molecules react using large-scale parallel processing arrays. In order to meet these challenges, the starting point is to attract highly educated, intelligent, work-driven and highly knowledgeable chemical scientists and collaborate with scientists in other scientific disciplines.

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