News & Notices
New
IUPAC Officers Take Office
Leiv K. Sydnes, Professor of Chemistry at the University
of Bergen, Norway, assumed the presidency of IUPAC - the International
Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry - on 1 January 2004. Prof. Sydnes,
who served as IUPAC Vice-President and President-elect during 2002-2003,
carries out research in the area of organic synthesis, with particular
emphasis on cyclopropane chemistry and photochemistry. He is active
in a number of European scientific organizations and is well known for
his work in science education and in enhancing the public appreciation
of chemistry.
Also on 1 January, Bryan Henry, Professor of Chemistry
at the University of Guelph, Canada, became Vice-President and President-elect,
while David StClair Black, Professor of Chemistry
at the University of New South Wales, Australia, assumed the position
of Secretary General. Profs. Henry and Black were elected at the IUPAC
General Assembly in Ottawa, Canada, in August 2003, and Dr.
Christoph F. Buxtorf (Switzerland) was reelected to a second four-year
term as Treasurer. Prof. Pieter S. Steyn (South Africa) is now Past
President for 2004-2005.
2004-5 IUPAC Officers
President Leiv K. Sydnes
(Norway)
Vice President Bryan Henry
(Canada)
Secretary General David
StClair Black (Australia)
Treasurer Christoph
F. Buxtorf (Switzerland)
Past President Pieter
S. Steyn (South Africa)
Leiv K. Sydnes of Norway becomes IUPAC President
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) will
begin 2004 under the leadership of a world-renowned scientist from Norway.
Leiv K. Sydnes of Bergen, who served as IUPAC Vice President during
2002-3, will assume the role of IUPAC President for the 2004-5 Biennium.
Born in Haugesund, Norway, Prof. Sydnes finished high school in Stavanger,
Norway, and subsequently attended the University of Oslo, Norway, obtaining
his Ph.D. in 1978. Immediately following the completion of his doctorate,
he worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Western Ontario,
Canada, until 1980. Sydnes was an Associate Professor and a Professor
of organic chemistry at the University of Tromsø, Norway from
1980 until 1993. In 1993, he became as Professor of organic chemistry
at the University of Bergen, Norway, where he is now also Vice Rector.
Professor Sydnes has been involved in academic research for almost
30 years and has published a large number of scientific papers in the
field of synthetic organic chemistry. He has written textbooks in chemistry,
made television programs shown on national television, and has had appointments
as a visiting professor at Universities in Austria, Australia, Japan,
and the USA. He has served as President of the Norwegian Chemical Society,
and has been heavily involved in the Federation of European Chemical
Societies (FECS) for almost 10 years. Leiv Sydnes has received a number
of awards, including the FECS
Medal for 2003.
Elected to the IUPAC Bureau in 1993, Sydnes has been a member on a number
of committees. His election as IUPAC Vice President at the 2001 Council
Meeting in Brisbane, Australia, exemplifies the importance of his input
to IUPAC and IUPAC activities. He will undoubtedly continue to offer
his in-depth and comprehensive knowledge and guidance to IUPAC during
his term of President.
>
Read the President's Column
Chem. Int.
2004, Jan , p. 2
Bryan Henry of Canada becomes IUPAC Vice President
Bryan Henry began his two-year term as IUPAC President-elect and Vice
President on 1 January 2004. In 1963, Prof. Henry received his bachelor's
degree from the University of British Columbia; he later earned his
doctorate at Florida State University in the United States. Between
1969 and 1986, Prof. Henry was an Associate Professor, a Professor,
and Department of Chemistry Head at the University of Manitoba. Currently,
Bryan Henry is a Professor of Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry at the University of Guelph, where he held the position
of Department Chair from 1988-1993.
Bryan Henry has served as Vice President and President of the Canadian
Society for Chemistry (CSC), and as Chair and Vice Chair of the Chemical
Institute of Canada (CIC). A member of Canadian Section of the Society
of Chemical Industry since 1992, he has been both Chair and Vice Chair.
He was also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Canadian
Journal of Chemistry (1996-1998). Additionally, he was part of the Selection
Committee for the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame from1996-2000
Prof. Henry has been a Member of the Canadian National Committee for
IUPAC since 1995, and served as Chair (1998-2003). He was the Scientific
Program Chair of the 39th IUPAC Congress, which was held concurrently
with the 42nd General Assembly in Ottawa.
David StC. Black Begins Term as IUPAC Secretary General
David StC. Black began his four-year term as IUPAC Secretary General
on 1 January 2004. David Black, born in Wollongong, earned his bachelors
and masters degrees at the University of Sydney. He was awarded an Overseas
Scholarship by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and
earned his doctorate at Cambridge. He completed his postdoctoral research
at Columbia University, and then began work at Monash University. After
nearly 20 years at Monash, he was appointed to the Chair of Organic
Chemistry at University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 1983.
His research, described in almost 250 publications, has led to the
synthesis of new types of organic molecules and the discovery of new
synthetic methodologies, particularly in heterocyclic chemistry. He
has also co-written a monograph (with J. M. Swan) entitled "Organometallics
in Organic Synthesis". His current interest centers on new aspects
of indole chemistry.
Prof. Black has engaged in many overseas opportunities. He spent periods
of study leave at the ETH Zrich (1968-9), Wrzburg University (1974 -
as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow) and Cambridge University (1980).
He has also held Visiting Professorships at the Science University of
Tokyo (1988), the University of Auckland (1992), Gttingen University
(1994), Innsbruck University (1999) and Kobe Pharmaceutical University
(2000). He has given numerous invited lectures at international conferences
and major universities.
Since 1993, he has been the Leader of the Joint Selection Team for
Australian Development Scholarships for Indonesian postgraduate students.
At UNSW he was Head of the School of Chemistry from 1987-1990, and acting
Dean of the Faculty of Science from January to July 1987. He was appointed
Associate Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Science and Technology
in 2000, and re-appointed to that position in the Faculty of Science
in July 2001.
David Black's honors include the Rennie Medal (1970), H. G. Smith Medal
(1993), and the A. J. Birch Medal (2003) of the Royal Australian Chemical
Institute (RACI). In 1990, he was both the Liversidge Lecturer of the
Royal Society of New South Wales and the Royal Society of Chemistry
Lecturer. He was President of RACI in 1998, and served as Chair of the
National Committee for Chemistry from 1999-2003.
Prof. Black has been a committee member of the Division of Organic and
Biomolecular Chemistry of IUPAC since 1994. He served as Division Vice
President of the Division during 2002-3, and will now, as Secretary
General, conduct the specified business of the Union and oversee the
IUPAC Secretariat.
Christoph Buxtorf Begins Second Term as IUPAC Treasurer
Christoph Buxtorf of Basel began his second four-year term as IUPAC
Treasurer on 1 January 2004. A native of Basel, Dr. Buxtorf received
a degree in chemistry from the Engineering School in Burgdorf, and his
doctorate from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He completed
his post doctoral fellowship at McGill University, Montreal, Canada,
and pursued further education in Finance Management and Corporate Strategy
in Europe and at Harvard.
Dr. Buxtorf retired in 2000 after 34 years with Novartis Crop Protection
(now Syngenta) as head of Manufacturing and Technology. He has held
technical and managerial responsibilities in manufacturing and chemical
development in both Switzerland and the USA. He was a member of the
Executive Committee of Novartis Crop Protection, and was responsible
for the worldwide operations in manufacturing and technical development
of the Novartis Technology Advisory Board and Safety and Environmental
Council.
Dr. Buxtorf is a member of the Swiss Chemical Society (SCS) and the
Swiss Society of Chemical Industries. He was actively engaged in the
SCS division of Industrial Chemistry 12 years. He was chairman of the
manufacturing section of the European Crop Protection Association, with
extended responsibilities for worldwide industry standards.
Christoph Buxtorf has served as Treasurer and as a member of the Executive
and Finance Committees of IUPAC since 1999. He was Chair of the ad hoc
special working group on national subscriptions and related finance
matters, was a member of the Conference Policy Development Committee,
and a member of the ad hoc working group on industrial relations.