43rd IUPAC Council Meeting
Nominee for Bureau
Alan Smith
(United Kingdom)
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Alan Smith
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For more than 30 years, Dr. Smith has held leadership positions in
the chemical industry. Most of his career was spent with Laporte, but
he also worked for BDH/Merck for and started a consulting company.
Education and Career
Smith gained his B.Sc. (Hons.) in chemistry at Queen Mary College, University
of London in 1965, during which time he had his first publication while
still an undergraduate. He stayed on there and in 1968 received a Ph.D.
in physical organic chemistry. He was then awarded a NATO Postdoctoral
Fellowship for two years (1968–1970) and spent the first year on
research into heterocyclic chemistry at the Technical University in
Delft, Netherlands. The second year was spent in the School of Pharmacy,
Nottingham University.
He joined the staff of the University of East Anglia (1970–1972),
where he lectured and carried out research for the International Institute
of Synthetic Rubber Producers. From 1972 to 1987, he worked at Laporte,
during which time it became a leader in specialty chemicals. As Head
of Research and Development, he had worldwide responsibilities for Laporte’
s technology, and he also looked after their laboratories for Interox,
Laporte’ s joint venture with Solvay.
From 1987 to 1991, he was on the Board of BDH/Merck in the UK, where
he was technical director and ran their Advanced Materials Business.
From 1991 to 1996, he returned to Laporte as the head of Group Technology,
with responsibilities for worldwide technical matters, especially relating
to their extensive program of acquisitions.
In 1996, he set up AZTECH Consultancy, which advises on scientific
technical matters and acquisitions and mergers, and included the post
of part-time technical director for BIP, Ltd. He is currently actively
involved in UK government projects, the main one is their initiative
on nanotechnology. He also carries out roadmapping strategies for the
South African government.
IUPAC Involvement
Smith is a titular member of the Committee on Chemistry and Industry,
which he has been a part of since 1994. From 1995 to 1999, he was on
the Editorial Advisory Board for Chemistry International. He is also
a titular member of the CHEMRAWN Committee, which he has been a member
of since 1998. From 1997 to 2001, Smith was a delegate for the UK’s
National Committee, and in 2001 he was chairman of the UK delegation.
Since 2002, he has been a member of the Bureau and a member of the Project
Committee. He is also currently chairman of the Future Actions Committee
for the Chemistry for Water CHEMRAWN conference held in Paris in 2004.
Related Professional Activities
Smith served on the Chemical Industry Association’s Science, Education,
and Technology Committee from 1986 to 1996. He is past president of
the Industrial Affairs Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and
is also on the following RSC committees: Annual Conference Committee,
Innovation Team Award Committee, and the Research Fund Committee. He
is a member of the Industrial Advisory Boards for Chemistry at Imperial
College and Bristol University, and lectures at the University of Strathclyde
and Nottingham University. He was on a CBI task force to obtain industrial
input for the next Research Assessment Exercise for UK universities.
He is on the Board of the latest Faraday Partnership on Colloids, established
by the UK Government. From 1995 to 1999, he was on the Chemicals Panel
of the Government’s Foresight exercise. From 1999 to the present,
he has been on the Materials Panel, and continues to lecture extensively
on foresight. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a
fellow of the Linnean Society.
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