Mathematics as a basis for chemistry

Mathematicians are increasingly publishing papers in which mathematics is applied to chemical problems. Examination of some of these papers reveals that while they contain genuine contributions to chemistry they tend to avoid the more interesting and difficult problems. The "forward" problem of estimation of physical properties from a compound's structure, for example, has seen many publications, a proportion of which have been successful. The "reverse" problem, prediction of the structures which possess given properties, is only rarely examined and never by mathematicians. This is unfortunate because these problems are mathematically complex and mathematicians could make significant contributions by bringing their skills to bear on such questions.