Chemistry International
Vol. 22, No. 1
January 2000
Reports
from IUPAC-Sponsored Symposia
10th
International Symposium on Organometallic Chemistry Directed Towards
Organic Synthesis (OMCOS 10)
18-22 July 1999,
Versailles, France
This symposium attracted an audience of 1 100 people, 984 of whom were
active researchers. Attendees came from 36 countries, including 316
from France and 678 from abroad. There were 5 plenary lectures, plus
an award lecture, 15 invited lectures, 29 contributed papers and short
communications, and 542 poster presentations. The conference was well
organized, with many young, active participants. Because the conference
organizers were able to attract many important sponsors and thus markedly
reduce fees, OMCOS 10 was open to unprecedented numbers of young researchers
and to important contributors from Eastern Europe.
The idea of the OMCOS symposia originated 20 years ago in IUPACís
Division of Organic Chemistry. Since then, each event in the series
became a milestone, thus demonstrating that the philosophy behind OMCOS
is relevant and timely. Each of the symposia marked a new level reached
by organic synthesis aided by organometallics, thus serving as a stimulus
to push further ahead research joining organic synthesis, coordination
chemistry, catalysis, etc.
OMCOS 10, too, became a true feast of the fascinating science of organometallic
synthetic methodology, combining brilliant organization, great research,
and a memorable historical stage. The conference chairman, Prof. Jean-Pierre
Genet, and his team worked very hard, and their efforts were fully rewarded.
The conference halls were always filled; even the temptations of beautiful
Versailles and the impressive social program did not divert many people
from witnessing the dramatic live performances given by masters of the
art of synthesis.
The overall level of any symposium is defined by the level of the top
speakers. In this respect, the level of OMCOS 10 was among the highest.
Beginning with the introductory speech of Prof. Jiro Tsuji, one of the
founding fathers of organic synthesis aided by organometallics, and
including lectures by leading scientists such as R. Noyori, D. Evans,
M. Reetz, and many others, the conference program offered something
satisfying for everybody. Many former chairmen of previous OMCOS meetings
took part in OMCOS 10.
Enantioselective transition metal catalysis served as the center of
discussions. A large share of presentations dealt with design and synthesis
of enantioselective catalysts and chiral ligands, and with their applications
in both new and well-known reactions. But OMCOS 10 differed from earlier
symposia in the series by its display of much deeper interest in the
use of transition metal catalysis for the preparation of new materials.
This rapidly growing area continues to capture more and more attention.
Professor
Irina Beletskaya
Department of Chemistry
Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia