Vol. 25 No. 5
September-October 2003

Why Become an Affiliate?

The IUPAC Affiliate Membership Program was approved by the IUPAC Council in 1983. It was initially designed to get people interested and involved in IUPAC affairs and activities. Recently, however, the Union has changed and restructured itself in many ways, while the program has continued unchanged, on a self-supporting basis and without much review. Today, there is a growing feeling that the 20-year old program needs a tune-up! A redesigned program should not only take into account, but also complement, the other recently restructured programs, such as the project-driven system, through which people can become directly involved in IUPAC projects. While some officers are thinking about how to improve the program and its management, and how to better engage the National Adhering Organizations to do their parts, Chemistry International asked Laura Abernathy to briefly review the benefits of being an Affiliate Member. If you are reading CI, it is most likely that you are already an Affiliate-but keep reading, as the program offers more than you might think!

by Laura Abernathy

IUPAC values every Affiliate throughout the world, from the one in Algeria, to the tens in Ireland, to the hundreds in Germany, to the thousands in the United States. (Larger view)

Imagine a beaker without measurement lines. Imagine a chemist in Hungary who communicates research data to a chemist in Australia, yet because the two are using different terminologies, neither can recognize that they are using the same compound. Imagine that a researcher in Canada could provide solutions for an environmental concern in Latin America, but because the problem is never communicated, the issue is never addressed.

IUPAC provides the infrastructure to resolve these problems. The work of IUPAC is a necessity for the continued development of chemistry and chemistry applications, and is almost entirely the result of volunteer efforts. Individuals from different countries unite in working on chemistry-related issues with the goals of developing solutions and initiating standards.

Supporting IUPAC is being a member of a division, participating in project task groups, and attending IUPAC-sponsored conferences; it is also supporting IUPAC through the act of being an Affiliate. By joining the IUPAC Affiliate Membership Program, chemists from around the world show their support for IUPAC and its mission to promote international chemistry research and standards. The support and encouragement of every individual Affiliate is as vital to IUPAC as the work of Divisions and task groups.

In appreciation and acknowledgement of the support of its Affiliates, IUPAC provides bimonthly updates on its activities through Chemistry International. Affiliates receive discounts on specific IUPAC publications, including Pure and Applied Chemistry, and reduced registration fees for most IUPAC-sponsored conferences. The bimonthly IUPAC e-news update provides the latest IUPAC news and Web site updates (join at <www.iupac.org/news/e-news.html>. . . you may unsubscribe at any time).

For chemists in developing countries, IUPAC sponsors a limited number of free Affiliate memberships. For every new paid Affiliate Member, IUPAC can offer a young chemist from a developing country the opportunity to participate within IUPAC as an Affiliate Member.

IUPAC Affiliates are part of an international network of chemists, actively contributing to the development of chemistry and chemistry standards. Today, there are nearly 5000 chemists in the Affiliate Membership Program.

Encourage your colleagues to consider becoming Affiliates to support the IUPAC network. For more information about joining the Affiliate Membership Program visit the IUPAC Web site.

For additional questions or comments, contact Laura Abernathy at <[email protected]>.

Laura is part of the staff at the IUPAC Secretariat, where she has worked since December 2002 as a communications specialist.

www.iupac.org/affiliates