Vol.
28 No. 1
January-February 2006
IUPAC IN BEIJING—Division Roundups Part II
—Division V. Analytical Chemistry
—Division VI. Chemistry and the Environment
—Division VII. Chemistry and Human Health
—Interdivisional Subcommittee on Materials Chemistry
—Committee on Chemistry Education
—Committee on Chemistry and Industry
Division VI. Chemistry and the Environment
Ken D. Racke, President
A total of 18 division committee members and 3 visiting contributors participated in the Division VI meeting, which proved to be an interesting event as some challenging issues were discussed. Among these were a fundamental dialogue on strategic issues, establishment of stronger linkages with other IUPAC divisions, and priorities for new initiatives.
The ongoing arsenic remediation project has generated a lot of interest since it deals with a topic of major concern in many countries. |
Although it was concluded that the communication among division members and revitalization of the subcommittees need further attention, the efforts and output of the project teams were found to be most encouraging. Since the beginning of the 2004–2005 biennium, eight projects have been completed, one project was abandoned, and seven new projects have been initiated. Most active projects appear to be making solid progress versus milestones, but it was agreed upon that one project lacking such progress should be terminated. This leaves the division with 21 active projects, several of which have interdivisional cooperation.
Several new areas of project activities were discussed, including an ambitious new book series on biophysico-chemical processes in environmental systems. Two specific project proposals are currently under review, and a call for new project proposals in priority areas of interest will be made in the near future, with funding expected to arise from the 2006–2007 biennium budget. Major conferences related to crop protection chemistry and food chemistry are planned for 2006 and 2007, respectively.
The subcommittees reported a great deal of activity. The Subcommittee on Biophysico-Chemical Processes in Environmental Systems had Volume 9 of the Wiley series on Analytical and Physical Chemistry in Environmental Systems published during 2004, with Volumes 10 and 11 close to completion and another book project approved in 2004 on metals and metalloids. Within the Subcommittee on Chemistry of the Environmental Compartments, the ongoing arsenic remediation project has generated a lot of interest since it deals with a topic of major concern in many countries. The Subcommittee on Crop Protection produced an impressive list of projects, including the highly successful International Workshop on Crop Protection Chemistry held in Costa Rica. Finally, a prolonged debate was organized to thoroughly discuss the future of the Subcommittee on Food Chemistry.
The results of the 2005 election of titular members by e-mail ballot were confirmed and 7 associate members and 10 national representative positions were agreed upon. Ken Racke is continuing as division president (to 2007) and Willie Peijnenburg is the new division secretary after Patrick Holland steps down from this post after 20 years of meritorious service to IUPAC.
It was agreed that the next face-to-face meeting of the committee will be in Bilthoven, Netherlands, during July 2006, with at least one phone conference to be held in advance of this session.
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