Chemistry International
Vol. 22, No. 3
May 2000
Reports
from Commissions and Division Committees
Physical Chemistry
Division Committee
Summary of Minutes of Division Committee Meeting
at IUPAC General Assembly, Berlin, Germany, 711 August 1999
The Physical Chemistry Division Committee (PCDC)
devoted much time to discussing its future structure and function. The
restructuring of IUPAC, with the abolishment of Commissions, will give
the Division Committee a drastically changed role with much increased
responsibility and work. The Division Committee will in the future be
responsible for project generation and evaluation of proposals, followup
and finalization of projects, and assessment of final results. Recruitment
of Committee members and distribution of work among the members will
be crucial for the work of the Division under the new organization.
The number of projects that will be carried will be reduced when the
Commissions disappear. It was suggested that the present structure of
technique-oriented Commissions be replaced by one based on areas of
physical chemistry, focusing on areas where IUPAC could contribute significantly.
No decisions on these matters were made in Berlin. The newly elected
Division Committee is scheduled to meet around the beginning of March
2000 to continue the discussions and make decisions that will determine
how the Physical Chemistry Division will function in the future.
The status of the projects of the Division is good.
Of the 55 projects listed in the IUPAC Handbook 1998 1999,
16 had been completed by 1999, 4 had been closed, and 30 were expected
to be completed by 2001, leaving only 5 that may need to continue (after
being reconsidered) under the new organization. New projects have been
proposed, and the Division Committee will discuss them during the spring
meeting and decide how these proposals should be managed. The question
"Why IUPAC?" will be important when discussing future projects.
> Link
to Division
Gerd Olofsson
Secretary
IUPAC Physical Chemistry Division Committee I.0