Terrence A. Renner Appointed IUPAC Executive Director
14 December 2009
Dr Terrence A. Renner will be the new Executive Director of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), according to an announcement today from the IUPAC Secretariat. Renner succeeds Dr John W. Jost who has headed the Secretariat for almost 13 years since its move to Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, from Oxford, UK in 1997. The appointment will be effective 1 February 2010.
Renner comes to the IUPAC post from NANOINK INC where he was Director of Applied Science. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Thereafter, as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, he completed his PhD in Physical Chemistry at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, as a student of Philip A. Lyons. Renner’s working career has encompassed the fields of nuclear, environmental, physical, organic, surface, materials, process, and petroleum chemistry. More recently, in the realm of nanotechnology, his experience has expanded to include the interface of chemistry with biology, biochemistry, and pharmaceutical chemistry at the nanoscale. Renner is an accomplished executive who understands the importance and relevance of both pure and applied science within the practical context of business and product development. He has represented companies globally in discussions and negotiations with academics, business leaders, and government officials at all levels to attain mutually beneficial objectives.
IUPAC President Jung-Il Jin pointed out that Renner's appointment comes as the Union prepares for the International Year of Chemistry in 2011. Jin expects that Renner will play a major role as IUPAC leads the world chemical community into the International Year of Chemistry.
To ensure continuity, Jost will remain as a consultant to Renner until he formally retires on 31 August 2010. Jost will continue to be the Managing Editor of IUPAC‘s journal, Pure and Applied Chemistry.
IUPAC was formed in 1919 by chemists from industry and academia. For over eight decades, the Union has succeeded in fostering worldwide communications in the chemical sciences and in uniting academic, industrial and public sector chemistry in a common language. IUPAC is recognized as the world authority on chemical nomenclature, terminology, standardized methods for measurement, atomic weights and many other critically evaluated data. In more recent years, IUPAC has been pro-active in establishing a wide range of conferences and projects designed to promote and stimulate modern developments in chemistry, and also to assist in aspects of chemical education and the public understanding of chemistry.
In 2011 IUPAC will co-sponsor with UNESCO the International Year of Chemistry
IUPAC's next Congress and General Assembly will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 30 July-7 August 2011.
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