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Vol.
25 No. 2
March - April 2003
New
Directions for CHEMRAWN
It
all started in 1976 as the dream that came true,*
when the CHEMRAWN–CHEMical Research Applied to World
Needs–Committee was established following suggestions
and plans for how IUPAC might help solve world problems through
chemistry. A quarter century later, CHEMRAWN, and the series
of conferences that bears the same acronym, is one of the
most renowned activities of IUPAC.
The committee
develops periodic conferences around the world to explore
issues relevant to meeting human needs where chemical research
and the products of chemical research can help to meet those
needs. In doing so, the committee involves other organizations,
public- and private-sector scientists, politicians, regulators,
environmentalists, and other opinion leaders in developing
and carrying out conferences. For each conference, a Future
Actions Committee develops perspectives and actionable recommendations.
The committee then tries to ensure that the recommendations
are implemented.
The most
recent CHEMRAWN Committee meeting was held in Paris in September
2002. CI asked its chair to review the committee plans
and current activities.
*
History of IUPAC 1919-1987, by R. Fennell (IUPAC, 1994), p.
263.
by
Parry Norling
The
CHEMRAWN series of conferences has been an essential way for
IUPAC to address issues that transcend pure science and have
important socio-political aspects. Over the past quarter century,
12 CHEMRAWN conferences have been held that brought together
experts in science and technology, including industrial leaders,
government policymakers, academic scientists, and members
of the general public. Together they have explored, discussed,
and debated how chemistry, chemical research, and chemical
resources can help meet a major human need or solve a major
problem.
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12
CHEMRAWN Conferences Since 1978
I
–Toronto, Canada (1978) Future Sources of Organic
Raw Materials
II
–Manila, Philippines (1982) Chemistry and World
Food Supplies: The New Frontiers
III
–The Hague, the Netherlands (1984) Resources Material
Conversion
IV
–Keystone, Colorado, USA (1985) Modern Chemistry
and Chemical Technology Applied to the Ocean and its
Resources
V
–Heidelberg, Germany (1986) Current and Future
Contributions of Chemistry to Health
VI
–Tokyo, Japan (1987) Advanced Materials for Innovations
in Energy, Transportation, and Communications
VII
–Baltimore, Maryland, USA (1991) The Chemistry
of the Atmosphere: Its Impact of Global Change
VIII
–Moscow, Russia (1992) Chemistry and Sustainable
Development
IX
–Seoul, Korea (1996) Advanced Materials and Sustainable
Development
X
–Budapest, Hungary; Washington, DC, USA; Honolulu,
Hawaii; and Brisbane, Australia (1999-2000) The Globalization
of Chemical Education - Preparing Chemical Scientists
and Engineers for Transnational Industries
XI
–Montevideo, Uruguay (1998) Latin American Symposium
on Environmental Analytical Chemistry
XIV
–Boulder, Colorado, USA (2001) Toward Environmentally
Benign Processes and Products
XVII–Kingston,
Ontario, Canada (2004-2005) Greenhouse Gas Mitigation
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Each
conference has a Future Actions Committee that develops a
set of perspectives and recommendations that can be widely
distributed and in some cases catalyze follow-up actions.
Following CHEMRAWN XIV, a training session in green chemistry
was held in Thailand and several new green chemistry networks
were established around the world. Following CHEMRAWN VII,
a cooperative atmospheric monitoring effort–involving
government, academia, and industry –was launched in the
Peruvian Amazon Basin to gain a better understanding of carbon
dioxide fluxes to and from the forest canopy.
At
its September 2002 meeting in Paris, the CHEMRAWN committee
discussed plans for five additional conferences:
Several
of these will be smaller, less expensive workshops, possibly
"virtual conferences" or "thinktank" studies, given the difficulty
in funding large conferences, such as some past events that
cost as much as USD 400 000.
- The
committee developed a strategic plan which calls for:
- recruiting
committee "associates" or friends to assist in carrying
out CHEMRAWN work
- holding
smaller regional workshops
- preparing
research papers by committee members to alert IUPAC members
about a growing world need and the particular role chemistry
might play in meeting that need
- providing
a Future Actions Committee for non- CHEMRAWN conferences
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The
CHEMRAWN Committee at its meeting in Paris in September
2002. Front row: Prof. Patrick Moyna, Dr. John Malin,
Prof. Fedor Kuznetsov, Prof. Erwin Buncel. Second row:
Dr. Parry Norling, Dr. Min Che Chon, Prof. Raymond Hamelin.
Back row: Dr. Alan Smith, Dr. Pierre Potier (President
of the Maison de la Chimie, Paris), Dr. Jerzy Kopytowski,
Prof. Ikenna Onyido, and Dr. Swaminathan Sivaram.
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If
the committee is successful in carrying out this plan, the
CHEMRAWN conferences will continue to be a valuable activity
of IUPAC. Anyone who would like to participate is invited
to contact the committee chair Dr. Parry Norling.
Parry
M. Norling <[email protected]>
or <Parry.m.norling
@usa.dupont.com> has been chair of the CHEMRAWN Committee
since 1998 and a member since 1993. He is currently an AAAS
Fellow at RAND’s Science & Technology Policy Institute,
in Arlington, Virginia, USA, and a Corporate Technology Adviser
at DuPont.
>
Next story: A Preview of CHEMRAWN
XII - World Conference on Chemistry, Sustainable Agriculture,
and Human Well-Being in Sub-Saharan Africa
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