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Symposium
on Photochemistry website
This
interdisciplinary meeting brought together 470 scientists from 40
countries to discuss the most recent advances in the photosciences.
Contributions covered a span from applications of photochemistry
and photophysics to virtually all areas of fundamental and applied
chemistry. The unifying theme of the symposium was the use of photons
to initiate reactions and processes of molecules and materials.
Topics ranged from photochemistry on the femtosecond time scale
to solid-state devices for solar energy storage, from photoprocesses
at very low temperatures to atmospheric photochemistry, from photochemical
syntheses to photosynthesis, from nanoscale reactors to photosensitive
polymers. An atmosphere of gemütlichkeit was fostered by the
wonderful food for thought...and the excellent beer.
There were 12 plenary lectures; 16 invited lectures; workshops
on theoretical organic photochemistry (organized by M. Klessinger),
solid-state photochemistry (organized by Miguel Garcia-Garibay),
and primary processes in biological photoreceptors (organized by
T. Gillbro); 27 short oral presentations; and more than 200 posters.
A highlight of the symposium was the presentation of the Porter
Award to Vincenzo Balzani of the University of Bologna and his address
on some of his recent research in supramolecular photochemistry.
The award, for career-long outstanding achievement in the photosciences,
is usually presented at the biannual symposium. It is sponsored
by the three major photochemical societies (the European Photochemical
Association, the Japanese Photochemistry Association, and the Inter-American
Photochemical Society). Historical treatises on photochemistry in
the 20th century and on the IUPAC Symposia on Photochemistry were
presented by Heinz Roth and Kurt Schaffner, respectively. Much of
the credit for the success of the meeting goes to Thomas Wolff,
head of the local organizing committee, and his colleagues, Jürgen
Fabian, Waldfried Plieth, and Karl Leo, from The Technical University
of Dresden, where the symposium was held. The exciting program was
set by Silvia Braslavsky, the scientific chairperson, and her international
advisory committee.
The 19th Symposium will be held 14-19 July 2002 in Budapest. Its
scientific chairperson will be Heinz Roth, and the head of the local
organizing committee will be Jòzef Nyitrai. Information can
be found on the web site (http://www.Photoiupac.hu/)
or by contacting the Hungarian Chemical Society ([email protected]).
All who attended the 18th Symposium anticipate reuniting in Budapest
for the 19th !
Prof. Richard G. Weiss
Chairman, IUPAC Commission on Photochemistry III.3
Department of Chemistry
Georgetown University
Washington, DC, USA