Dear construction chemists,

On the occasion of the 3rd International Conference on the Chemistry of Construction Materials - 3^rd ICCCM for short - I was able to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic for the first time: I was able to take part in the Division's Online Members' Meeting. I certainly wouldn't have travelled to XY. Even if this medium doesn't allow many things, this contact is better than no contact at all.

For me, it was also a look back at the beginning of the Division of the Chemistry of Construction Materials. I have fond memories of that time.

At the beginning, it was the initiative of the GDCh Executive Directors, represented by Dr Behret. They invited me to the GDCh Office in Frankfurt for exploratory talks

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• the industry/ "Deutsche Bauchemie", Mr Schröter and
• the scientific community/ represented by me.

Somewhat hesitantly, Mr Schröter and I initially took up the GDCh initiative. But it took off. Through meetings, assemblies of GDCh members interested in construction chemistry in Frankfurt and elections, a "GDCh Working Group" was initially formed according to the rules of the GDCh. I was elected chairman, probably in 1994, and the "Deutsche Bauchemie" was initially extremely sceptical about this. For example, Dr Behret and I were invited to Altötting by the then chairman of the "Deutsche Bauchemie", Mr Poech, for discussions. The discussions could not prevent us from founding the organisation, and we were not even able to avoid having the term "chemistry of construction materials" in our name, which the inviting party did not want.

In November 1996, the Working Group organised its first event, a workshop in Hünfeld near Fulda. Even then, I made sure that the presentations were printed in a citable form. The first conference proceedings were published (GDCh monograph vol. 7). This remained the case during my time and beyond. We did not yet have an impact factor. We assessed the scientists according to more general criteria. The points system only came later, perhaps from football?

In 1997, we were "promoted" by the GDCh from a Working Group to a Division. We had probably done a satisfactory job. The new board members were: Prof Dr Knöfel (University of Siegen; chairman), Prof Dr Hummel (Knauf Gips; deputy chairman), Dr Akstinat (Holderchem, CH), Prof Dr Cammenga (TU Braunschweig) and Prof Dr Hiller (TU Munich). The level of awareness of the Divisions increased. The number of members increased to over 300, as the current group chairman Dr Frank Winnefeld reported at the 2021 general meeting (at some point). We organised three Conferences (1997 in Munich, 1999 in Siegen and 2001 in Würzburg, correspondingly three conference proceedings/GDCh monographs Vol. 11, Vol. 15 and Vol. 24 were published under the title "Chemistry of construction materials - from research to practice". I retired in the summer of 2001 and my time as chairman ended in the autumn of the same year. I had capable colleagues in all areas, to whom I am deeply indebted. For me, it was a fulfilling time that I look back on fondly.

The train was set on the track, it was rolling. The train driver was changed, Prof Dr Cammenga arrived and others followed, successfully leading the Division to the present day. Firstly, I would like to thank everyone whose work has maintained and expanded the success of the Divisions over the years. First and foremost, of course, I would like to thank the members of the Executive Board over the past five terms - with their chairmen at the helm. Five electoral terms - 20 years - that's how long ago I retired from active involvement.

Of course, the Board cannot function without active members, which is why I would like to fully recognise and thank the many members whose contributions are what make the specialist group so special. I wish the Division a continued successful future.

Children have a father, sometimes several fathers, sometimes none. In the case of our Division of the Chemistry of Construction Materials, none of the fathers involved will want to deny their involvement. There were many fathers and everyone will look back on their children and grandchildren and their work with gratitude and a little pride.

Dietbert Knöfel
Berlin, 16 March 2021