UPSC aspirant - What is IUPAC

About IUPAC

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) serves to advance the worldwide aspects of the chemical sciences and to contribute to the application of chemistry in the service of Mankind. 

As a scientific, international, non-governmental and objective body, IUPAC can address many global issues involving the chemical sciences.

The Union has succeeded in fostering worldwide communications in the chemical sciences and in uniting academic, industrial and public sector chemistry in a common language. 

IUPAC has long been recognized as the world authority on chemical nomenclature, terminology, standardized methods for measurement, atomic weights and many other critically evaluated data. 

During the Cold War, IUPAC became an important instrument for maintaining technical dialogue among scientists throughout the world.

IUPAC is an association of bodies, National Adhering Organizations, which represent the chemists of different member countries.

The work of IUPAC is done almost entirely by approximately 1400 volunteer scientists from many countries.

History

IUPAC was formed in 1919 by chemists from industry and academia, who recognized the need for international standardization in chemistry.

The standardization of weights, measures, names and symbols is essential to the well being and continued success of the scientific enterprise and to the smooth development and growth of international trade and commerce.

Even before the creation of IUPAC (1919), a predecessor body, the International Association of Chemical Societies (IACS), had met in Paris in 1911 and produced a set of proposals for the work that the new Association should address. These included:

• Nomenclature of inorganic and organic chemistry;
• Standardization of atomic weights;
• Standardization of physical constants;
• Editing tables of properties of matter;
• Establishing a commission for the review of work;
• Standardization of the formats of publications;
• Measures required to prevent repetition of the same papers.

The first international attempt at organizing organic chemical nomenclature -- the Geneva Nomenclature of 1892 -- grew out of a series of international meetings, the first of which was organized by Kekulé in 1860.

Courtesy: http://www.iupac.org/home/about.html