Chemistry International
Vol. 21, No. 4
July 1999
40th
IUPAC Council Meeting
Free University,
Berlin, Germany,
13-14 August 1999
Election
of Officers and Bureau Members: Vice President
President
Vice President
.... Prof. Pavel Kratochvil
.... Prof. Pieter S. Steyn
.... Prof. Leiv K. Sydnes
Past-President
Secretary General
TreasurerVacancy
BureauFour Vacancies (Minimum)
Prof. Pieter S. Steyn (South Africa)
Prof. Pieter S. Steyn
|
Prof. Pieter Streicher Steyn was born on 5 January 1940 in
Vryburg, Cape Province, Republic of South Africa. He is married with three
children.
Education and Career: Prof. Steyn studied at the University
of Stellenbosch (B.Sc., 1959; B.Sc., Honors, 1962; M.Sc., cum laude, 1963),
and then at the University of South Africa (Ph.D., 1966). In 1967, he was
awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the School of Pharmacy of the University
of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. He was appointed to the National Chemical Research
Laboratory, CSIR, in 1964, where he became Head of the Division of Organic
Chemistry in 1983. From 1986 to 1987, he was Chief Director of the National
Food Research Institute, CSIR, and from 1987 to 1992, he was Director of the
Division of Food Science Technology, CSIR. In December 1992, Prof. Steyn was
appointed the first CSIR Fellow, this being the highest career position in
science within the CSIR. In October 1993, he was appointed Head of the SASOL
Centre for Chemistry, SASOL Professor of Chemistry, and Director of the SASOL
Centre of Separation Technology, and recently promoted to Director of the
School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Potchefstroom University for Christian
Higher Education.
Research Interests: Prof. Steyn's research career has
been devoted to the isolation, analysis, structure elucidation, synthesis,
and biosynthesis of mycotoxins and, to some extent, other toxic and medicinal
substances from plants. This research has been undertaken with numerous groups
within South Africa and with research groups in Australia, Europe, Japan,
New Zealand, and the United States. Prof. Steyn has authored or coauthored
155 scientific papers and 27 reviews.
Offices and Assignments: Elected one of 54 Founder Members
of the Academy of Science of South Africa (1994-present); Fellow of the Royal
Society of South Africa (1997-present); Vice President of the South African
Joint Council of Scientific Societies (1985-86); President of the South African
Joint Council of Scientific Societies (1986-87); and President of the International
Association for Cereal Science and Technology, Vienna (1992-94). Since 1967,
Prof. Steyn has given lectures at the Conventions of the South African Chemical
Institute, at the Specialist Conference on Organic Chemistry, and at numerous
international meetings.
IUPAC Activities: Member of the South African National
Committee for IUPAC (1973-present); Associate Member of the Food Contaminants
Commission (1973-1978); Titular Member of the Food Chemistry Commission V1.1
(1979-1987); Vice-Chairman of the Food Chemistry Commission VI.1 (1983-1987);
Member of the Applied Chemistry Division Committee (1987-1997) and Vice President
(1989-1991); Member of the Bureau (1991-1995); President of the Applied Chemistry
Division (1991-1995); Member of the Division Committee of the Division of
Chemistry and the Environment (1996-1999); Elected Member of the Bureau and
the Executive Committee (1996-1999); Member of the Editorial Advisory Board
of Chemistry in the 21st Century (1991-1999); Member of the Committee on Printed
and Electronic Publications (1996-1999); Member of the Committee on the Teaching
of Chemistry (1996-1999); Member of the International Scientific Advisory
Committees for the IUPAC Mycotoxin Symposia held in Paris (1976), Lausanne
(1979), Vienna (1982), Paris (1985), Tokyo (1988), Mexico City (1992), and
Rome (1996); Chairman of scientific sessions at most IUPAC Mycotoxin Symposia;
Member of the Organizing Committee of the 13th IUPAC Symposium on the Chemistry
of Natural Products, Pretoria, August 1982, and Chairman of the Finance Committee;
Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Sixth IUPAC Symposium on Mycotoxins
and Phycotoxins, Pretoria, 22-25 July 1985 and Chairman of the Finance Committee;
Organizing Chairman of the IUPAC Symposium: A Sustainable EnvironmentNational
and International Perspectives, Pretoria, December 1996; Organizing Chairman
of the IUPAC/AAPAC Workshop on the Role of Chemistry in the Development of
Africa, Durban, 11 July 1998; Member of the South African Delegation to IUPAC
Council Meetings at Munich, Germany (1973); Madrid, Spain (1975); Warsaw,
Poland (1977); Davos, Switzerland (1979); Leuven, Belgium (1981); Lyngby,
Denmark (1983); Lyon, France (1985); Boston, USA (1987); Lund, Sweden (1989);
Hamburg, Germany (1991); Lisbon, Portugal (1993); Guildford, UK (1995); Geneva,
Switzerland (1997); and Berlin, Germany (1999).
Awards: Raikes Gold Medal of the South African Chemical
Institute (1975), Gold Medal of the South African Chemical Institute (1987),
CSIR Merit Prize (1987)top award of the CSIR, Havenga Gold Medal for
Chemistry (1992) from Die Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns,
and Friedrich Schweitzer Medal (1993) from the International Association for
Cereal Science and Technology, Vienna.