Chemistry in Africa: A Joint AAPAC–IUPAC Meeting 11 July 1998, …publications.iupac.org/ci/1999/january/CI9901.pdf · 2019. 2. 27. · Chemistry International, 1999, Vol. 21, No

Chemistry International, 1999, Vol. 21, No. 1 1

Chemistry in Africa: A Joint AAPAC–IUPAC Meeting11 July 1998, Durban, South Africa

On the occasion of the Seventh International ChemistryConference in Africa, 5–10 July, 1998, Prof. JoshuaJortner, the current President of IUPAC, and Prof. E.D. Bekoe, the current President of the AfricanAssociation for Pure and Applied Chemistry (AAPAC)convened a conference of African chemistry leaderswith representatives of IUPAC. In the extraordinarilyeffective one-day meeting, held on 11 July 1998, theparticipants discussed problems facing the Africanchemical enterprise and suggested solutions that couldbe implemented jointly by IUPAC and AAPAC.

Present were Drs. B. M. Abegaz (Botswana), E. A.Aboutabl (Egypt), I. Addae-Mensah (Ghana), B. I. Alo(Nigeria), E. D. Becker (United States), D. A. Bekoe(Ghana), M. D. Booth (South Africa), J. D. Bradley(South Africa), E. L. J. Breet (South Africa), L. Diop(Senegal), E. K. Farraq (Egypt), F. Gasengayire(Kenya), C. F. Garbers (South Africa), J. Jortner (Is-rael), B. T. Kiremire (Uganda), E. M. R. Kiremire(South Africa), J. M. Malin (United States), C. C. Mjojo(South Africa), T. T. Mokoena (Botswana), J. L. Moswa(Democratic Republic of the Congo), V. S. B. Mtetwa(Swaziland), T. Nyokong (South Africa), J. I. Okogun(Nigeria), H. M. Salem (Egypt), P. S. Steyn (SouthAfrica), S. O. Wandiga (Kenya), and N. S. Youssef(Egypt).

Purposes of the meeting. Host organizer Profes-sor Pieter S. Steyn greeted the participants by notingthat the purposes of the meeting were to improve com-munications between IUPAC and AAPAC, to assistIUPAC in finding a specific role to contribute to Chem-istry in Africa, and to help find a route to technology-based development in Africa. Dr. Steyn noted withthanks that the financial sponsors of the meeting wereIUPAC, the Foundation for Research Development,Merck, and SASOL Ltd.

Comments by Prof. Joshua Jortner, President ofIUPAC, on the strategy of IUPAC to serve the glo-bal chemistry community. In welcoming all present,Professor Jortner explained that IUPAC’s mission willincreasingly involve concentration on the globaliza-tion of the scientific-technological endeavor and onrecent advances in science and technology. He addedthat IUPAC will respond to the challenges in the mis-sion-oriented service of chemistry to meet mankind’sneeds.

Prof. Jortner outlined IUPAC’s five-point plan fordevelopment in the 21st century. IUPAC will work tostrengthen access in developing countries to informa-tion and research networks in chemistry and related

fields, to build capacity of developing countries forchemical research, to enhance human educational re-sources in developing countries, to foster the abilitiesof developing countries to adapt recent scientific andtechnological advances to local conditions and needs,and to augment cooperation with regional scientificacademies in developing countries.

Prof. Jortner noted that solutions to African prob-lems must be urgently sought, given the impetus ofglobalization, scientific and technological advances,new information technology, and burgeoning popula-tion growth. He pointed out that scientists in develop-ing countries will count increasingly on advances inelectronic communication that can dramatically reducethe geographic and political barriers, isolation, andfragmentation that have hampered them in the past.He noted that the keys to success will be found in ob-taining needed equipment, training, useful contacts,functioning access to electronic networks, databasesand publications, and long-term maintenance and sup-port of networks and equipment.

Prof. Jortner suggested that IUPAC can contributeby helping African chemical scientists to formulateand prioritize their own needs, to emphasize institu-tional capacity, including management and mainte-nance, to establish long-term interinstitutional rela-tionships rather than “hit-and-run” short-term studiesand assistance, and to realize the potential for increasedregional and subregional cooperation.

Comments by Prof. D. A. Bekoe on the role andfunction of AAPAC in promoting chemistry on theAfrican continent. Prof. Bekoe reminded the partici-pants that the role of the AAPAC, i.e., to foster chemi-cal research and the application of chemistry and al-lied sciences to capacity building in Africa, is quite

Professors B. I. Alo and J. Jortner

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2 Chemistry International, 1999, Vol. 21, No. 1

congruent with the goals of IUPAC. He noted the spe-cial problems caused in Africa by population growth.In regard to food production, for example, new landsare brought into cultivation only after the old landshave been exhausted. Prof. Bekoe added that researchfunding in some countries is weak and getting weaker,having in some cases been reduced by two-thirds. Evenso, AAPAC is developing opportunities for joint ef-forts to obtain support by giving chemical researchersa voice with governments.

Prof. Bekoe suggested that AAPAC can help pro-mote teaching and learning in ways unique to Africa.The solutions sought should be Africa-relevant becauselearning strategies and cost-effective solutions are notnecessarily the same in all parts of the world. Throughthe International Chemistry Conference in Africa(ICCA) series, AAPAC has already established a dia-logue on chemical education. AAPAC discussions onenvironmental chemistry, theoretical chemistry, andnatural products chemistry are stimulating young re-searchers. Now those new scientists will need accessto faster, modern methods of obtaining and analyzingdata.

Prof. Bekoe noted that AAPAC and IUPAC bothhave long-term objectives to foster chemical researchand the application of chemistry and allied sciences,with special emphasis on capacity building. Therefore,he said, it is necessary that there be liaison betweenthe two organizations with the goals of (1) strengthen-ing of national chemical associations in the region,(2) working together to encourage chemistry-relatedindustry, particularly large industry, to contribute tosustainable development, creation of wealth, and im-provement of the quality of life in Africa, (3) findingways to work with and learn from IUPAC and otherbodies such as ICSU, COSTED, UNIDO andUNESCO, (4) improving the resource base of AAPAC,

and (5) developing more effective scientific commu-nications in the region.

Status of Chemistry on the AfricanContinentOnly two countries in Africa—Egypt and South Af-rica—are members of IUPAC. There is clearly a needto increase African participation. Prof. Jortner, quot-ing from an excellent report written for IUPAC by Dr.C. F. Garbers, noted that while Africa includes 62% ofthe world’s developing countries, the distribution ofdevelopment is not homogeneous. Some 29 of the 51countries published less than 10 abstracted journal ar-ticles in 1996, while Egypt published 2560 in the sameyear. Among the 45 countries in sub-Saharan Africa,only 3 countries produced the great majority of pub-lished research articles in chemistry. They were SouthAfrica (1359 abstracts), Nigeria (384 abstracts), andKenya (97 abstracts). No abstracts were cited from 5countries and another 21 countries produced less than10 abstracts each. Rising university enrollments(mostly in the Arts) and stagnant budgets have causedaverage per-student expenditures to fall from $6,300in 1970 to $1,500 by 1988.

Dr. Garbers recommended that if IUPAC wishes toembark on further initiatives, a detailed study shouldbe made of an area which is served by so many agen-cies. He noted that the Committee on Teaching ofChemistry has new and important initiatives to con-tribute. He suggested that IUPAC, being active in allfields of chemistry and with extensive expertise in pub-lication, could become involved in the preparation oftexts for training and reference in selected fields ofimportance in developing countries. These might in-clude water quality, human health, food analysis, andaccess to chemical information. Also, the work ofCHEMRAWN should be extended to techno-economicanalysis of countries and regions to identify potentialindustrial and market initiatives.

Dr. Garbers noted further that, while neither IUPACor UNESCO is a major funding organization, togetherthey have the ability to provide direction-giving in-puts. One possible approach is outlined in the recom-mendations made by the recent report of the IUPACTask Team of African Chemists convened in 1997. TheTask Team recommended that IUPAC/UNESCO co-ordinate a Pan-African chemistry development project,implementing recommendations that will come froma series of five regional workshops. The workshopswill involve all African countries, which will be in-vited to assess the types of support and other inputsnecessary. Major funding will be sought from localgovernments and national and international develop-ment agencies.

Dr. Garbers emphasized that there is a tendency to

Professor D. A. Bekoe

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generalize about Africa,yet huge differencesexist among countriesand institutions. Manyuncertainties and defi-ciencies exist in highereducation, which re-mains elitist and selec-tive in the admission ofstudents. The rising de-mand for access tohigher education isprompting reconsidera-tion of the university’srole in Africa. However,the outcome may ulti-mately be dependent on political decisions by localgovernments.

Status of Chemical Education in AfricaThe African university environment has changed sincethe 1960s, a decade described by Dr. B. M. Abegaz asone of hope, euphoria, and romanticism. By the 1970s,expectations had been somewhat reduced, stung by awave of military coups and the growing politicizationof higher education. In the 1980s, disillusionment anddecline were the norm. Overcrowding in the universi-ties led to a growing pessimism among students andfaculty, along with an overall decrease in quality. The1990s have seen new hope for successful change andtransformation of higher education. However, this isaccompanied by increased “donor fatigue” among ex-ternal agencies and nations.

Prof. John Bradley, Chair of IUPAC’s Committeeon the Teaching of Chemistry, provided a statisticaloverview of education of Africa. He noted that thepopulation of Africa was 778 million in 1998 and willgrow to 930 million by the year 2005. 236 million(36%) of the current African population are of pri-mary and secondary school age (6–17 years). Prof.Bradley added that the adult illiteracy rate in Africa is40%, due partly to the fact that public expendituresfor education are very low on average, about 6% ofthe GNP. Nevertheless, numbers of students have in-creased substantially since 1980 with enrollment ra-tios in tertiary education currently at 6%, in second-ary education 32%, and in primary education 72%. Innatural sciences and engineering, the percent of en-rolled students varies according to country between11% and 34%. The number of science students per10,000 inhabitants is approximately one-tenth thatfound in Latin America and one-fiftieth that of theUnited States.

Prof. Bradley observed that many African univer-sity professors must undertake supplementary nonaca-

demic jobs to augment meager incomes. There is achronic shortage of textbooks, virtually all of whichmust be imported from outside the continent. Labora-tories are often cancelled because of a shortage of re-agents.

Prof. E. M. R. Kiremire reported on the dire situa-tion facing higher education in Zambia, typical of Af-rican countries. Tremendous inflation, exacerbated bya lack of government support and political instability,have caused serious problems. Prof. Kiremire notedthat 300 lecturers left Zambia during the 1980s and,unfortunately, for every two professors lost, only oneprofessor was recruited. The age profile of the scien-tists remaining behind is not encouraging. Some 40%of the university staff are over 50 years of age.

Prof. Kiremire urged that the educational systemmust concentrate on student study skills and motiva-tion, conditions of service for teachers, improvementof teaching aids, and infrastructure. There is a greatneed for information technology and library develop-ment. Journals published since 1975 are lacking inZambia, as are textbooks and, especially, computers.There is a need to strengthen basic research and de-velopment in Africa to help provide relevance forchemical education. Basic political support with nostrings attached needs to be developed for chemicalresearch and education.

Prof. T. T. Mokoena of Botswana reminded the par-ticipants that one of the greatest challenges to chem-ical education in Africa is to make chemistry under-standable to the poor. It is extremely important, hesaid, that the educational system have a clear under-standing of the educational environment from whichstudents come and a plan for where the graduates willgo.

Prof. Mokoena suggested that undergraduate chem-istry programs in Africa suffer from a lack of goalsand objectives, overcrowded and authoritarian under-graduate curricula, general scarcity of modern re-sources, “tunnel vision” caused by undue emphasis


on subdisciplines, too many “drudgery hours”, and lackof regular assessments. He urged that African univer-sities and nations do more strategic planning, carriedout in a way that strikes a responsive chord among thepeople. Educational programs, he said, need to be di-rected toward acceptable goals.

According to Prof. Mokoena, there is a need toprovide high-quality, relevant programs with clearlydefined aims and objectives. The programs shouldemphasize mastery of the use of instrumentation,reduce staff and student time spent in rote learning,and provide for the needs of majors as well as generalinterest or preprofessional students. The programsshould especially include project-based teaching andwork experience assignments. There also should beopportunity for distance learners and adults to studychemistry. The structure of the program should preparestudents for conventional and applied course options.

The Role of the Chemical Industry inEnsuring Sustainable Development inAfricaDr. M. Booth, a member of IUPAC’s Committee onChemistry and Industry (COCI) outlined operationsof the chemical industry in sub-Saharan Africa. Heexplained that from a global perspective the chemicalindustry in Africa is small, operating mainly in SouthAfrica, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Zambia, Nigeria, andEgypt.

The primary manufacturing sectors are explosives,fertilizers, insecticides, petrochemicals, and polymers.Management practice standards, e.g., the ResponsibleCare program, are applied in the areas of health andsafety, storage and distribution, transportation, wastemanagement and pollution control, community aware-ness and emergency response, and product steward-ship.

Dr. Booth noted that the firm AECI has recentlyopened new explosives factories in two African coun-tries. These new enterprises have created new jobs forchemical professionals. It will be important to edu-cate and hire as many Africans as possible for thesenew jobs, rather than to import personnel from else-where.

Dr. Booth suggested that ways need to be devel-oped to improve the image of chemistry through gov-ernment, industry, and societal activities. Governmentmust provide clear, unambiguous policies, imple-mentable legislation, and fair enforcement. Industrymust care for the health and safety of the workers, bemindful of product stewardship, and be ready to com-municate hazards. Consumers must learn to read andunderstand cautionary labels, use chemicals as di-rected, and dispose of waste chemicals safely.

Special challenges for Africa lie in existing inter-national legal obligations and treaties, poor ambientenvironmental quality, development of sustainable con-sumption and cleaner production, and finding eco-ef-ficient uses of natural resources.

Existing international agreements regulating move-ment of hazardous waste across international bound-aries are a challenge to African countries. No nationallegislation on the subject exists in South Africa or inAfrica generally. Moreover, additions to the MontrealProtocol are making it increasingly difficult for eco-nomically disadvantaged nations to conform. Africancountries are having difficulty implementing the Pro-tocol on Informed Consent (PIC) Convention on theuse of pesticides, the Protocol on Pesticides (POP)Convention norms regarding organic pesticides, andstandards for compliance to global climate changerules. Africa is one of the most economically vulner-able regions, and therefore it is least able to deal withnew or established regulations. African industry needsto participate more in the setting of international pro-tocols.

Africa must move its orientation in environmentalpractices from environmental protection to sustainabledevelopment. This shift in orientation will require care-ful environmental stewardship, social development,and economic growth. A priority goal will be to beginto eliminate poverty through the fulfillment of basichousehold needs, such as provision of safe water sup-plies. This problem can be addressed through sustain-able consumption, i.e., through minimization of wasteand recycling of chemical materials.

Dr. Booth noted that it is important to shareexpertise and experience to develop uniquely Africansolutions to support African industrial development.The challenges in Africa will require replacement ofobsolete chemical processes with new, “green”technology. According to one estimate, there is muchroom for growth since the African economy is onaverage only about 20% technology driven.

Prof. L. Diop of Senegal reminded the participantsthat Africa has plenty of natural resources, e.g., coal,minerals, and diamonds. He noted that, even thoughthe image of chemistry has suffered because of pollut-ants coming from industry, and the field inherits a lotof the blame for pollution resulting from the genera-tion of energy, the chemical industry is neverthelessat the very heart of development. Prof. Diop suggestedthat Africa should concentrate on small technologyfor local consumption as a way of building grass-rootsmarkets. Also, Africa should look as an example tothe efforts made by Asia in the 1960s. Greater coop-eration is needed in setting up joint regional researchand production centers. The participants agreed that itis as important in Africa as it is in other regions of theworld to publicize the positive aspects of chemistry.


Chemistry and Society in AfricaIn his discussion of chemistry and society, Prof. S. O.Wandiga noted that the quality of chemistry in Africais only as good as the chemists practicing the disci-pline and the support given to them by society. Chem-istry, he said, has been practiced in Africa for a verylong time, as can be deduced from ancient stories ofwars fought and diseases cured. The old practice ofchemistry was limited, however, to the satisfaction ofindividual needs, the defeat of an enemy, or the per-formance of cultural rites. The practice of chemistryfor commercial purposes is a relatively new phenom-enon on the African continent.

Unlike the past, when the art of chemistry was con-ferred through tutelage by magicians or by divine ap-pointment, the African chemist nowadays is most likelya graduate of a university in Europe, North America,Japan, China, or Africa. He or she is well-versed inconceptual theories and skills and is at ease talkingabout principles of chemistry or applying cutting-edgeanalytical techniques.

Why, then does the continent lag behind in devel-opment of the chemical industry? Prof. Wandiga sug-gested the challenges are based on the availability ofresources, the knowledge and technical base for thepropagation of the industry, market forces, governmentpolicy, and general public support for the discipline.

Africa’s Resource Base

1) Human resources. Every African country today hasa critical mass of well-trained and qualified chemistsand chemical engineers. Unfortunately, many of thebest brains are leaving the continent because they can-not find employment of their choice or because theylack modern equipment. At the same time, a new cropof chemistry practitioners from the Asian continent isfinding opportunities to establish factories in Africafor solvent distillation, emulsion prepa-ration, synthetic fiber fabrication, plas-tics production, and metals refinement.Prof. Wandiga offered his first recom-mendation, “We must look afresh at thetraining of chemists in Africa. We needto include entrepreneurial courses in thesyllabus, develop the instinct to takerisks, and ensure that African graduatesare enabled educationally to initiate in-dustrial projects of their own.”

2) The availability of raw materials.Raw materials are widespread within the

African continent, and some countries are blessed withgreat abundance of resources like oil, minerals, or natu-ral products. Unfortunately, the exploitation of suchnatural resources has rarely benefited the citizens. Inmost cases, raw materials are extracted and exportedunprocessed, while in other cases selfishness, basedon insecurity among nations, has prevented countriesfrom sharing, developing, and exploiting national re-sources together with their neighbors. African resourceshave continually been exploited by foreigners. Prof.Wandiga advised, “Africa therefore needs to developmutual trust among nations so that available resourcescan be used to benefit Africans. As long as greed andself-interest prevail over the common good of society,African resources will never be developed by Africans.Cooperation within and among states is essential fordevelopment of the chemical discipline. Africa muststrive to encourage cooperation in knowledge and tech-nology sharing. As a start, we need to establish, throughmarket forces, industries for partial refinement of avail-able raw materials in order to create added value forour products.”

Africa’s Knowledge and Technology Base

The African continent now has many knowledgeablechemists, as was demonstrated at the recently con-cluded Seventh International Chemistry Congress inAfrica, but unfortunately much of those persons’knowledge is wasted. The majority of talented scien-tists in Africa are subject to extreme economic hard-ships, leading to their own preoccupation with sur-vival. “Restoration of dignity and self-respect to Afri-can scientists will release an enormous reservoir ofknowledge and ability,” observed Prof. Wandiga.

This is the era of computer technology. Develop-ment of information and communication technology(ICT) has greatly reduced the barriers to far-awayknowledge for persons conversant with ICT. But, a

Professors J. L. Moswa, B. I. Alo, D.A. Bekoe, L. Diop and

F. Gasengayire

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lack of access to computers in Africa is resulting in afailure to develop computer skills. Certainly, trainingin the use of ICTs is a must for every chemist on theAfrican continent. “Public domain knowledge andtechnology for chemical processes are availablethrough information and communication technologyfor the exploitation and development of Africa’s re-sources. More training is needed in tapping and utiliz-ing such knowledge and technology.”

Market Forces

Prof. Wandiga informed the group that, although thetotal population of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, isnear 75 million, the per capita income is only $200–300. The buying power of African citizens is currentlytoo small to sustain a dedicated domestic chemicalindustry. A second strong force arises from the cur-rent economic situation that compels African nationsto export their resources as raw materials. Compound-ing these forces are weak marketing networks for Af-rican products. Under the circumstances, which includefalling commodity prices, inflation of local currency,and few markets for African products, chemical re-search is not an economically important activity. Aslong as these current forces are dominant, Africa willnot develop a chemical industry. Prof. Wandiga ob-served, “As a start, African countries must break thebarriers that exist between states on the continent.Africa further needs to discard the concept that Afri-cans cannot process their own raw material for com-petitive global trade. Lastly, Africa must redouble itsefforts to train its youth to market African productsand to use the latest ICT technology.”

Enabling Policies

Dr. Wandiga noted that the African policy-makingcommunity and national leaders must understand thatthey need the discipline of chemistry if they are tosucceed as rulers. Moreover, African nations, as in all

nations, need to promote the basicprinciples of quality of life, democ-racy, and the dignity of and respectfor human life. Only through suchpolicies can the majority of citizensexcel by applying their intellect,knowledge, and technological skills.“There must be a high-priority

policy to develop and enable the chemical industry.Without direct government support for industry, littlecan be achieved.” Dr. Wandiga recommended that“governments set up priority projects for developmentof chemical research capability, with concomitant in-centives for industrial development. These new pro-gressive policies can only emerge if Africans at bothlocal and international levels accept the principle thatit is essential for Africa to trade in finished products.Africa must also implore its brothers in developedcountries to stop looking at Africa as a supplier of un-finished, unprocessed raw materials for their indus-try.”

General Public Support

Prof. Wandiga expressed the opinion that the Africanpublic is very supportive of the chemical industry, pro-vided the industry continues to supply consumer goodsand provide jobs. As public awareness increases, it isessential that industry does not negate the public per-ceptions through use of “non-green” chemistry pro-cesses. Given the high unemployment rate on the con-tinent, the industry will find ready support if it pro-motes quality of life through employment and respon-sible care for its products. Prof. Wandia concluded,“Ethical considerations by the industry need to play aleading role in its promotion. At all times one shouldremember that the African continent is ecologicallyfragile. Preservation of the environment for future gen-erations is part and parcel of the promotion of thechemical industry on the continent. For the industryto continue to enjoy public support, it must regulateitself and it must take the lead in conservation mat-ters.”

Liaison Between IUPAC and AAPACProf. Bekoe opened the discussion of the liaison be-tween AAPAC and IUPAC by noting that the objec-

Professors J. Jortner, D. A.Bekoe, and P. S. Steyn

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tives of the two organizations are complementary. Thepartnership could work to strengthen African chemi-cal societies, and also to advocate industrial develop-ment in Africa. There is, he said, a clear need to worktoward a form of affiliation between the two organiza-tions. AAPAC has many bright members but it is youngand weak in resources. IUPAC assistance to AAPACthrough the IUPAC web site would help greatly bysharing information with and among African scien-tists.

Prof. Jortner added that the AAPAC/IUPAC liaisonshould be both regional and global. Elements of co-operation could include dissemination of industrial andenvironmental information, joint planning, catalysisof programs for Africa, including electronic commu-nications, and assistance in interactions with govern-ments

Concluding Remarks, Plans, andProposals for Future ActionsDr. Abegaz offered plans and proposals for futureactions as follows:

• Chemists should pledge partnership to each other.Country-specific or regional problems should al-ways be addressed with quality and relevance.

• A census should be taken of professional resourcesin Africa. AAPAC should prepare directories ofAfrican scientists and of papers published.

• Problems in obtaining access to chemical informa-tion need to be solved. The Internet gives access toinformation, but well-stocked libraries provide own-ership of the information.

• Creative approaches can make scarce instrumentresources generally available to African scientists.As an example, NAPRECA can now utilize itsFTNMR instrumentation more effectively by send-ing Free Induction Decay (FID) data directly by e-mail to users for analysis. This use of e-mail allowsresearchers quicker access to spectra and savesanalysis time in the primary instrument facility.

• African institutions need to obtain fairer prices whenpurchasing instrumentation. Vendors normallycharge more in Africa than in developed countries.

In his concluding remarks, Prof. Jortner noted thatthis meeting between AAPAC and IUPAC officials hasinspired deep respect for the chemistry community inAfrica as it faces difficult problems, even as AAPACadopts firm commitments and a sense of purpose for thefuture. He provided the following summary of the cen-tral issues, together with several proposals and conclu-sions.

1) Human capital development. Plans must be madefor human capital development in Africa with the un-derstanding of chemistry as the conceptual founda-

tion of materials science, physics, and biology. Goals,objectives, and programs for education on all levelsrequire long-term strategic plans.

2) Research at the graduate level. Research in theAfrican university system is essential. The profes-sional development of young scientists, graduate stu-dents, post-docs, and beginning faculty members mustbe a top priority. To help in this area, IUPAC will bring20 young chemists from developing countries to theBerlin Congress in 1999.

3) Reduction of braindrain. While scientists shouldbe free to move wherever their interests take them,IUPAC and AAPAC must strongly recommend that theresearch systems of Africa take initiatives to bring backyoung, outstanding scientists after their trainingabroad. Special programs should be instituted to dothis, for example a program of research grants of$20,000–40,000 over a period of 4–5 years for youngscientists who return to Africa. Additional programsshould be implemented to foster exchange of person-nel in both directions.

4) Worldwide responsibility. It is the moral respon-sibility of the worldwide chemistry community to joinforces to help Africa in building its education and re-search capabilities at all levels.

5) Bridging the gap between donors and develop-ing countries. IUPAC might act as an independent,authoritative, nongovernmental, politically neutralbody to help with management and accountability inthe distribution of research funds in Africa. The Unionalso could contribute its expertise to assist with exter-nal review of research proposals.

6) Regional and international collaboration. Sup-port must be found for regional cooperation. Intra-Af-rican collaboration is often more limited in scope thanis collaboration with countries outside Africa, becausemost financial support for collaboration originatesoutside the African continent. Development of an elec-tronic African Journal of Chemistry would increasecollaboration in Africa and develop worldwide recog-nition for the chemical sciences on the African conti-nent.

7) Problems and challenges of the chemical indus-try in Africa. While it is important to curb pollution,upgrade industrial technology, and facilitate regionaland industry–university cooperation, it is also neces-sary to develop a “green” chemical industry. Environ-mentally and economically viable industries must beattracted to Africa.

8) Environmental chemistry. Issues of chemistry andthe environment were raised in the conference per-taining to pollution, food, water, and health problems.Environmentally benign chemistry solutions will besought.

9) Science, society, and government in Africa. Thisissue involves public understanding of science and


News from IUPAC

Project Submission and ApprovalProcessAs was reported in the November 1998 issue of Chem-istry International, the Bureau, at its recent meetingin Frankfurt, approved a uniform system for the sub-mission and approval of projects for funding by IUPAC.During the period of transition from the current com-mission-based operation to a project-based operation(1999–2001), funding of the Union’s scientific workwill be both by the current method of funding Com-missions and by the new system of funding projects.Which method is used will depend on the situationand the judgement of the Division Committee. Thisarticle describes the procedure to be used to submit aproject for funding and the approval process that willbe followed. The fundamental steps in the procedurewill be described in the form of questions and answers.

Who can submit a project?

Anyone or any group may submit a project, whetheror not they are currently members of an IUPAC body.To assist those who are not familiar with the current

projects of the Union, a complete listing has beenposted on the Union’s web site, http://www.iupac.org.

What does a project submission consist of?

A sample Project Submission Form is shown on page9. Instructions for completion of this form are givenbelow the form. Please note that the form shown is anoutline. It is expected that most submissions will bemade electronically. The electronic version of the formwill be available on the IUPAC web site. Printed formswill be available on request from the Secretariat. Theform has been made quite concise, and we expect thatsupporting material will be included as necessary.

Where should the project submission forms besent?

All forms and supporting material should be sent tothe IUPAC Secretariat at the following e-mail address:[email protected] or by mail to: P.O. Box 13757,Research Triangle Park, NC, USA 27709-3757 or byfax to: +1 919 485 8706.

government science policy. The building of a criticalmass of scientific activity and the spreading of themessage that chemistry is important for developmentare crucial. However, while IUPAC’s strategic plan(1998) includes the goal of representing the interestsof chemistry in governmental and nongovernmentalforums, IUPAC will not undertake projects involvinglocal governmental policy development. IUPAC cancontribute to the representation of the interests of thechemical community of Africa in governmental forumsorganized through AAPAC–IUPAC collaboration.

10) Electronic communications. The revolution inelectronic scientific communications must be broughtto Africa by initially setting up a personal computernetwork, maintaining its infrastructure, making data-bases available, and organizing training programs tohelp users.

A Plan for Liaison Between IUPACand AAPACAAPAC and IUPAC together will address regionalproblems in Africa by developing an electronic com-munications network, publishing an electronic Afri-can Journal of Chemistry, instituting environmentalworkshops and programs for sustainable development,

planning for education at all levels, and helping de-velop the research infrastructure. A jointly sponsoredforum will be established to address the chemistry–government interface in Africa.

AAPAC will provide a bridge between the nationalchemical societies of Africa and IUPAC. It may bepossible for AAPAC to join IUPAC as an AssociateOrganization, similar to the IUPAC relationship withthe Federation of European Chemical Societies. In-creased membership in IUPAC by individual Africancountries, first as observers and later as full members,will be encouraged.

Dr. Jortner proposed that the first IUPAC–AAPACcollaborative project should be to plan an electroniccommunications scientific highway for Africa. AAPACis invited to propose the second joint program.

The organizers thanked all present for their partici-pation. In closing, a note of urgency was added by aparticipant using an African analogy to emphasize theneed for immediate action by African scientists andthe worldwide scientific community. “It doesn’t mat-ter in Africa”, he said, “whether you are a lion or agazelle. When morning comes, you’d better start run-ning.”

J. M. Malin


Sample Project Submission Form

Date

Name of personsubmitting this form

Address (if not currentlya member of IUPAC)

Project Title

Relevant IUPAC Body Physical ❏❏❏❏❏ Chemical Weapons Destruction ❏❏❏❏❏

(please tick box/boxes) Inorganic Organic ❏❏❏❏❏ Biotechnology ❏❏❏❏❏Macromolecular ❏❏❏❏❏ CHEMRAWN ❏❏❏❏❏Analytical ❏❏❏❏❏ Chemistry and Industry ❏❏❏❏❏

Environmental ❏❏❏❏❏ Printed and Electronic Publication ❏❏❏❏❏

Human Health ❏❏❏❏❏ Teaching of Chemistry ❏❏❏❏❏

Biochemical Nomenclature ❏❏❏❏❏Other ❏❏❏❏❏

Task Group Chairman(if known)

Committed Members of TaskGroup (if known)

Objective

Category Nomenclature ❏❏❏❏❏ Standardization of Methods ❏❏❏❏❏(please tick box/boxes) Classification ❏❏❏❏❏ Workshops ❏❏❏❏❏

Critical Data Compilations❏❏❏❏❏ Innovative Conferences ❏❏❏❏❏

None of the above ❏❏❏❏❏

Description

Goals & Strategic Thrusts

BudgetTravelAdministrative

External Funding

Time FramePlanned Start DateDuration of Project

Milestones

Outcome

Dissemination Plan

Anticipated Impact

Suggested Referees

Some suggested criteria forretrospective evaluation


Who will evaluate projects?

Each Division Committee and Standing Committeewill evaluate projects relevant to its area of interest.Interdivisional projects will be evaluated by all Divi-sion Committees or Standing Committees judged tobe relevant. If an interdivisional project is approvedby the Division Committees, it will then be evaluatedfor funding by the Project Committee of the Bureau.

What will the evaluation process consist of?

After a proposal for a project is received by the Secre-tariat, it will be sent to the appropriate Division orStanding Committee(s). After a brief initial review forrelevance, the Committee will instruct the Secretariatto distribute the project material to at least three out-side referees. When the referees’ reports are receivedby the Secretariat, they will be sent (anonymously) tothe project submitter for comment. The referees’ re-ports and the comments from the submitter will thenbe returned to the Division or Standing Committeefor action. Projects approved by a Division Commit-tee will usually be funded from the Division budget.However, projects that are interdivisional in subjectmatter, or that require additional resources, will bereferred to the Project Committee of the Bureau forfinal decision

How much time will be needed for this evaluationprocess?

In general, we estimate that this process should be com-pleted in four months. In some instances, where refer-ees’ reports are received promptly, the time may beappreciably shorter. In other cases, where questionsarise or funds are not immediately available, approvaland funding may take longer.

When can projects be submitted?

Projects can be submitted at any time. It is expectedthat in the future the project evaluation process willoccur continuously, with no set time for submissionof projects. Funds will be available as soon as a fund-ing decision has been made. This year, most of theDivision Committees plan to make their funding deci-sions at the General Assembly. In order to allow suffi-cient time for the process, we urge you to submit yourproject material as soon as possible—at least 3–4months before the General Assembly.

How long should a project take?

Projects should be for whatever period is necessary tocomplete the objectives of the project. Few projectswill probably be for less than 12 months and few shouldbe longer than 3 years. There is no need to fit the time

frame of a project into the biennial period defined byIUPAC General Assemblies.

Who can work on a project?

The project leader can choose the Task Group for theproject. These need not be scientists who are currentlymembers of an IUPAC body.

What is the amount of funding available for aproject?

While there is no limit to the size of a project, it isexpected that most projects will be funded for less thanUSD 5 000.

What can project funds be used for?

Project funds can be used for travel, administrativecosts such as word processing, printing, programming,or any other expenses necessary for completion of theobjectives of the project. It is not expected that IUPACwill fund projects that call for significant laboratoryresearch to be paid for by project funds.

Other Information

Division officers will be sending out information toCommission officers regarding procedures specific toeach Division. Please feel free to contact your Divi-sion officers or the Secretariat if you have any ques-tions.

Project Submission FormAnyone or any group can submit a project, whether ornot they are currently members of an IUPAC body.Projects can be submitted at any time. See the addi-tional Guidelines for Completion of the Project Sub-mission Form and the FAQs on Project Submissionand Approval Process for detail information; alsoavailable on the Union’s web site at http://www.iupac.org/projects.

The form should be completed with a word proces-sor and returned to the IUPAC Secretariat, preferablyas an e-mail attachment at [email protected].

Guidelines for Completion of ProjectSubmission Form

Introduction

IUPAC has long been recognized as the world author-ity on chemical nomenclature, terminology, standard-ized methods for measurement, atomic weights andmany other critically evaluated data. Projects spon-sored by IUPAC should address one of the goals listed


in the IUPAC Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan canbe downloaded from the IUPAC web site, http://www.iupac.org, or a copy can be requested from theSecretariat. After completion, the Project Form shouldbe returned to the IUPAC Secretariat, not to any otherperson or body in IUPAC. The address of the Secre-tariat can also be found on the IUPAC web site. Allcompleted forms will be sent to the appropriate Divi-sion Committee or Committees. InterdivisionalProjects, projects from Standing Committees andprojects too large for a Division will be reviewed bythe Project Committee of the Bureau. While there isno set schedule for the evaluation process, it is notexpected to take more than four months.

The Division Committees will assign referees foreach project. After return of the referees’ evaluations,the Division Committee will forward projects to theProject Committee of the Bureau that are either inter-divisional or too large for the Division to fund fromits own resources. Final funding decisions will be madeby the Division and Standing Committees and theProject Committee either by correspondence or at ameeting. There are no set times for approval decisionsto be made. Decisions will be taken during the courseof the year as projects are submitted and the neces-sary information has been gathered.

Guidelines

Project TitleShort descriptive title of project.

Relevant IUPAC BodyThe name of the Division(s) or Standing Committeethat should oversee this project.

Task Group ChairmanName of person(s) who will be responsible for project,if known. If not known, please indicate how the TaskGroup Chairman will be selected and names of pos-sible candidates.

Committed Members of Task GroupNames of members of task group who have commit-ted themselves to work on the project, if known. If notknown, please indicate how they will be selected.

ObjectiveDescribe the objective of the project in one or twosentences. The objective should explain the value ofthe project to the field of chemistry involved.

CategoryIndicate if the project falls into one of the standardcategories: nomenclature (including terminology, sym-bols, and units); classification; critical data compila-tions; standardization of methods; workshops; inno-vative conferences. This section may be omitted if the

project does not fall into one of the standard catego-ries.

DescriptionThe description should be relatively brief (<250 words)and should enable the reader to understand the pur-pose and methods used in the project. Additional back-ground information and supporting documentation maybe provided if it is needed to permit evaluation of theproposal. A copy of the “Advice for Project Review-ers” is available on http://www.iupac.org to help youin deciding what information to include.

Goals & Strategic ThrustsIndicate which of the Goals and Strategic Thrusts ofthe current IUPAC Strategic Plan are addressed by theproject. The Strategic Plan is available on http://www.iupac.org.

BudgetThe budget should include all planned expendituresover the lifetime of the project. Costs for dissemina-tion of the results should be included. These costsmight include holding a workshop or special sympo-sium at a Conference to publicize the results of theproject. Travel expenses include total costs for attend-ing meetings of the task group. Administrative costsinclude secretarial costs, extraordinary communica-tion costs (e.g., mailings), costs for meeting facilities,software development, research assistance, etc. Pleasenote that IUPAC projects are not intended to be origi-nal research projects and the cost of new research workshould not be a part of the project costs.

External FundingIs this project a candidate for external funding, e.g. byICSU? Final decisions on submission of a project forexternal funding will be made by the Project Commit-tee. The Project Committee can decide to submit aproject for external funding even if this part of theform is left blank. If a particular external fundingagency has been approached about funding this project,please describe the nature of the discussions.

Time FrameIndicate the planned start and completion dates of theproject. The expected duration of IUPAC projects istwo to three years. For longer term projects it may bepreferable to break the project into phases. Each phaseshould have an interim report. Projects need not con-form to the IUPAC biennial budget cycle. That is, aProject can begin at any time in one biennium and endin another.


MilestonesMajor milestones, such as completion of first drafts ofa report, dates of task group meetings should be given.

OutcomeIs the final product of the project a recommendationor report to be published in Pure and Applied Chemis-try or another journal, a book, a workshop, a confer-ence, a set of instructional materials, a web page?

Dissemination PlanHow will the results of this project be disseminated tothe affected community? How will nomenclature rec-ommendations, for instance, be made known to prac-titioners or the intended audience? A good dissemina-tion plan is a vital part of the project.

Anticipated ImpactHow will the results of the project affect practitioners?

Suggested RefereesPlease suggest the names and addresses of at least threeexternal referees who can be asked to evaluate theproject.

Some Suggested Criteria for RetrospectiveEvaluationHow should the success of the project be measuredand when? For instance, have recommendations beenadopted by journals as part of their instructions forauthors? Should this be evaluated in one year or threeafter the end of the project?

XXIII Latin American ChemicalCongress, 26–30 July 1998,Rio Grande, Puerto RicoThe XXIII Latin American Chemical Congress wasorganized by the Federación Latinoamericana deAsociaciones Química (FLAQ) and the Colegio deQuímicos de Puerto Rico. There were more than 800participants at the Congress which featured 9 plenarysessions, 4 symposia, 72 mini-courses for continuingeducation in all areas of chemistry, and 12 sessionscovering biochemistry, inorganic chemistry, agricul-tural chemistry, organic chemistry, chemical educa-tion, analytical chemistry, natural products, environ-mental chemistry, organic synthesis, medicinal chem-istry, and physical chemistry. Contributors came from16 countries: Argentina (4), Brazil (9), Bolivia (3),Canada (3), Chile (39), Colombia (39), Cuba (20),Spain (3), United States (13), México (90), Panamá(4), Puerto Rico (43), Dominican Republic (1), Uru-guay (1), Venezuela (6).

Special guests included Dr. Paul Walters, Presidentof the American Chemical Society, Prof. Ernest Eliel,Past-President of the ACS, Dr. John Malin, Directorof International Activities of the ACS, Dr. EdwinBecker, Secretary General of IUPAC, and Dr. John Jost,Executive Director of IUPAC. In addition, delegatesfrom the chemical societies of Bolivia, Colombia,Cuba, Chile, México, Panamá, Perú, Puerto Rico,República Dominicana, and Venezuela attended.

The plenary speakers included Nobel Laureates Dr.Roald Hoffman (USA) and Dr. Mario Molina (USA)as well as Dr. Mario Suwalsky (Chile), Dr. NelsonDuran (Brazil), Dr. Ernest Eliel (USA), Dr. Pedro Jo-seph Nathan (México), Dr. Héctor Abruña (USA), Dr.Antonio Monge (Spain) and Dr. Roger Bybee (USA).

At the meeting of FLAQ delegates, Dr. GabrielInfante was elected President and Lic. Madeline Pardowas elected Secretary General for the period 1999–2000 (both of Puerto Rico). The Secretary and Trea-surer of FLAQ continue to be Dr. Juan de Dios Guevaraand Dr. Leonidas Unzueta respectively (both of Perú).

The XXIV Congress will be held in Perú in 2000.

Smooth Transition to Improved ISO9000 StandardsChange-over to the improved ISO 9000 standards,which the International Organization for Standardiza-tion (ISO) aims to publish in November 2000, will bea smooth one for the businesses around the world whichare implementing the current versions.

“A major requirement of the ISO 9000 revision pro-cess is that organizations which have implemented thecurrent ISO 9000 standards will find it easy to transi-tion to the revised standards,” says ISO, adding, “Tran-sition planning guidance is being produced.” ISO givesthe assurances in a recent document, “Introduction tothe revision of the ISO 9000 standards”. An estimated200 000-plus ISO 9000-based quality managementsystems are being operated worldwide by organiza-tions of all types in order to ensure their efficiencyand their ability to meet their customers’ requirements.As a result, interest in the Year 2000 revisions of thestandards is intense, and ISO is keen to keep currentand future ISO 9000 users up to date on developments.

The Introduction document summarizes the reasonsfor revising the ISO 9000 standards and outlines thedirection the revisions are taking. In fact, all ISO stan-dards (currently more than 11 500) are reviewed atleast every five years to ensure that they remain thestate of the art. The ISO 9000 series was published in

News and Notices from Other Societies and Unions


1987 and lightly revised in 1994. The Year 2000 revi-sions will be much more thorough-going, taking intoaccount the considerable international experience ofimplementing them.

However, ISO says that the revised standards, likethe current ones, will impose no rules on the presenta-tion of a quality manual. It states, “This will alloworganizations to continue to document their qualitymanagement systems in a manner which reflects theirown ways of doing business. The revision of the ISO9000 standards will not require the rewriting of anorganization’s quality management system documen-tation.”

In order to ensure that the revised standards will beof maximum benefit, ISO has conducted an interna-tional survey of user requirements. In addition, it hasan ongoing process which allows for direct feedbackfrom users and customers at key points during the de-velopment of the revisions. This process is helping todetermine how well user requirements are being metin the documents under development and to identifyopportunities for improving them further before pub-lication as ISO standards.

The revised standards, ISO 9001 and ISO 9004, arecurrently at the stage of “Committee Drafts” (CDs),which normally are internal documents circulated forcomment only to the ISO members directly partici-pating in their development. After the CD stage, thestandards are released to ISO’s membership as a wholeas Draft International Standards, which are publiclyavailable documents. Due to the huge interest in theISO 9000 revisions, orders for the CDs of ISO 9001and ISO 9004 may be addressed to ISO national mem-bers and to the ISO Central Secretariat. However, itshould be understood that the documents are dynamicones which will certainly evolve before they reach thestatus of International Standards.

ISO/TC 176/SC 2, the ISO technical body respon-sible for developing the revised standards, has estab-lished a World Wide Web site to provide information.Users who would like to give input or participate inthe validation of the standards may contact ISO/TC176/SC 2 directly via the web site: http://www.bsi.org.uk/iso-tcl76-sc2/. Information may alsobe obtained from ISO’s national members, as well asbeing posted on ISO’s own web site, ISO Online: http://www.iso.ch/. For more information: Roger Frost,Press Officer, Tel.: + 4122 749 0111, Fax: + 4122 73334 30, E-mail: [email protected].

WHO and Pharmaceutical Industry toSet Up Joint Working GroupWith one-third of the world population deprived ofeasy access to the most essential drugs and vaccines,the World Health Organization (WHO) and the phar-

maceutical industry decided to set up a joint workinggroup that will analyse the situation and make recom-mendations to overcome existing bottlenecks.

The group will be formed and start its work in theimmediate future. Its composition will be agreed inconsultation with the International Federation of Phar-maceutical Manufacturers Association (IFPMA),which currently represents over 50 national associa-tions of research-based pharmaceutical companiesfrom countries in every WHO region.

This decision was made on 21 October 1998, aftera four-hour meeting organized at WHO in Geneva be-tween Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, WHO’sDirector-General, who initiated the meeting, and tensenior representatives of the pharmaceutical industry,selected by the IFPMA.

“The decision we have taken is a first step to ben-efit an estimated 100 million people worldwide throughimproved cooperation between the public and privatesectors. I am looking forward to further developmentin this area,” stated Dr. Brundtland.

“We in the pharmaceutical industry are pleased tosee changes in the renewed WHO, changes that couldpotentially make everybody a winner. It is up to all ofus now to translate this potential into actions,” com-mented Dr. Harvey E. Bale, Jr., Director-General ofthe IFPMA.

News from the Federation of EuropeanChemical Societies (FECS) GeneralAssembly, 17–18 September 1998,Istanbul Turkey

Millennium Celebrations

100 Distinguished European ChemistsThe President informed the General Assembly that theproject had been approved by the Executive Commit-tee in March and that in August member societies hadbeen sent a letter inviting them to submit nominationsby the closing date of 26 February 1999.

Guidelines for considering the nominations wouldbe approved by the Executive Committee in October.The Working Party on the History of Chemistry wouldbe involved in the selection process, the final decisionto be taken by a selection committee

FECS Calendar

The President informed the General Assembly thatplans for a calendar to mark the Millennium had beenapproved by the Executive Committee, although thequestion of the necessary funding had not been re-solved.


FECS Web Pages

The President urged member societies to develop theirown web pages, if they did not already exist, and usethe help that was available from the Royal Society ofChemistry. He urged member societies to make use ofthe opportunities provided by Chemsoc for the use ofchemical societies and their members, the alternativebeing commercially provided sites. Dr Gagan addedthat the Chemsoc web site was a valuable service forDivisions. The General Assembly noted the develop-ment of the IUPAC and ACS web sites.

Dr. Inch commended in particular the developingconference database within Chemsoc, and encouragedmember societies to contribute information.

The European Chemist Magazine

Dr. Inch drew attention to the first issue published inMay and urged member societies to provide informa-tion that could help create future issues, the next onebeing expected in November/December. He explainedthat a major problem was to assemble a number ofpeople who are able to provide information from dif-ferent countries which could be analysed for its Euro-pean significance. Until the quality of the magazinemeets the required standards, he is not planning toapproach industry for sponsorship. Approaches tomember societies for firm commitments to purchasethe magazine will be made in due course.

Future Direction of FECS

Divisional StatusThe General Assembly considered the circulated pa-pers. Dr. Jensen and Professor Pasynkiewicz presentedthe applications of the Working Parties on Chemistryand the Environment and Organometallic Chemistryfor Divisional status. The General Assembly noted thatthe Working Parties met the required criteria concern-ing membership and level of activities and acceptedthe recommendations from the Executive Committee

Green Chemistry

Dr. Jensen reported that the European EnvironmentAgency (EEA) had invited FECS to help organize aEuropean Green Chemistry Award similar to the U.S.Green Chemistry Award. The EEA expected that fund-ing would be available via the European Commission,and planned to publicize the award in the summer of1999, with the first awards (possibly one academicand one industrial) being made in the year 2000.

There was some discussion of the use of the word‘green’, which was not well accepted in all Europeancountries, although it was possible that the U.S. influ-ence would eventually prevail. Dr. Inch reported thatin considering the terms ‘sustainable’ and ‘green’, the

RSC had concluded that sustainable chemistry wentbeyond green chemistry. It was noted that the prelimi-nary proposal was for the FECS to appoint and over-see the work of an awarding panel and that the GreenChemistry Network in York University might be askedto be the administrative body.

The General Assembly gave approval in principleto the proposal to work with the EEA in organising aEuropean Green Chemistry Award and agreed that theDivision of Chemistry and the Environment should beauthorized to continue the discussions and act on be-half of FECS. Dr. Darms urged that efforts should bemade to ensure the right amount of visibility for theFECS name in association with the award.

Dr. Malin gave a presentation highlighting the manyinternational activities of the ACS which incorporatedgreen chemistry. The ACS Committee on Environmen-tal Improvement was actively involved in the U.S.Green Chemistry Award. Much staff activity was de-voted to, for example, the organisation of workshopsin collaboration with other bodies.

Dr. Czedik Eysenberg reported that the AustrianChemical Society had a working party looking at lifecycle questions.

Dr. Inch reported on the arrangements to establishthe Green Chemistry Network at the University of York,financed by the RSC, and the plans to publish a greenchemistry journal/magazine.

Dr. Jensen invited representatives to send him bypost any further information that was available.

International Chemistry Celebration 1999

Dr. Malin circulated information about the plans forthe International Chemistry Celebration in 1999. Heurged FECS member societies to inform the ACS ofany national activity, e.g. national chemistry day, inorder to have it included in the diary of events world-wide. The website is http://www.acs.org/memgen/meetings/ichc/ichc.htm. The General Assembly del-egates indicated that about half of the member societ-ies present had submitted registration forms.

Dr. Walter drew attention to the creation of Inter-national Landmark Sites and said he would welcomeinformation to help select other joint activities thatcould receive this designation.

European Communities Chemistry Council

The General Assembly noted the minutes of the meet-ing held in March 1998. Professor Alderweireldt drewattention to the European Chemist (EurChem) desig-nation, involvement in which is no longer restricted toECCC member societies. The EurChem designationis available to members of all FECS member societieswho can meet the criteria for membership of the Eu-ropean Chemist Registration Board.


IUPAC

Dr. Hayes, Vice-President of IUPAC, gave an outlineof the structure of IUPAC and presented the circulateddocument on future strategy. He then highlighted hisdesire for a clearer view of the respective roles of, andlinks between, the IUPAC as a global organisation,the regional organisations such as FECS, and the na-tional organisations, in order to avoid duplication ofeffort. He referred to the problems caused by the factthat funding via national adhering organisations leftmany national chemical societies not directly involvedin IUPAC. He also reported that improved links withindustry will be pursued, and the Associate Memberscheme is shrinking.

The General Assembly noted that decisions on fu-ture action would be put on the IUPAC website http://www.iupac.org/.

Future Strategies of Divisions and WorkingParties

Division of Analytical Chemistry: The President, asinterim Chairman of the Division, following the deathof Professor Robert Kellner, reported the appointmentof a new Chairman, Professor M. Valcarcel, Spain anda new Secretary, Professor Korte, Germany. He statedthat a report from Euroanalysis 10 in Basel will bepublished. The next two Euroanalysis meetings willbe in Lisbon in 2000 and Dortmund in 2002. The pub-lication of the 2nd edition of the 900-page analyticalchemistry textbook based on the Eurocurriculum is amajor project and it is expected that this edition wouldbe more widely applicable to university chemistryteaching worldwide.

Division of Food Chemistry: Dr. Battaglia reportedthat, in the light of his appointment as FECS Presi-dent Elect, the Division would need to appoint a newChairman. The Division’s links with the EuropeanCommission were developing well and he hoped intime that the Division would be accepted as the bodyof reference to the European Union. He commendedto other Divisions the strategy of having individualsformally recognized as experts. The General Assem-bly supported the Division’s efforts to influenceSpringer to use the English name International Jour-nal of Food Research , instead of the German titleZeitschrift für Lebensmittel Untersuchung undForschung, to promote wider circulation. He reportedcollaboration with the medical community in the Sym-posium on Food Allergenicity in Taormina. The 10th

Eurofoodchem will be held in Budapest.Division of Chemical Education: Dr. Gagan re-

ported that this was the Division’s 25th anniversaryyear. A special edition of the International Journal ofScience Education had been prepared by the Division.The first European Conference on Chemical Educa-

tion, in Budapest in August, had been attended by 200Hungarian teachers of chemistry and 150 participantsfrom 30 other countries. The FECS Lecture had beengiven by Professor A. Johnstone, University ofGlasgow. The next European Conference would be heldin 2001 in Portugal, avoiding overlap with the Inter-national Conference held in alternate years. The 5thECRICE, in Greece later in 1998, included a work-shop for young researchers.

Division of Chemistry and the Environment: Dr.Jensen reported on the success of the recent Confer-ence on Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Pollution inCopenhagen. Following the conversion to a Division,the next business meeting will consider the establish-ment of subgroups. The next Euroenvironment Con-ference will be held in Oporto in 2000. A venue forthe 25th anniversary conference in 2002 will be sought.The Division was actively cooperating with the Euro-pean Chemistry Thematic Network activity and Dr.Jensen planned to develop links with IUPAC.

Division of Organometallic Chemistry: ProfessorPasynkiewicz reported plans for the XIIIth FECHEMConference on Organometallic Chemistry on 29 Au-gust–3 September l999 in Lisbon. The Division sup-ported local activity in Poland and Germany and heldregional seminars for Ph.D. students. The web sitelisted the names, together with fields of interest, ofthose members working in organometallic chemistry

Working Party on Computational Chemistry: Dr.Naray Szabo reported that the next conference will bein Italy in 2000. A directory of European computa-tional chemists is being compiled for publication onthe Internet. Summer schools, mostly in Italy, are be-ing organized. He added that the long-term aim is tobecome a Division.

Working Party on History of Chemistry: In theabsence of Dr. Deelstra, the President reported that, inaddition to the Guide to Museums, the Working Partyis planning a history of chemical societies. Another inthe series of lists of important events in the history ofchemistry, giving anniversaries for 1999 and 2000, isexpected.

President Elect

The President reminded the General Assembly of theprovision in the statutes for appointment of the Presi-dent Elect: The Executive Committee shall nominateto the General Assembly one individual for appoint-ment as President of the Federation of EuropeanChemical Societies. The individual shall serve for oneyear as President Elect before taking up the office ofPresident. The President shall serve for a single termof three years and may not be re-elected for a secondconsecutive term of office as President.

The President presented the recommendation from


the Executive Committee and the General Assemblyagreed to appoint Dr. R. Battaglia, New Swiss Chemi-cal Society, to serve initially for one year as PresidentElect with the effect from the end of the General As-sembly and succeed Professor Niinisto as President inSeptember 1999. (See below for a biographical sketchof Dr. Battaglia.)

Composition of the Executive Committee

The President informed the General Assembly thatthere were four vacancies for individuals to serve onthe Executive Committee for three years from Sep-tember 1998. He stressed that elected members of theExecutive Committee serve in a personal capacity, notas representatives of a member society. The GeneralAssembly accepted the recommendation from the Ex-ecutive Committee that Dr. R. Darms, Professor S.Gultekin, Professor V. Simanek, and Professor A.Zamojski be elected to the Executive Committee.

Membership of the Federation

The General Assembly received the circulated appli-cation and accepted the recommendation from theExecutive Committee that the Lithuanian ChemicalSociety become a member of FECS.

Relations with Other Bodies

American Chemical SocietyDr. Walter, President of the American Chemical Soci-ety, gave a presentation on international links and theincreasing interdependency of national chemical so-cieties. He believed that the promotion of global co-operation was a vital role for chemical societies.

He outlined his proposal that there should be a ‘C7’group of the major national chemical societies, includ-ing the GDCh, the RSC, and the Chemical Society ofJapan, having special responsibilities since they werebetter equipped in terms of wealth and knowledge. Heproposed that an agenda for such action be discussedin Berlin in August 1999.

The President questioned the need for another neworganisation in the form of an ‘exclusive club’, bear-ing in mind the plans for increased IUPAC activity.Dr. Walter responded by explaining that he saw it notas another organisation but as an opportunity for agroup with common interests to compare what theydo and see what they could do jointly. He referred tothe fact that IUPAC member organisations were oftenthe national academy rather than the national chemi-cal society.

The President referred to the existence of the Inter-national Council for Chemistry, and Dr. Hayes ex-plained that it was a IUPAC/UNESCO collaborativeactivity promoting links with developing countries.

During discussion of recruitment, Dr. Walter re-ported that the ACS membership campaign had hith-erto been confined to the United States. He acknowl-edged that extending it to countries in Europe couldbe perceived as competing with national societies andsaid he would welcome suggestions on how actioncould be taken without endangering existing good re-lationships. It was suggested that reduced fees formembers of European societies could be an option.

The President thanked the President of the Ameri-can Chemical Society for his presentation and partici-pation in the General Assembly meeting.

General Assembly

Dr. Herve presented the invitation from the Associa-tion of Finnish Chemical Societies to hold the 1999General Assembly meeting in Finland and this wasunanimously accepted. She confirmed that the Gen-eral Assembly would be held on 16–17 September 1999in Helsinki.

Appointment of New President Electof FECSAt its recent General Assembly, FECS appointed Dr.Reto Battaglia, of the New Swiss Chemical Society,as its President Elect. Reto Battaglia will serve oneyear as President Elect before succeeding ProfessorLauri Niinisto as President of FECS after the 1999General Assembly in Helsinki on 16–17 September1999.

Reto Battaglia has been involved in the work of theFederation since 1981, having been a member of and,since 1995, Chairman, of the Division of Food Chem-istry. He has been President of the Swiss Society ofFood and Environmental Chemistry and has been ac-tive in the IUPAC Commission on Food Chemistry.

Following his doctoral studies at ETH Zurich, RetoBattaglia was a post-doctoral fellow at the Universityof Manchester (UK) in organic synthetic chemistry.In 1973 he joined the Cantonal laboratory of Zurich,later becoming deputy head. Since 1989 he has beenDirector of Migros Laboratories, Zurich.

FECS Award for ServiceFECS has decided to give its 1998 Award for Serviceto Dr. Johannes van Spronsen of the Royal Nether-lands Chemical Society, The Hague, The Netherlands.

The FECS Award, consisting of a medal and a scroll,was given to Dr. van Spronsen in recognition of hisservices to FECS and for his outstanding work as ahistorian of chemistry

Dr. van Spronsen is the present Secretary and formerChairman of the Working Party on the History ofChemistry of the FECS. Dr. van Spronsen has edited


for the FECS the Guide to European Chemical Muse-ums and Exhibitions (3rd edition in 1998) and in addi-tion has authored other books on the history of chem-istry. His earlier international medals and awards in-clude the Gillis Prize of the Royal Flemish Academy,Dexter Award of the American Chemical Society, and,more recently, the Liebig-Wohler Friendship Prize.

New Officers of the Kuwait ChemicalSocietyAt the Kuwait Chemical Society General Assemblyheld on 7 October 1998, the following office-bearerswere elected:President: Dr. Abdulaziz AlnajjarVice President: Mr. Adnan AlshalfanSecretary General: Mr. Marzooq Al-ShemmariTreasurer: Mr. Mohammed AlqallafExecutive Committee: Mrs. Samirah Al-Houli, Dr.

Ahmed Karimi, Ms. Khalidah Aldalama, Dr. AliSaleh Al-Omair, and Mr. Majed Al-Asfoor

New Officers of the BangladeshChemical SocietyThe 21st Annual Conference of the BangladeshChemical Society was held 22–24 October 1998 atBangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation, BCCIAuditorium, Dhaka. Sheikh Hasina, the HonorablePrime Minister, Government of the People’s Republicof Bangladesh, was present as the Chief Guest in theinaugural session. The theme for the symposium ofthis conference was “The Impact of Free Market

Economy on the Industrialization of Bangladesh.”More than 500 chemists from different universities,industries, research organizations, and educationalinstitutions attended the conference.

Researchers from different organizations presentedtheir papers in six technical sessions, all of which werewell attended.

An Executive Committee consisting of 22 memberswas elected for two-year terms, which assumed officefrom 2 November 1998.

Executive Committee of the Bangladesh ChemicalSocietyPresident: Professor S. Z. HaiderVice-President: Mr. A. S. Salah Uddin Ahmed and Mr.

Md. Shafiqur RahmanTreasurer: Dr. Akhtar Uddin AhmedGeneral Secretary: Professor Jasim Uddin AhmadJoint Secretary: Dr. Tofail Ahmad Chowdhury & Mr.

Md. Shafiqul IslamPublicity Secretary: Mr. Md. Masuder RahmanOrganizing Secretary: Mr. Md. Sanowar Hossain

MondalSocial Welfare Secretary: Capt. (Retd.) A. B. M.

Nowsher Alam

Members: Mr. Abu Hayder Ahmed Naser, Dr.Mobarak Ali Akand, D.. M. Ali Hossain, D.. Md.Mominul Huque, Mr. Kazi Saidul Haque, Mr. Md.Abdul Aziz Mollah, Mr. Md. Abdus Samad, Mr. Md.Ashraf Hossain, Mr. Md. Nurul Islam, Prof. A.. M.Shafiqul Alam, Prof. Mesbahuddin Ahmad, Prof.(Mrs.) Tajmeri S. A. Islam.

Reports from IUPAC-Sponsored Symposia

The OECD Workshop on SustainableChemistry

Introduction

The Workshop on Sustainable Chemistry (hosted bythe Interuniversity Consortium Chemistry for the En-vironment) was held at Fondazione Cini (Venice, Italy)from 15–17 October 1998. This international event wasco-sponsored by the governments of Germany, Italy,Japan, and the United States in cooperation with theInternational Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry(IUPAC) and the Business and Industry Advisory Com-mittee to the OECD (BIAC). Also participating in theorganization of the workshop were the OECD(Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Devel-opment) and the Interuniversity Consortium Chemis-try for the Environment.

Joe Carra (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)and Pietro Tundo (Interuniversity Consortium Chem-istry for the Environment) co-chaired the workshop.Seventy-five experts attended, representing 16 mem-ber countries, the European Commission, industry, andnongovernmental organizations.

Within the broad framework of sustainable devel-opment, we should strive to maximize resource effi-ciency through activities such as energy and nonre-newable resource conservation, risk minimization, pol-lution prevention, minimization of waste at all stagesof a product’s life cycle, and the development of prod-ucts that are durable and can be reused and recycled.Sustainable chemistry strives to accomplish these endsthrough the design, manufacture, and use of efficientand effective, more environmentally benign chemicalproducts and processes.


Prior to the workshop a survey was conducted tocollect basic information on sustainable chemistry ac-tivities recently completed or ongoing in member coun-tries. This information included activities initiated bygovernments, academia, and industry, and which aremanaged solely by one of these parties or in a col-laborative fashion (e.g., government/industry partner-ship). The results of this survey were discussed at theworkshop.

The workshop focused on the policy/programmaticaspects of sustainable chemistry initiatives, as com-pared to the technical aspects of any particular ap-proach, with a mandate to

1. identify the types of sustainable chemistryactivities underway;

2. identify effective techniques and approaches inthe field of sustainable chemistry (includingeducational approaches), highlighting problemsencountered and considering solutions; and

3. identify activities that can further the developmentand use of sustainable chemistry programs.

Breakout Sessions

Five breakout sessions were held in parallel, at whichthe topics listed above were discussed. The results fromthese discussions were reported in the plenary session.The plenary session then developed a consolidatedpaper summarising the discussions and recommend-ing further work.

Breakout Session 1Object: Recognize sustainable chemistry accomplish-

ments by the chemical industry and scientists inuniversities and research institutions

Co-chairs: Paul Anastas (U.S. Environment ProtectionAgency) and Ferruccio Trifirò (University of Bolo-gna, Italy)

Goal: Provide effective awards and recognition for thepurpose of promoting sustainable chemistry

Breakout Session 2Object: Dissemination of technical information and

event information related to sustainable chemistryCo-chairs: Joe Breen (U.S. Green Chemistry Institute)

and Alvise Perosa (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice,Italy); rapporteur: Dennis Hjeresen (Los AlamosNational Laboratory)

Goals: Promote the development and functioning ofan international sustainable chemistry community

Breakout Session 3Object: Support and promote the research, discovery,

and development of innovative sustainable chem-istry technologies

Co-chairs: Masao Kitajima (Japan Chemical Innova-tion Institute) and Junshi Miyamoto (IUPAC); rap-

porteur: Uwe Wolcke (Bundesanstalt fürArbeitschutz und Arbeitsmedizin)

Goals: Stimulation of interest in assessments, indus-try, academia, and the public in sustainable chem-istry as a basis for national and international re-search programs; identification of mechanisms tosupport/promote research; description of ways toimplement research programs

Breakout Session 4Object: Develop guidance on how to implement sus-

tainable chemistry programs for use by OECDmember countries and others

Co-chairs: Peter Hinchcliffe (UK Department of En-vironment, Transport, and Regions) and HerwigHulpke (BAYER - AG); rapporteur: John Keating(Canada Natural Resources)

Goal: Individuate the mechanisms to develop guid-ance on how to implement sustainable chemistryprograms for use by OECD member countries andothers

Breakout Session 5Object: Promote incorporation of sustainable chemis-

try principles into the various levels of chemicaleducation

Co-chairs: Tracy Williamson (U.S. Environmental Pro-tection Agency) and Giuseppe Blasco (Inter-university Consortium Chemistry for the Environ-ment, Italy); rapporteur: John Warner (Universityof Massachusetts).

Goals: Educate all people involved in products andprocesses on sustainable chemistry; includes thosewho currently are involved as well as those whowill be involved in the future; includes educators.

It was evident from the workshop that there isconsiderable interest and enthusiasm within academia,industry, government, and NGOs for both the basicconcepts and practical developments in the field ofsustainable chemistry. Italy, Japan, Germany, theUnited States, and Austria presented considerableinformation on developments in sustainable chemistry.

Workshop Outcomes

I. Conclusions/Workshop StatementWorkshop participants agreed that sustainable

chemistry provides a cost-effective means of

• reducing chemical threats to health and the envi-ronment;

• accelerating the pace of chemical innovation; andthereby

• contributing to economic competitiveness and sus-tainable development.

Workshop participants also agreed that efforts


should be made to promote the establishment of suchprograms by governments, industry, and academia.

II. RecommendationsIn order to achieve this aim, the workshop made a

number of recommendations either of a general na-ture that apply to all aspects of sustainable chemistry,or of a more specific nature that apply to one of theobjectives listed above. The recommendations follow.

General Recommendations

The following two overarching recommendationswould facilitate the promotion of sustainable chemis-try in general and also the implementation of the morespecific workshop recommendations.

Recommendation 1: The existing OECD SteeringGroup that was formed to organize the workshopshould remain intact and take on the new responsibil-ity of overseeing the implementation of these recom-mendations. As part of these duties, the Steering Groupwill form work groups or study groups as necessary.

Recommendation 2: OECD should publish the pro-ceedings for this workshop (including the results fromthe OECD-wide survey), provided funds are available.

Specific Recommendations

The following recommendations are organized accord-ing to the themes that were the focus of the fivebreakout sessions.

1. Awards and recognition for work on sustainablechemistry.

2. Exchange of technical information related tosustainable chemistry

3. Research and development4. Guidance on activities and tools to support

sustainable chemistry programs5. Sustainable chemistry education

Awards and Recognition for Work on SustainableChemistryRecommendation 3: OECD should begin an activitywhich (1) establishes an international program for re-warding and recognising work in the area of sustain-able chemistry; and (2) provides guidance to coun-tries interested in establishing national programs. Thisactivity will promote the incorporation of sustainablechemistry concepts into all aspects of chemistry andenvironmental sciences and the industrial sectors theyaffect by recognizing the value of this approach withrespect to environmental and economic sustainability.a) OECD should assist in the establishment and imple-

mentation of an annual international awards pro-gram to recognize excellence in the area of sus-tainable chemistry. The following elements would

be important to the successful implementation ofthis awards program• the OECD Steering Group should create a

work group to manage this program thatwould include representatives from interna-tional and regional professional societies, rel-evant intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and in-dustrial trade associations;

• the official presenter of the awards should bea multinational governmental body;

• the exact nature of the nonmonetary awardshould be defined and established; and

• eligible recipients of the awards can includerepresentatives from academia, industry, gov-ernment, and nongovernmental organizations.

b) OECD should develop guidance on methods todesign national awards and recognition programsin the area of sustainable chemistry. The workshoprecognized that the essential elements of aneffective international or national awards andrecognition program would require• the award or recognition be given by a group

which is highly respected by the public;• the award be highly visible both to the scien-

tific and industrial communities as well asthe general public; and

• the information collected during the awardnomination process (including, for example,information on the economic and envir-onmental benefits of a particular innovativetechnology that incorporates the principles ofsustainable chemistry), should be made avail-able to the relevant community.

Exchange of Technical Information Related toSustainable ChemistryRecommendation 4: OECD should establish aninformation exchange activity on sustainablechemistry. To do so, OECD shoulda) identify existing communication channels;b) coordinate among these channels within OECD

countries; andc) encourage development of new communication

channels deemed necessary.

The purpose of this activity is to help promote thedevelopment and functioning of an internationalsustainable chemistry community by

• facilitating the exchange of informationthrough established programs;

• providing enabling information to develop-ing programs; and

• communicating program opportunities and re-


sults to both technical and nontechnical au-diences.

Research and DevelopmentRecommendation 5: While it is recognized that OECDcannot fund or carryout actual research, OECD should(1) encourage member countries to undertakesustainable chemistry research and (2) facilitate thedevelopment of effective research activities ininstitutions and other organizations.a) OECD should encourage governments to initiate

research programs. The approach and specificrationale for doing so can be developed by theSteering Group or other experts as it sees fit.

b) OECD should organize member country expertmeetings to identify basic (i.e. precompetitive)research agendas to facilitate the exchange ofinformation and experiences and to fostercooperation.

c) OECD should monitor the implementation of andresults from research programs for the purpose ofimproving the effectiveness of future programs.

d) OECD should encourage national andmultinational research funding organizations toincrease research funding for sustainablechemistry and foster international collaborationsfor short- and long-term research.

Guidance on Activities and Tools to SupportSustainable Chemistry ProgramsRecommendation 6: OECD should assist in thedevelopment of guidance on sustainable chemistryactivities and tools to improve awareness and supportof sustainable chemistry activities in member andnonmember countries.a) To improve awareness and adoption of sustainable

chemistry, the following actions arerecommended:• Stakeholders in sustainable chemistry should

be identified and informed about the initia-tive. OECD should facilitate contact with in-ternational organisations, national govern-ments, industry and trade associations, labourand trade unions, environmental and otherNGO’s, academia and other relevant parties.

• SME activities in sustainable chemistryshould be stimulated by engaging innovativecompanies, trade associations, governments,and professional associations throughmentoring, education, and training of SMEs.

• Academia, industry, governments, and otherinstitutions should develop opportunities thatsupport greater cooperation between the vari-ous fields of chemistry and other related dis-ciplines (e.g., analytical chemistry, physicalchemistry, engineers) on the design and

implementation of sustainable chemistryprojects.

b) Tools should be developed to support nationalsustainable chemistry programs. These tools couldinclude the following:• developing new (or adapting existing) mecha-

nisms for monitoring progress, exchanginginformation, and benchmarking; and

• exploring, through existing OECD programs,economic incentives, including the internal-ization of environmental costs.

c) National governments or others should, asappropriate, establish qualitative or quantitativetargets with realistic time scales.

Sustainable Chemistry EducationRecommendation 7: OECD should promote theincorporation of sustainable chemistry concepts intochemical education (within and outside of academia)and provide support material to do so.a) It is recommended that approaches and material

be developed that can describe and promote thebenefits of sustainable chemistry educationprograms to:• the business community, through publications

in relevant press, provision of material to rel-evant conferences/meetings, and by targetingexisting programs (such as Responsible Care),etc.;

• the scientific community; and

• the public.b) It is recommended that OECD develop guidance

on how to implement sustainable chemistryeducation programs based on materials fromexisting programs and new materials developedto meet unique needs. This guidance couldinvolve:• surveying existing sustainable chemistry edu-

cation programs (including experiences onwhat worked and what did not work);

• identifying educational needs, including iden-tifying barriers and drivers to meeting thoseneeds (i.e., identify gaps);

• developing materials to meet unique educa-tional needs that cannot be met by existingprograms (i.e., fill gaps);

• compiling materials from existing sustainableeducation programs and newly developedmaterials, and developing guidance on howto use these materials;

• convening educators at a workshop to morethoroughly assess the situation; and

• disseminating the package of guidance/ma-terial (e.g., using the Internet, conferences/


meetings, continuing education programs,networks, professional societies, trade asso-ciations, media, etc.).

The IUPAC Working Party onSynthetic Pathways and Processes inGreen ChemistryAt the end of the Workshop, Saturday afternoon 17th

and Sunday 18th October, a meeting of the IUPACWorking Party of Commission III.2 was held. This wasthe second time the workgroup met from its constitu-tion (Washington, 27 May 1998).

This Working Party was founded during the 13th

IUPAC Conference on Physical Organic Chemistry(25–29 August 1996, Inchon, Korea) and formallyapproved by the General Assembly (Geneva, August1997).

Workgroup Composition: P. Tundo, Chairman (Ca’Foscari University of Venice, Italy).

Members: Paul Anastas (U.S. Environment Protec-tion Agency), Masakazu Anpo (Osaka Prefecture Uni-versity, Japan), Terrance Collins (Carnegie MellonUniversity, USA), Werner Klein (IUCT, Germany),Tomasz Modro (University of Pretoria, South Africa),Martin Poliakoff (University of Nottingham, UK),William Tumas (Los Alamos National Laboratory,USA).

This group operates in collaboration with the IUPACDivision Chemistry and the Environment, representedby its President Prof. J. Miyamoto, and with the Com-mittee for Chemistry and Industry (COCI), representedby Prof. G. Martens (SOLVAY s.a., Belgium).

The first aim of the meeting was to create a net-work of single IUPAC initiatives in the field of sus-tainable chemistry among the CHEMRAWN Commit-tee and the Subcommittee on Synthesis of the OrganicDivision.

It was decided to propose to organize a joint meet-ing together at the General Assembly in Berlin (Au-gust 1999).

The Working Party agreed that they needed to helpdefine the general concept of green-sustainable chem-istry to ensure that leading scientists are attracted tothe area.

The Working Party agrees upon the set of goals tobe achieved as outlined in the following four points:

1. impact and awareness heightening of the chemicalcommunity

2. informational linkage of green chemistryinitiatives and efforts

3. international political and funding impact4. standardization and formalization of definitions

and principles of Green Chemistry

While there is a high level of activity in the new

field of green chemistry, a large portion of the chem-istry community is still unfamiliar with the principles,methods, and definitions that are a fundamental partof this new area.

Throughout the world currently, there are govern-ment programs and policies in green chemistry beingdeveloped independently and in collaboration with thechemical industry and academia. The need for scien-tific input and a scientific framework in green chem-istry by an international scientific body is necessaryin order to inform the decisions of the policy makersand program directors.

The role of IUPAC as the scientific body for defini-tion and standardisation will be particularly useful asOECD incorporates the work products of the greenchemistry Working Party into the implementationphases of its sustainable chemistry initiative. More-over, this interaction is an example of a particular ben-efit to IUPAC. A green chemistry focus will strengthenIUPAC because the potential of the field for benefi-cial social impacts provides a unifying force that posi-tively couples the mission of IUPAC to other interna-tional bodies such as OECD.

The main purpose of the two-day meeting of theIUPAC Working Party, was to define the products ofthis group. A number of key issues were discussed anddecisions were made on what the technical productswill be.

The goal of these products was two-fold: 1) to com-municate green or sustainable chemistry concepts morebroadly to the chemical community (industry andacademia) and 2) to enhance the image of chemistryto the broader community through a lay-type publica-tion. The main motivation of these products arises fromwhat needs to be done to promote green chemistryand how to show that it is a new worldwide approachdistinct from other concepts for environmental pro-tection. These products are apparently very importantfor advancing the global nature of this concept, giventhe important issues at the OECD workshop.

For its major product, the Working Party willattempt to prepare a cogent product (report or progressreport) on green chemistry to be submitted byCommission III.2 during the Berlin General Assembly,with the following outline:

I The Concept of DesignII Sustainability and the Role of Chemistry

(Energy and Materials)III Evolution of Chemical Problems and So-

lutions.IV Evolution of Risk Management (Processes

as well as Products)• Disposal

• Treatment

• Recycle and Reuse


• Pollution Prevention

• Process Intensification.V Definition of Green Chemistry

• New Approach to Risk Reduction

• Concept of Intrinsic HazardVI Principles of Green ChemistryVII Economic ConsiderationsVIII Recommendations for Fundamental Re-

search Needs.

As scientific products are concerned, the WorkingParty decided to submit a proposal for a special issueon Chemistry for the Environment to be published inIUPAC’s journal Pure and Applied Chemistry.

Other products will be:

1. Prepare and manage an Internet home page onthe subject within the IUPAC web site.

2. Advertise the activities of the Working Party inthe major scientific journals.

P. Tundo

9th IUPAC International Congress ofPesticide Chemistry2–7 August 1998,London, United KingdomThe prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Conference Cen-tre in London was the venue of the 9th IUPAC Interna-tional Congress of Pesticide Chemistry. The Congress,sponsored by IUPAC and organized by the Royal So-ciety of Chemistry, was attended by over 1,700 del-egates from 58 countries worldwide.

Historically this Congress is held every 4 years andhas previously been held in Israel, Finland, Switzer-land, Japan, Canada, Germany, and during 1994 inWashington DC, USA.

The Congress theme for 1998 was “The Food andEnvironment Challenge”, reflecting the problem offeeding the ever increasing world population in thenext millennium while also meeting the high demands

for environmental quality and a safe food supply. TheCongress was opened on 2 August with a welcomefrom the Chairman of the Executive Committee, JohnFinney, and by Dr. Junshi Miyamoto, President of theIUPAC Division of Chemistry and the Environment.Dr. Miyamoto briefly explained the organisation androle of IUPAC and in particular the formation of thenew Division of Chemistry and the Environment.

The theme of the Congress was pursued at the open-ing ceremony by two plenary lectures from Dr. D.Evans, Zeneca Agrochemicals, and Professor Sir ColinBerry, UK Advisory Committee on Pesticides. In hislecture entitled “ How can technology feed the worldsafely and sustainably”, Dr. Evans told the assembledaudience that with the expectation that the world’spopulation would double in the next 50 years, com-bined with the requirement for greater food qualityand variety, an integrated approach using all forms oftechnology will be crucial to provide safe food whileensuring sustainability. He went on to say that we arecurrently witnessing a significant change in crop pro-tection. The organic chemists are exploiting advancesin combinatorial chemistry and robotics, and the bi-ologists are designing high-throughput screens dedi-cated to finding new chemistries that are effective atlow-use rates and are environmentally and toxicologi-cally benign. Dr. Evans also recognized the impres-sive progress made in the area of bioscience and thepositioning of transgenic crops: he did, however, em-phasize the importance of public debate and freedomof choice for consumers.

Professor Sir Colin Berry, in his lecture entitled“Caution, precaution, and indemnity”, continued thetheme of food and food safety, looking primarily atregulation. Professor Berry told the audience that thevariety, quality, and quantity of food currently avail-able has improved significantly over the last 40 years.

Dr. John Finney, Chairman of the Executive Committee

FPO


He indicated that many problems in food productionand preparation are microbiological, yet despite thisreason it is the chemicals in food, many of which areadded to prevent microbiological problems, that causeconsumer anxiety and hence increase regulation. Pro-fessor Berry presented several examples highlightinghow the pesticide industry is affected by health con-cerns that are in many cases illogical when comparedto other normal household activities. In summing up,Professor Berry reminded the audience that regula-tion clearly does increase safety, but it does not in it-self generate safety. All regulations should be formu-lated using a risk–benefit analysis.

The Congress itself revolved around eight main top-ics representing all the phases of pesticides inventionthrough registration. Each of the main topics comprisedfour or five plenary lectures supported by five relatedposter sessions each with an associated workshop. Themain topics were:

1. Synthesis and Structure Activity Relationships2. Delivery3. Natural Products4. Mode of Action5. Metabolism6. Environmental Fate7. Residues in Food and the Environment8. Regulation and Risk Assessment

The plenary lectures were given by leading authori-ties in the individual subject areas and chosen to pro-vide new insights and to provoke discussion that couldbe further taken up in the poster sessions and workshops.

Over 1,000 posters were presented at the Congressand, combined with subsequent workshops, provideda forum for scientific debate.

This event is a highlight in the Pesticide Chemistry

diary, bringing together practitioners from a wide rangeof disciplines and facilitating both broad-based andspecific discussions.

The next Congress, the 10th, will be held in BaselSwitzerland in August 2002, and will be organized bythe New Swiss Chemical Society and the Swiss Soci-ety of Chemical Industries. The theme of the Con-gress will be “Innovative Solutions for Healthy Crops”.

M. SkidmoreCommission of Agrochemicals and theEnvironment VI.4.

Special Panel Discussion Session at the9th International Congress of PesticideChemistry

The Role of Publicly Funded Research in the RiskAssessment and Registration of Pesticides

The 9th Congress offered an opportunity for univer-sity and government pesticide scientists from aroundthe world to compare experiences of their funding situ-ations, in a special session organized while the Con-gress was in progress. Organizers informally asked ninescientists from seven countries to address the ques-tions:

• Is there a real decline in publicly supported researchon conventional pesticides? In what areas?

• What is the purpose and justification for publiclysupported research on conventional pesticides?

The resulting discussion and audience response in-dicate that nonindustry research on commercial pesti-cide behavior and fate in the environment is decliningworldwide, and that the decline is reaching levels thatendanger the credibility of the risk assessment pro-cess “social contract.”

Scientists from the United States, Canada, Hungary,Egypt, and Israel (invitees from Germany and the UKwere unable to attend the session) described how de-clining numbers of pesticide scientists in the publicsector are making it more and more difficult to achieveadequate peer review of the science presented by in-dustry in support of registrations of pesticides. Redi-rection of scientists to alternative pest control research,a general public aversion to the word “pesticide” anda widely held but erroneous belief that commercialpesticides will shortly be replaced by alternatives hasresulted in budget cuts, declining student enrollments,and nonreplacement of retiring scientists. Several sci-entists described how fundamental research on pesti-cide environmental impact (with the exception of en-docrine disruption) is having to be “bootlegged”. Yetsuch fundamental research is needed to improve the

Dr. Junshi Miyamoto, President of the IUPAC Divisionof Chemistry and the Environment

FPO


risk assessment of pesticides.“Science is a public process,” said one of the orga-

nizers. “The risk of pesticides must be determined bythe best science available, but the process is increas-ingly being done in-house by the industry, with re-view only under “proprietary data” rules by regula-tory agencies that are short-handed and desperate forthird-party reviewers of the process. When there weremany smaller pesticide companies, many of them de-pended on university and agency scientists to help themwith their research. That is becoming rare, leading toa situation where the nonindustry scientists able topeer-review the industry’s research are disappearing.”

The IUPAC Commission on Agrochemicals and theEnvironment has begun a study of the problem, en-titled “Trends in research on agrochemicals: do wehave the critical mass of open science (publication)needed to both advance the basic science of crop pro-tection and to protect the public and the environment?”Commission members from nine countries have agreedto report on how their countries are dealing with thisissue.

Scientists involved in pesticide regulation and riskanalysis are invited to communicate their perspectivesand comments to the Project Chairman, R. DonWauchope, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, P.O.746, Tifton, GA 31794 USA or via e-mail [email protected].

The 9th International Symposium onNovel Aromatic Compounds (ISNA-9)2–7 August 1998, Hong KongThe chemistry department of the Chinese Universityof Hong Kong (CUHK) hosted the 9th InternationalSymposium on Novel Aromatic Compounds (ISNA-9), 2–7 August 1998, at the Hong Kong Conventionand Exhibition Center in Wanchai, Hong Kong. ISNA-9 was organized under the joint auspices of the HongKong Institution of Science and the Hong Kong Chemi-cal Society.

Aromatic compounds are those compounds that,owing to particular arrangements of their p-electrons,possess unusual chemical, physical, and biologicalproperties. The wide spectrum of aromatic compoundstoday ranges from high potency pharmaceuticals tohigh-tech materials with special electronic, optical, andmagnetic responses. Some of these materials evenmimic the functions of enzymes in biological systems.

The Symposium is the first international confer-ence held in Hong Kong sponsored by the Interna-tional Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC),with the aim to promote fellowship and to enhancecommunication and professional contact among chem-ists actively involved in the study of novel aromatic

compounds. The international conference is also oneof the programs celebrating CUHK’s 35th anniversaryin 1998. This event attracted over 250 participants, ofwhich over 200 were from overseas.

The ISNA-9 Opening Ceremony was held on 3August 1998. Officiating was Professor Arthur K. C.Li, Vice Chancellor of CUHK. Professor Cun-HaoZhang, Chairman of the National Natural ScienceFoundation of China and Official Representative ofIUPAC, gave the congratulatory speech on behalf ofProfessor Joshua Jortner, President of IUPAC.

On 4 April 1996, Professor Tetsuo Nozoe departedthis life just a month before his 94th birthday. His deathmarked the end of an era of organic chemistry, notsimply in Japan, but worldwide among the commu-nity of ISNA chemists. His involvement with, and com-mitment to, the ISNA movement is legendary. Profes-sor Nozoe was the Founding Chairman of ISNA at theage of 68, and the inaugural meeting took place inSendai, Japan, 24–28 August 1970. Because of his stat-ure within the ISNA family, the passing of this leg-endary figure is to be marked by an ISNA Nozoe Me-morial Lecture. Professor Lawrence T. Scott of Bos-ton College, a renowned scholar in the field of novelaromatic compounds, was chosen by an InternationalSelection Panel comprising Professors Sho Ito, IchiroMurata, Toyonobu Asao, Ron Breslow, Klaus Hafner,Emanuel Vogel, and Brian Halton to deliver the firstNozoe Memorial Lecture entitled “GeodesicPolyarenes with Exposed Concave Surfaces” on 3August 1998.

Besides the Nozoe Memorial Lecture, there werealso 12 plenary lectures, 25 invited lectures and postersessions with over 150 posters given by leading pro-fessional chemists the world over. Some of the mostnotable plenary lectures were: Professor Hiizu Iwamuradiscussed his molecular approaches towards pho-tomagnetic materials; Professor Hisashi Yamamotospoke on selective organic synthesis, making use ofhis designer Lewis acids; Professor Fritz Voegile toldthe audience about the chemistry of topologicalchirality; Professor François Diederich disclosed hispreparation of functional conjugated materials foroptonics and electronics; Professor Klaus Muellenshowed how he made two- and three-dimensionalnanoparticles from benzene. In addition to severalISNA veterans, such as Professors Brian Halton, KoichiKomatsu, Reg Mitchell, Fritz Bickelhaupt, ModecaiRabinovitz, and Heinz Staab, some rising stars of theISNA family, such as Professors Mike Haley, PeterTimmerman, Yves Rubin, and Tim Swager, also sum-marized their recent research findings in invited lectures.

H. N. C. WongC-H. Zhang


Provisional Recommendations

IUBMB-IUPAC Joint Commission onBiochemical Nomenclature (JCBN)

Nomenclature of Lignans and Neolignans

Lignans and neolignans are a large group of naturalproducts characterized by the coupling of two C6C3units. For nomenclature purposes the C6C3 unit istreated as propylbenzene and numbered from 1 to 6 inthe ring, starting from the propyl group, and with thepropyl group numbered from 7 to 9, starting from thebenzene ring. With the second C6C3 unit the numbersare primed. When the two C6C3 units are linked by abond between positions 8 and 8' the compound isreferred to and named as a lignan. In the absence ofthe C-8 to C-8' bond, and where the two C6C3 unitsare linked by a carbon–carbon bond it is referred toand named as a neolignan. The linkage with neolignans

may include C-8 or C-8'. Where there are no directcarbon–carbon bonds between the C6C3 units and theyare linked by an ether oxygen atom the compound isnamed as an oxyneolignan. The nomenclature providesfor the naming of additional rings and othermodifications following standard organicnomenclature procedures for naming natural products.Provision is included to name the higher homologues.The sesquineolignans have three C6C3 units anddineolignans have four C6C3 units.

Comments by 30 June 1999To Prof. G. P. MossDepartment of ChemistryQueen Mary and Westfield CollegeMile End Road, London E1 4NS, United KingdomTel: +44 (171) 775 3262Fax: +44 (181) 981 8745E-mail: [email protected]

Conference Announcements

14th International Symposium onPlasma Chemistry (ISPC)2–6 August 1999,Prague, Czech Republic

General Information

The ISPC is a biennial international conference, thelast conference having been held in Beijing in 1997.The ISPC encompasses the whole area of plasma chem-istry. Topics will range from the basic physics andchemistry of thermal and low-pressure plasmas to in-dustrial processes, processing techniques, and equip-ment. The conference should enable the exchange ofinformation and ideas between plasma chemistry ba-sic/applied researchers and industrial practitioners ofplasma-processing technology. The ISPC will consistof a five-day Symposium incorporating a PlasmaEquipment Exhibition, preceded by a three-day Sum-mer School on plasma chemistry and followed by aone-day Workshop on Industrial Applications ofPlasma Processing.

Symposium

The 14th International Symposium on Plasma Chem-istry will be held in Prague, capital of the Czech Re-

public, 2–6 August 1999. The Symposium will con-sist of plenary lectures covering the entire field, a se-ries of parallel oral sessions (with invited and contrib-uted papers), and poster sessions. The whole field ofplasma chemistry and plasma processing, both in ther-mal and low-pressure plasmas, will be covered. Thesubjects will range from the fundamental studies ofthese plasmas to applications and engineering ofplasma technologies.

Topics

The list of topics is preliminary; the final list will begiven in the second announcement.

Basic physical and chemical processes in plasmasModelling and diagnostics of plasmasPlasma generationPlasma–particle interactionPlasma–surface interactionPlasma etchingPlasma CVDPlasma synthesisPlasma sprayingPlasma metallurgyEnvironmental applicationIndustrial applications


Summer School

The International Summer School on Plasma Chemis-try to be held prior to the Symposium, 29–31 July 1999,will consist of courses providing an introduction tothe fundamentals of plasma chemistry and the appli-cations of plasma processing. Two courses will be of-fered simultaneously, one on low-pressurenonequilibrium plasmas and the other on thermal plas-mas. These courses are intended for students, scien-tists, engineers, and managers who want an introduc-tion to, or overview of, the subject or better apprecia-tion of the topics presented at the Symposium. Therewill be a separate registration fee for the SummerSchool.

Workshop

The workshop on Industrial Applications of PlasmaProcessing will be held following the Symposium, 6–7 August 1999.

The workshop will focus on recent industrial ap-plications, developments, and concerns in thermal andlow-pressure plasma processing. The workshop willenable the exchange of ideas between researchers,manufacturers, and end users. There will be a sepa-rate registration fee for the workshop

Exhibition

A professional exhibition of equipment for plasma pro-cessing, diagnostics, instrumentation, etc. will be heldduring the Symposium. Firms interested in showingtheir products should contact the Local OrganisingCommittee.

Venue

The Symposium Exhibition and Workshop will be heldin the Congress Centre of the Prague Hilton Hotel situ-ated just at the boundary of the old town. Accommo-dations will be available in the Hilton Hotel, at sev-eral hotels in the vicinity, and in student hostels.

6th International Conference onMethods and Appplications ofFluorescence Spectroscopy (MAFS6),12–15 September 1999, Paris, France

General Information

The 6th International Conference on Methods andApplications of Fluorescence Spectroscopy will beheld in Paris, France, 12–15 September 1999. ThisConference is organized in alternate years. The pre-ceding conferences took place in Graz, Austria (1989and 1991), Prague, Czech Republic (1993), Cambridge,

England (1995) and Berlin, Germany (1997).This Conference aims at bringing together research-

ers working in various fields who employ fluorescenceas a tool of investigation for both fundamental andapplied purposes. Applications in chemistry, physics,biology, and medicine are covered.

The Conference will start on Sunday afternoon andend on Wednesday afternoon. The scientific programincludes about 20 lectures and an extensive poster ses-sion, together with a commercial exhibition.

A guided visit of either the Louvre or Orsay Muse-ums and a dinner during a boat cruise on the riverSeine are planned in the social program.

List of Topics

MethodsFluorescent probesTime-resolved techniquesEnergy transferFluorescence depolarizationFluorescence microscopyMultiphoton excitationSingle molecule detectionFluorescence correlation spectroscopyNear-field fluorescence spectroscopy

ApplicationsMolecular and cellular biologyPolymersOrganized mediaSupramolecular systemsFluorescent sensorsClinical analysisDiagnosticsEnvironmentImaging (biology, medicine)

Inquiries about MAFS6Prof. Bernard Valeur, MAFS6, Conservatoire Nationaldes Arts et Métiers, 292, rue Saint-Martin, F-75141Paris Cedex 03, France; Tel: +33 3 1 40 27 23 89; Fax:+3 l 40 27 23 62; E-mail: [email protected]; web site:http://www.lbpa.ens-cachan.fr/photobm/mafs6.

6th International Symposium onHyphenated Techniques inChromatography (HTC-6),9–11 February 2000, The Saint John’sConference Centre, Bruges, BelgiumThis international symposium will be supported bytutorials. The scientific program will comprise bothoral and poster presentations. The deadline for sub-mitting abstracts is 30 June 1999. Abstracts forlast-minute poster presentations will be accepted up


to 15 December 1999.Contact: HTC-6 Congress Secretariat, Ordibo bvba,

Lucas Henninckstraat 20, B-2610 Wilrijk (Antwerp),Belgium; Tel.: +32 (3) 561 2831; Fax: +32 (3) 8278439; e-mail: [email protected]; home page forupdated program: http://www.ordibo.be/htc.

World Congress of Food Science &Technology, 3–8 October 1999,Sydney, AustraliaFor further information contact: IUFoST Congress 10,P.O. Box 1493, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Sydney,Australia; Tel: +61 2 9959 4499; Fax: +61 2 9954 4327;E-mail: [email protected]; website: http://alfst.asn.au

Plutonium Futures—The Science,10–14 July 2000,Santa Fe, New Mexico, USAThis conference, the second in a series, is designed tobe an interdisciplinary forum to present and discusscurrent research on physical and chemical propertiesof plutonium and other actinide elements. This forum

will have international participation to discuss currentand emerging science (chemistry, physics, materialsscience, nuclear science, and actinides in theenvironment) of actinides relevant to enhancing globalnuclear security. Contact K. C. Kim, K. K. S. Pillay;Tel: +1 505 667 7753; Fax: +1 505 667 7966; E-mail:[email protected], http://www.lanl.gov/Pu2000.html.

5th World Congress of TheoreticallyOriented Chemists, (WATOC’99),1–6 August 1999, Imperial College,London, UKFor further information see the WATOC’99 web site:http://www.chemsoc.org/watoc’99/.

XXIV International Symposium onMacrocyclic Chemistry (ISMC’99),18–23 July 1999, Barcelona, SpainFor further information see the ISMC’99 web site:http://www1.uji.es/ismc.

New Publications from the World HealthOrganization

Concise International Chemical AssessmentDocuments (CICADs)

Concise International Chemical Assessment Docu-ments (CICADs) are the latest in a family of publica-tions from the International Program on ChemicalSafety (IPCS), a cooperative program of the WorldHealth Organization (WHO), the International LabourOrganisation (ILO), and the United Nations Environ-ment Program (UNEP). CICADs join the Environmen-tal Health Criteria documents (EHCs) as authoritativedocuments on the risk assessment of chemicals.

CICADs are concise documents that provide sum-maries of the relevant scientific information concern-ing the potential effects of chemicals upon humanhealth and/or the environment. They are based on se-lected national or regional evaluation documents oron existing EHCs. Before acceptance for publicationas CICADs by IPCS, these documents undergo exten-sive peer review by internationally selected experts toensure their completeness, accuracy in the way in

which the original data are represented, and the valid-ity of the conclusions drawn.

The primary objective of CICADs is characteriza-tion of hazard and dose-response from exposure to achemical. CICADs are not a summary of all availabledata on a particular chemical; rather, they include onlythat information considered critical for characteriza-tion of the risk posed by the chemical. The criticalstudies are, however, presented in sufficient detail tosupport the conclusions drawn. For additional infor-mation, the reader should consult the identified sourcedocuments upon which the CICAD has been based.

Risks to human health and the environment willvary considerably depending upon the type and extentof exposure. Responsible authorities are strongly en-couraged to characterize risk on the basis of locallymeasured or predicted exposure scenarios. To assistthe reader, examples of exposure estimation and riskcharacterization are provided in CICADs, wheneverpossible. These examples cannot be considered as rep-resenting all possible exposure situations, but are pro-vided as guidance only. The reader is referred to EHC170 for advice on the derivation of health-based guid-ance values.

New Books and Publications


While every effort is made to ensure that CICADsrepresent the current status of knowledge, new infor-mation is being developed constantly. Unless other-wise stated, CICADs are based on a search of the sci-entific literature to the date shown in the executivesummary. In the event that a reader becomes aware ofnew information that would change the conclusionsdrawn in a CICAD, the reader is requested to contactthe IPCS to inform it of the new information.

ProceduresThe procedures followed to produce a CICAD are de-signed to take advantage of the expertise that existsaround the world—expertise that is required to pro-duce the high-quality evaluations of toxicological, ex-posure, and other data that are necessary for assessingrisks to human health and/or the environment.

The first draft is based on an existing national, re-gional, or international review. Authors of the first draftare usually, but not necessarily, from the institutionthat developed the original review. A standard outlinehas been developed to encourage consistency in form.The first draft undergoes primary review by IPCS toensure that it meets the specified criteria for CICADs.

The second stage involves international peer reviewby scientists known for their particular expertise andby scientists selected from an international roster com-piled by IPCS through recommendations from IPCSnational contact points and from IPCS participatinginstitutions. Adequate time is allowed for the selectedexperts to undertake a thorough review. Authors arerequired to take reviewers’ comments into account andrevise their draft, if necessary. The resulting seconddraft is submitted to a Final Review Board togetherwith the reviewers’ comments.

The CICAD Final Review Board has several im-portant functions:

• to ensure that each CICAD has been subjected toan appropriate and thorough peer review;

• to verify that the peer reviewers’ comments havebeen addressed appropriately;

• to provide guidance to those responsible for thepreparation of CICADs on how to resolve any re-maining issues if, in the opinion of the Board, theauthor has not adequately addressed all commentsof the reviewers; and

• to approve CICADs as international assessments.

Board members serve in their personal capacity,not as representatives of any organization, government,or industry. They are selected because of their exper-tise in human and environmental toxicology or becauseof their experience in the regulation of chemicals.Boards are chosen according to the range of expertiserequired for a meeting and the need for balanced geo-graphic representation.

The two most recent CICADs are No. 8, TriglycidylIsocyanurate and No. 9, N-Phenyl-l-naphthylamine.These and other monographs in the series are avail-able from the World Health Organization, CH-1211Geneva 27, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 791 4857.

The COSTED Occasional Paper SeriesThis series is an effort towards influencing publicpolicy in grappling with diverse and complex issuesthat cannot be ignored in the path to sustainable na-tional development. The series addresses topics whichhave a bearing on science and technology and is spe-cially targeted at policy makers and governments indeveloping countries. Each paper is authored by ex-perts of international standing, with experience in andconcern for development issues. Four papers are ex-pected to be published annually and widely dissemi-nated. Copies of these papers may be obtained on re-quest to the COSTED International Secretariat.

The following publications can be obtained fromthe COSTED Central Secretariat, 24, GandhiMandapam Road, Chennai - 600 025 India. Tel.: +9144 4901367; Fax: +91 44 4914543; E-mail:[email protected];

COSTED Occasional Paper No. 1: Communicat-ing with the Public, Politicians, and the Media

Juan G Roederer, Geophysical Institute, University ofAlaska-Fairbanks. July 1998.

There is widespread concern about the low visibil-ity of science and technology among the public and,more importantly, the decision makers. While the rea-sons for this concern may be attributed to cultural,political, and social factors, the fact remains that sci-ence and technology is a vital instrument that must beinterwoven into the development agenda of every coun-try, big or small, developed or underdeveloped. A re-cent survey by the International Council for Science(ICSU) revealed that more and more young people areopting for careers other than science. This could leadto an alarming scenario, where the practitioners andimplementers of science and technology researchwould become a vanishing tribe.

Dr. Juan Roederer, Professor of Physics Emeritusat the University of Alaska, was invited to write thismonograph for COSTED, recognising his long and richexperience in science policy and consultative statuson science and technology for national governmentsin developing countries. He nurtures a deep concernfor enhancing the voice and visibility of science, es-pecially in developing countries, and believes that thisis best done by targeting and influencing the youngergeneration.

This paper offers a set of guiding principles on thedo’s and don’ts for the practitioners of science while


communicating with the public, the polity, and themedia. Written in a delightfully practical style, thepaper points out common misconceptions and attitu-dinal barriers towards making more effective use ofscience. This paper is a sincere effort to help scien-tists demystify science to the common man and to helpdecision makers harness the potential of this vital toolfor human welfare.

COSTED Occasional Paper No. 2: Global Envi-ronmental Good: A Socio-Ethical Compulsion inthe 21st Century

Ranjan R. Daniel, July 1998.The impact of human developmental activities on

the earth’s environment has received wide-ranging at-tention from the media, public, science and technol-ogy community, policy makers, government, and de-velopment and donor agencies. During the past quar-ter-century or so, no other issue has assumed such aglobal dimension and significance for the human race.

A number of landmark events aimed at checkingand mitigating the effects of human activities on theenvironment have occurred. The Rio Conference,World Climate Research Program, the InternationalGeosphere-Biosphere Program and recently, the KyotoConference, have all examined the complex dimen-sions of environmental consequences. The human di-mension of the problem has gained increasing visibil-ity and concern.

Notwithstanding the systematization of scientificunderstanding of the earth system and its processes,of human impact on the environment, and the formu-lation of regulatory protocols, it is imperative to rec-ognize an element of moral and ethical compulsion tomaintain the environment for ensuing generations. Thispresent paper focuses on this aspect.

Prof. R.R. Daniel, former Scientific Secretary ofCOSTED, has a rich and long experience in develop-ment issues and global environmental concerns. Hespearheaded a number of national, regional, and localmissions in enhancing awareness and preparedness tomeet the challenges of these complex environmentalissues. In this paper, Prof. Daniel recapitulates the glo-bal scenarios related to environmental concerns andthe various developments and movements aimed atinternational and regional cooperation. He reviewsinternational policy after the Rio Conference and ad-vocates a new socio-ethical and moral compulsion forglobal well being.

COSTED Occasional Paper No. 3: ScientificJournal Publishing in the Developing World?

Ana Maria Cetto, Instituto de Fisica, UniversidadNacional, Autónoma de Mexico. July 1998.

Scientific publications are a good indication of the

intellectual effort of every science and technology com-munity. It is popularly said that without publicationsscience is dead.

Scientific publications serve as an instrument forinformation dissemination, as building blocks for fur-therance of research, as the basis for scientific researchand inquiry, and above all provide potential for appli-cation through technical and industrial innovation.

As in every other sphere, there is a yawning gap inthe quantity of scientific literature that emanates fromthe developed and the developing countries. It is in-teresting to analyze why this is so; more importantly,the impetus for publishing in the developing world isnot strong enough to reflect the results of scientificeffort in the printed form. At the same time, there is asignificant volume of undocumented knowledge andwisdom handed down to the generations by word ofmouth. In the present era of competing intellectualproperty rights and the exploitation of knowledge forwealth generation, this issue gains a special relevanceand importance.

Prof. Ana Maria Cetto, a Senior Professor of Phys-ics at UNAM, Mexico and former Vice Chair of theCOSTED Executive Committee, has a deeply com-mitted association to the cause of strengthening sci-entific publications in the developing world. She hasorganized several activities aimed at enhancing the vis-ibility, quality, quantity, and the impact of scientificpublication emanating from the developing world. Inthis paper she surveys the status of scientific publica-tions around the world and the distinct disparities inthe developing world. As a typical example, she ex-amines the critical issues that confront the Latin Ameri-can region and recommends examples of initiatives tostrengthen scientific publishing.

This publication is most timely and appropriate andis aimed specifically at developing countries that pos-sess enormous science and technology manpower andresearch efforts, but are unable to translate all of theminto the printed media. It is hoped that the book willserve as a guideline for scientific institutions, regionalbodies, and policy makers on the importance of docu-mented information for economic application and in-dustrial innovation.

COSTED Occasional Paper No. 4: Gearing up forthe Efficient Management of Intellectual Property

Rights in the 21st Century

N. R. Subbaram, Consultant (IPR), with contributionsfrom G. Thyagarajan, Scientific Secretary, COSTED.July 1998.

In recent years many countries have liberalized andglobalized their economies. Many countries, like In-dia, are in the process of opening up their economies.Consequently, new competitive pressures have arisen


1999

Functional Dyes

31 May–4 June 19994th International Symposium onFunctional Dyes, Osaka, Japan.Prof. Yasuhiko Shirota, Faculty ofEngineering, Osaka University,Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.Tel.: +81 6 879 7364Fax: +81 6 877 7367E-mail: [email protected]

Polymer Systems

7–10 June 19993rd International Symposium onMolecular Mobility and Order inPolymer Systems, St. Petersburg,Russia.Prof. A. A. Darinskii, Chairman;Mrs. I. Kovalenko, Coordinator;Institute of MacromolecularCompounds, Bolshoy pr. 31, St.Petersburg, 199004 Russia.Tel.: +7 812 213 2907Fax: +7 812 218 6869E-mail: [email protected]

Biodiversity and Bioresources

11–15 July 19992nd International Conference onBiodiversity and Bioresources—Conservation and Utilization,Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais,Brazil.Prof. Alaide Braga de Oliveira,Faculdade de Farmacia—UFMG,Av. Olegario Maciel 2360,30.180-112 Belo Horizonte,

in these countries, particularly the developing coun-tries. The definition of competition itself has now un-dergone a change. It is being increasingly acknowl-edged that the competitiveness of an enterprise and itsability to capture the market depends largely on itsability to manage the “internal” environment for de-veloping innovative technologies. Furthermore, tech-nology is also increasingly becoming a valuable com-

mercial or tradable asset and a dominating factor indetermining competitiveness.

In order to develop newer technologies and pro-mote inventiveness, it is essential to invest heavily inresearch and development (R&D). Investment costsin R&D are also increasing rapidly along with the com-petitiveness. Protection of the results of R&D gainsimportance under the circumstances.

Brazil.Fax: +55 31 337 9076E-mail:[email protected]

Polymerization Methods

12–15 July 199939th Microsymposium, Advancesin Polymerization Methods:Controlled Synthesis ofFunctionalized Polymers, Prague,Czech Republic.Dr. Jaromir Lukas, Institute ofMacromolecular Chemistry,Academy of Sciences of theCzech Republic, Heyovskeho na.2, 162 06 Praha 6, CzechRepublic.Tel.: +420 2 360341Fax: +420 2 367981E-mail: [email protected]

CHEMRAWN

20–25 June 1999CHEMRAWN XII—AfricanFood Security and NaturalResource Management: The NewScientific Frontiers,Nairobi, Kenya.Dr. Pedro Sanchez, InternationalCenter for Research inAgroforestry, P.O. Box 30677,Nairobi, Kenya.Tel.: +254 2 521003Fax: +254 2 520023E-mail: [email protected]

Memorial K. I. Zamaraev

28 June–2 July 1999International Memorial K. I.Zamaraev Conference onPhysical Methods for Catalytic

Research at the Molecular Level,Novosibirsk, Russia.Prof. V. N. Parmon, BoreskovInstitute of Catalysis, 5, Prosp.Akad. Lavrentieva, Novosibirsk,630090, Russia.Tel.: +7 3832 343269Fax: +7 3832 343056E-mail: [email protected]

Advanced Materials

14–18 July 19991st IUPAC Workshop on NewDirections in Chemistry. Work-shop on Advanced Materials:Nanostructured Systems (IUPAC-WAM-1), Hong Kong.Prof. M. A. El-Sayed, School ofChemistry and Biochemistry,Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlanta, GA 30332-0400, USA.Tel.: +1 404 894 0292Fax: +1 404 894 0294E-mail: [email protected]

How to Apply for IUPACSponsorship

To apply for IUPAC sponsor-ship, conference organizersshould complete an AdvancedInformation Questionnaire(AIQ). The AIQ form is avail-able at http://www.iupac.orgor by request at the IUPACSecretariat, and should be re-turned between 2 years and 12months before the conference.Further information on grant-ing sponsorship is included inthe AIQ and available online.

Conference CalendarVisit http://www.iupac.org for complete information and further links


Organo-Metallic Chemistry

18–22 July 199910th International Symposium onOrgano-Metallic ChemistryDirected Towards OrganicSynthesis (OMCOS 10),Versailles, France.Prof. J. P. Genet, Laboratoire deSynthese Selective Organique etProduits Naturels, E.N.S.C.P.—UMR CNRS 7573, 11 rue Pierreet Marie Curie, 75231 ParisCedex 05, France.Tel.: +33 1 44 276743Fax: +33 1 44 071062E-mail: [email protected]

Carotenoids

18–23 July 199912th International Symposium onCarotenoids, Cairns, Australia.Prof. George Britton, School ofBiological Sciences, The Univer-sity of Liverpool, Crown Street,Liverpool, L69 3BX, UK.Fax: +44 (151) 794 4349.

Rheology of Polymer Systems

19–22 July 199919th Discussion Conference onthe Rheology of PolymerSystems, Prague, Czech Repub-lic.Dr. Jaromir Lukas, Institute ofMacromolecular Chemistry,Academy of Sciences of theCzech Republic, Heyovskeho na.2, 162 06 Praha 6, CzechRepublic.Tel.: +420 2 360341Fax: +420 2 367981E-mail: [email protected]

Ionic Polymerization

19–23 July 1999International Symposium onIonic Polymerization, Kyoto,Japan.Dr. Shiro Kobayashi, Depart-ment of Materials Chemistry,Graduate School of Engineering,Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-01,Japan.Tel.: +81 75 753 5608

Fax: +81 75 753 4911E-mail: [email protected]

Analytical Science

25–30 July 1999Analytical Science into the NextMillennium (SAC 99), Dublin,Ireland.Prof. Malcolm R. Smyth, Facultyof Science, Dublin City Univer-sity, Dublin 9, Ireland.Tel.: +353 1 704 5308Fax: +353 1 704 5032E-mail: [email protected]

Solution Chemistry

26–31 July 1999XXVI International Conferenceon Solution Chemistry, FukuokaCity, Kyushu, Japan.Prof. Hitoshi Ohtaki, Depart-ment of Chemistry, Faculty ofScience and Engineering,Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1Noji-Higashi, Kusatsu 525,Japan.Tel.: +81 775 61 2777Fax: +81 775 61 2659E-mail:[email protected]

Plasma Chemistry

2–6 August 199914th International Symposium onPlasma Chemistry, Prague, CzechRepublic.Prof. M. Hrabovský, Institute ofPlasma Physics, Za Slovankou 3,P.O. Box 17, 182 21 Praha 8,Czech Republic.Tel.: +420 2 824751Fax: +420 2 8586389E-mail: [email protected]

IUPAC General Assembly

7–13 August 1999IUPAC Secretariat.Tel.: +1 919 485 8700Fax: +1 919 485 8706E-mail: [email protected]

IUPAC Congress

14–19 August 1999Frontiers in Chemistry: Molecu-lar Basis of the Life Sciences,Berlin, Germany.Gesellschaft DeutscherChemiker– GDCh, PO Box 90 0440, 60444 Frankfurt Am Main,Germany.Tel.: +49 69 7917 358/360/366Fax: +49 69 7917 475E-mail: [email protected]

Colloquium SpectroscopicumInternationale

5–10 September 199931th ColloquiumSpectroscopicum Internationale1999, Ankara, Turkey.Prof. Dr. O. Yavuz Ataman,Department of Chemistry, MiddleEast Technical University, TR-06531 Ankara, Turkey.Tel.: +90 312 210 3232Fax: +90 312 210 1280E-mail:[email protected]

Macromolecule-MetalComplexes

6–10 September 19998th International Symposium onMacromolecule-Metal Com-plexes (MMC-VII), Tokyo,Japan.Prof. Eishun Tsuchida, Depart-ment of Polymer ChemistryWaseda University Toyko 169-50,Japan.Tel.: +81 3 5286 3120Fax: +81 3 3209 5522E-mail:[email protected]

Organic and OrganoelementChemistry

7–11 September 1999Horizons of Organic andOrganoelement Chemistry, to thememory of Prof. A. N.Nesmeyanov, on the 100thanniversary of his birth, Moscow,Russia.Prof. Y. N. Bibnov, INEOS,


Vavilov str. 28, Moscow.Tel.: +7 (095) 135 6165Fax: +7 (095) 135 5085E-mail: [email protected]

Toxicology

6–10 November 19994th Congress of Toxicology inDeveloping Countries, Antalya,Turkey.Prof. Semra Sardas, GaziUniversity, Faculty of PharmacyToxicology Department, TR06330 Ankara, Turkey.Tel./fax: +90 312 212 30 09E-mail: [email protected]

2000

Bio-organic Chemistry

30 January–4 February 20005th IUPAC Symposium on Bio-Organic Chemistry (ISBOC-V),New Delhi, India.Prof. S. Ranganathan,Biomolecular Research Unit,Regional Research Laboratory,Trivandrum 695 019, India.Tel.: +91 471 491 459Fax: +91 471 490 186

High Temperature MaterialsChemistry

4–10 April 200010th International Conference onHigh Temperature MaterialsChemistry, Aachen, Germany.Prof. K. Hilpert,Forschungszentrum Julich GmbH,Institut fur Werkstoffe derEnergietechnik (IWE 1), 52425Jülich, Germany.Tel.: +49 2461 61 3280Fax: +49 2461 61 3699E-mail: [email protected]

Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins

21–25 May 200010th International IUPACSymposium on Mycotoxins andPhycotoxins, Sao Paulo, Brazil.Dr. Myrna Sabino, InstitutoAdolfa Lutz, AV Dr. Arnaldo 355,Sao Paulo, Brazil, 01246-902.

Fax: +455 (11) 853 3505E-mail: [email protected]

Organic Synthesis

1–5 July 200013th International Conference onOrganic Synthesis (ICOS-13),Warsaw, Poland.Prof. M. Chmielewski, Institute ofOrganic Chemistry, Kasprzaka44, 01-224 Warsaw 42, PO Box58, Poland.Tel.: +48 22 631 8788Fax: +48 22 632 6681E-mail: [email protected]

Macromolecules

9–14 July 200038th International Symposium onMacromolecules (MACRO2000), Warsaw, Poland.Prof. Stanislaw Penczek, PolishAcademy of Sciences, ul.Sienkiewicza 112, 90363 Lodz,Poland.Tel.: +48 42 81 9815Fax: +48 42 684 7126E-mail:[email protected]

Coordination Chemistry

9–14 July 200034th International Conference onCoordination Chemistry (34-ICCC), Edinburgh, Scotland.Prof. P. Tasker, Chairman, Dr.John F. Gibson, Secretary, TheRoyal Society of Chemistry,Burlington House, London W1VOBN, UK.Tel.: +44 171 440 3321Fax: +44 171 734 1227E-mail: [email protected]

Polymers in Medicine

17–20 July 200040th Microsymposium Polymersin Medicine, Prague, CzechRepublic.Dr. Jaromir Lukas, Institute ofMacromolecular Chemistry,Academy of Science of the CzechRepublic, Heyovskeho na. 2, 16206 Praha 6, Czech Republic.Tel.: +420 2360341

Fax: +420 2367981E-mail: [email protected]

Chemical Thermodynamics

6–11 August 200016th IUPAC Conference onChemical Thermodynamics,Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Prof. M. A. White, Department ofChemistry, Dalhousie University,Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4J3,Canada.Tel./Fax: +1 902 494 3894E-mail:[email protected]

Natural Products

1 September 200022nd International Symposiumon the Chemistry of NaturalProducts, Sao Paulo, Brazil.Dr. M. Fátima das G.F. da Silva,Universidade Federal de SaoCarlos, Depto. de Quimica, ViaWashington Luiz, km 235,CP676, Sao Carlos, Brazil.Tel.: +55 16 274 8208Fax: +55 16 274 8350E-mail: [email protected]

Biotechnology

3–8 September 200011th International BiotechnologySymposium, Berlin, Germany.Prof. G. Kreysa, DECHEMAeV— c/o 11th IBS, Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt/Main, Germany.Tel.: +49 69 7564 205Fax: +49 69 7564 201E-mail: [email protected]

Food Packaging

8–10 November 20002nd International Symposium onFood Packaging—Ensuring theSafety and Quality Food, Vienna,Austria.Dr. L. Contor, ILSI Europe, 83,Avenue E. Mounier, Box 6, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium.Tel.: +32 (2) 762 0044Fax: +32 (2) 771 0014E-mail: [email protected]