Chemistry International
Vol. 21, No. 4
July 1999
Reports
from IUPAC-Sponsored Symposia
21st IUPAC
International Symposium on the Chemistry of Natural Products (ISCNP-21),
11-16 October 1998,
Beijing, China
This symposium was organized by the Chinese Chemical Society in Beijing.
The meetings were held in the Modern Symposium Halls of the Beijing
Friendship Hotel.
The scientific program of the meeting consisted of plenary lectures,
invited session lectures, oral presentations, and posters. A broad range
of aspects of natural product chemistry was discussed. Notably, the
presentations dealt with structure determination by modern spectroscopic
techniques, chemical and combined chemical/biocatalytic synthesis, and
biological evaluation of diverse types of natural products. A plenary
lecture by the Nobel laureate J.-M. Lehn, on the subject of "molecular
recognition", in the broadest sense of the term, was a highlight
of the symposium. The scientific level of the program was, on the whole,
very good. A special reference must be made to the poster presentations,
which were of impressive quality. The fact that many of the posters
were contributed by young Chinese chemists attests to the high level
of activity in the area of natural product chemistry that is in progress
within the country.
Foreign participation, including accompanying persons, could be regarded
as reasonable, considering the expense of traveling to the meeting from
many parts of the world. The prospect of combining a touristic visit
to China with a conference is always attractive, and that clearly appealed
to many of the foreign participants.
Symposium facilities were of high quality. Meeting halls were comfortable,
and the audiovisual arrangements were impeccable. Complimentary refreshments
between sessions combined with the opportunity for facile contact between
the participants provided a congenial atmosphere for scientific and
social exchange. The organizers extended the proverbial Chinese hospitality
during the days of the Symposium. All participants enjoyed and appreciated
the official reception, the entertaining performance at the Acrobatic
Theatre, and the symposium banquet in the famed Summer Palace. An excursion
to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs outside Beijing provided another
highlight of the meeting. There was an excellent social program for
accompanying persons, and there were pre- and post-symposium tours in
which many participated.
I felt privileged to represent IUPAC at the symposium, to convey the
greetings of President Jortner to the assembled audience, and to participate
actively in the proceedings by presenting some of our own work. It is
a pleasure for me to place on record the appreciation of IUPAC to the
Chinese Chemical Society and especially to the Chairman, Professor Xiaotian
Liang, to Professor Xibai Qui, who served as Secretary and Contact Point,
and to their many active colleagues, for the successful organization
of ISCNP-21.
On a personal note, this was the first visit to China for my wife and
me, and it was an immensely enjoyable experience. We saw and learned
much during the short stay, and we made new friends. We hope to come
again another time.
Ed. Note: Manuscripts from ISCNP-21 will be published in Pure
Appl. Chem. 71(6), June (1999).
Professor
U. K. Pandit
President, IUPAC Organic Chemistry
Division (III)