Chemistry International
Vol. 24, No. 2
March 2002
Secretary
General's
Column
Broadening Active
Participation in IUPAC Activities
|
Edwin
D. Becker
IUPAC Secretary General
|
After
two years in transition from our traditional commission-based organization
to the project-driven system, IUPAC is now operating fully in this new
mode. Our eight divisions have been restructured, with the inclusion
of National Representatives in the Division Committees. Several Standing
Committees have also been reorganized, most notably the Committee on
Chemistry Education.
The President's
message in the January issue of Chemistry International laid
out a list of activities for the current biennium. Among our priorities
are broadening active participation in IUPAC activities. Several of
the following initiatives are already underway, while others will be
undertaken soon.
New
Member Countries
As reported previously in CI, a Membership Development Committee
was formed in Brisbane. Committee members have visited organizations
of chemists in several prospective member countries to describe the
advantages of becoming a National Adhering Organization (NAO) and to
try to help resolve the financial difficulties that membership in IUPAC
entails. Mexico and Uruguay have recently become Associate NAOs. There
are several promising prospects for countries upgrading to full NAO
status.
Affiliate
Member Program
The
AMP was launched in 1986 to promote two-way communication between IUPAC
and individual chemists throughout the world. After an initial surge
in interest resulted in the enrollment of more than 7800 Affiliate Members
in 1987, the program has declined to its present size of about 4800
in 65 countries. We will work with our NAOs and national chemical societies
in many countries to reverse this trend and to revitalize the AMP. As
described in the January 2002 issue of CI, we now offer a free
sponsored affiliate membership to a chemist in a developing country
for each new paid member. For many in the developing world, the AMP
provides a communications "lifeline." Here is a way to help extend that
lifeline.
If
IUPAC is to be successful in representing worldwide chemistry,
it needs to foster synergistic relationships with the global community
of chemists.
|
Many readers
of CI are already Affiliate Members. We want to hear from you
about your ideas for new IUPAC activities, including formal projects,
and your reaction to current activities. An email message to <[email protected]>
will suffice, but we also welcome letters to CI to be published in the
IUPAC Forum.
IUPAC
Fellows
While
we are encouraging broader participation in IUPAC activities, we do
not want to lose track of those chemists who have already contributed
to the Union's activities and may well do so again. Our "alumni," designated
as IUPAC Fellows in appreciation of their contributions, receive CI
and other benefits. As a number of people have recently completed formal
service in IUPAC bodies, the number of Fellows is expected to double
from last year's size of about 450.
National
Representatives
To
broaden the geographic representation on each of our eight Division
Committees, the IUPAC Council approved an amendment to the Bylaws that
allows up to six NRs on each Committee and makes them full participants
in the work of the Committee. In addition, I have invited each NAO to
designate a specific contact to each Division Committee to facilitate
communication and bring additional chemists into the mainstream of IUPAC
activities. Also, the new Committee on Chemistry Education has a very
large number of NRspotentially involving every NAO in the IUPAC
efforts in education and the public appreciation of chemistry.
Associated
Organizations
IUPAC consists of about 40 international
organizations, in various specialized fields or with specific geographic
coverage, that have been formally recognized as IUPAC Associated Organizations
(AOs). We have close ties with some AOs, especially those associations
and federations that represent chemists or chemical societies in Europe,
Asia, Africa, and Latin America. However, we should improve our interactions
with many of the AOs in chemical specialties. IUPAC Conferences Each
year IUPAC sponsors a large number of conferences, as readers of CI
know from the conference calendar that was distributed with the January
issue. We are planning stronger efforts to publicize IUPAC activities
at these conferences and to encourage active involvement of conference
attendees in proposing and participating in formal IUPAC projects.
IUPAC
Projects
A
major objective in initiating the project
system was to create within IUPAC a more dynamic environment, in
which any chemist in the world can contribute. If IUPAC is to be successful
in representing worldwide chemistry, we need to foster the synergistic
relationship between the global community of chemists and the one organization
that represents the chemical sciences worldwide. Let us hear from you!
Edwin
D. Becker has been IUPAC Secretary General since 1996 and
has been a member of various IUPAC bodies for almost 30 years. He is
presently a scientist emeritus at the National Institutes of Health
in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.