International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

10. Report of Committee on Printed and Electronic Publications
Dr. Warr noted that the Secretariat had assumed some of the operational tasks previously dealt with by the Committee, leaving the Committee free to concentrate on policy issues. The major policy issue of the past biennium has been the question of self-publishing Chemistry International and Pure and Applied Chemistry. The decision to self-publish Chemistry International was made, with the agreement of Blackwell, at the end of 1998. This experiment has been successful and has provided valuable experience in the mechanics of self-publishing. The cost of producing CI has been reduced, and the regularity of its publication has been improved. The content of the magazine has been improved by publishing articles of general interest in addition to the normal reports of IUPAC activities and news of conferences.

Bids were solicited in 1999 from major scientific publishers, including Blackwell, on a publishing contract. After considering the bids, the Committee recommended to the Executive Committee that Pure and Applied Chemistry be published without an official publisher beginning with the January 2000 issue. This decision was based mainly on the desire to have greater control over the development of the journal in the new era of electronic publishing, as well as on the projected increase in income. At its meeting earlier in the week, the Committee considered the implications of this change for the pricing strategy of the journal. The Committee decided to keep the subscription price for institutional subscriptions at the same level as in 1999, USD 1166. In addition, a new option of a three-year subscription for USD 999 was introduced. All this pricing information should be good public relations. CPEP is planning to do a press release to publicize these dramatic changes in subscription prices. The Committee is also looking into prestigious academic library associations and aggregators/collaboration.

Dr. Warr expressed her delight in welcoming Prof. James Bull, who has been appointed special topics editor for PAC. The Chairman of the Editorial Advisory Board will prepare a document about his ideas for participation by editorial board members. Among other things, he wishes to improve the editorial quality of papers. (Some editors are keener and more competent than others to improve upon the papers they are sent.) Dr. Warr emphasized that the Committee is not only concerned with pricing issues. The quality of PAC is also very important. Division Presidents will be involved in this effort and in changing the functions of the Editorial Advisory Board.

Dr. Warr noted that the future of PAC as an electronic publication was being studied by a small group, and a recommendation was expected by the end of 1999. Books will continue to be published in conjunction with publishers because books do need marketing. Self-publishing is not a good option for books.

The Delegate from Argentina asked that in future the publications review provided with the agenda include a full biennium. The current report covers only the period 1998-9. The period from before the 1997 General Assembly to the end of 1997 is not covered.

The Delegate from India proposed that all IUPAC publications be sent free of charge to all NAOs.

11. Report of CHEMRAWN Committee
Dr. Norling described the CHEMRAWN Conferences that have been held in the last biennium and those being planned. One Conference was held, CHEMRAWN XI: Meeting on Environmental Chemistry; Latin American Symposium on Environmental Analytical Chemistry: March 15-20, 1998, Montevideo, Uruguay. This Conference attracted 261 participants, mainly from Latin America, had three satellite activities including the IOCD Workshop on Environmental Analytical Chemistry, and the Future Actions Committee developed five key recommendations related to communications, training, spin-off meetings, and a specific monitoring effort for the Rio de la Plate drainage basin.

Conferences that have been in the planning stage are as follows:

CHEMRAWN X: The Globalization of Chemical Education-- Preparing Chemical Scientists and Engineers for Transnational Industries (A mini-CHEMRAWN or preliminary conference is planned for 2000 in Budapest in conjunction with the International Conference on Chemical Education.)
CHEMRAWN XII: African Food Security and Natural Resource Management: The New Scientific Frontiers
CHEMRAWN XIII: Chemistry for Cleaner Energy (There may be a preliminary session in Brisbane.)
CHEMRAWN XIV: Toward Environmentally Benign Processes and Products -- Boulder, Colorado June 9-13, 2001
CHEMRAWN (?) Water: Dealing with the Crisis (A series of regional conferences is one possibility being considered.)

CHEMRAWN XII was originally planned for Nairobi in 1999 but has been postponed owing to local unrest and difficulty in developing a full program, leading to a lack of sufficient funding. There is a possibility that this subject will be revisited. Significant funding is a general problem that the Committee discussed at its meeting earlier in the week. The other major related topics discussed at the meeting were conference format and follow up actions. The latter is a key aspect of CHEMRAWN Conferences; however, the follow up actions and recommendations developed during the conference are left for others to carry out and cannot be pursued or funded by those active in the conference. CHEMRAWN VII "The Chemistry of the Atmosphere: Its Impact of Global Change" (1991, Baltimore Maryland, USA) is a conspicuous exception. with research still being carried out as a result of the conference. Publications are in preparation.

12. Report of Committee on Chemistry and Industry
Dr. Wright reviewed the Terms of Reference and the membership of the Committee. The major activity of the Committee in the past biennium was the publication of the special issue of Pure and Applied Chemistry on Environmental Oestrogens. This was a cooperative effort of COCI, Division VI, ICSU, the International Union of Toxicology, and the International Union of Pharmacology. A key aspect of this report was the peer review process used for all the contributed chapters. Dr. Wright cited a number of favorable comments he had received on the quality of the individual chapters and the entire report. The Committee has also undertaken a recruiting drive to add new Company Associates, especially in currently underrepresented countries. This campaign has added a number of new Company Associates. The training program for Safety and Environmental Protection conducted in conjunction with UNIDO and UNESCO has been reactivated after a dormant period. The Committee is also cooperating in the planning of a special issue on Sustainable Chemistry ("Green Chemistry") with Division III. At the Berlin meeting, a project was initiated to address discrepancies in the analyses of trace elements in water. As illustrated by a graph, lead analyses, for instance, can vary by more than 50%, even among certified laboratories.

13. Report of Committee on Teaching of Chemistry
Prof. Bradley discussed the work of the Committee in the context of the Terms of Reference. Cooperation with other IUPAC bodies has improved in the past biennium. CTC is working with CHEMRAWN in the planning for an education CHEMRAWN (see Item 11 above) and is exploring the possibility of adding an educational aspect to all future CHEMRAWN conferences. A CTC web site has been developed that is linked to the IUPAC web site. This web site will help to disseminate the work of CTC to a wider audience. Prof. Bradley reported that CTC is participating in discussions concerning the formation of an ICSU Inter-Union Committee on Science Education. The Committee welcomes the proposal in the VPCA, endorsed by the Bureau, to set up an ad hoc Committee to study the Union's Education activities.

14. Report on and Review of Affiliate Membership and Fellows Programs
The Executive Director briefly reviewed the report on the AMP and the Fellows Program. He noted that the concerns expressed in earlier years about the cost of the AMP had proved to be no longer relevant owing to the change in the operating philosophy for the program and due to the decrease in the cost of Chemistry International since the change to self-publishing.

The Fellows Program has proved to be very well accepted. The costs are modest compared to the benefits obtained from maintaining contact with former members of IUPAC bodies.

The Council approved the continuation of the AMP, subject only to a report on the program to the Council by the Secretary General.

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