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The first international symposium on Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons was organized by Dr. Peter Jones and Dr. Freudenthal of the Battelle Memorial Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio in 1976. The first ten symposia, devoted to PAH chemistry and carcinogenic activity, were held on an annual basis at Battelle. The 1980-1985 annual meetings were organized primarily by Dr. Marcus Cooke and Dr. Anthony J. Dennis, with the assistance in 1981 of Dr. Gerald L. Fisher. The Ninth International Symposium (1984), was dedicated, for the first time, to the memory of a distinguished investigator, Dr. Peter Sims. His research gave important clues about the metabolic reactions that convert PAH to active metabolites, specifically diol-epoxides. Dr. P.L Grover gave the memorial address at the Symposium. The Tenth International Symposium (1985) was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Louis F. Fieser for his pathfinding studies of structure, chemical reactivity, and carcinogenic activity of PAH. Dr. J.W. Flesher gave the memorial address at the Symposium and Dr. M.S. Newman recalled his PAH work with Dr. Fieser, work he continued throughout his long and distinguished career. Dr. Cooke presented Dr. Fieser's posthumous PAH Research Award to his widow, Mary Fieser. In 1985, at the 10th symposium, the conference organizers proposed, and it was agreed by the attendees, that the conference should switch to a biennail format. The next two conferences were held at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. At that time, Drs. Willie Mays and David Longfellow took over the responsibility of organizing the conferences. The International Symposium met at NIST in 1987 and 1989. At the 11th International Symposium in 1987, Dr. Curt White, who had conceived the idea of a Lifetime achievement award, announced the first winner -- Erich Clar. Unfortunately, Dr. Clar passed away just a few days before the announcement arrived at his home. His award was presented posthumously to his widow. Subsequent winners have included Dr. Melvin Newman (1989), Dr. Gernot Grimmer (1991), Dr. Maximilian Zander (1993), Dr. Ronald Harvey (1995) and Dr. Roger Atkinson (1997). At the 1989 meeting, it was proposed that the meeting should alternate between North America and Europe. In 1991, the first Europeand condrence was organized by Dr. Philippe Garrigues and was held in Bordeaux, France. The location of the conference has alternated between Europe and North America ever since. The International Committee on Polyclcycic Aromatic Compounds, or ICPAC, had its origin early in 1985 when Dr. Douglas Lane of the Atmospheric Environment Service of Environment Canada and Dr. Tuan Vo-Dinh of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory were discussing a mutual problem - the lack of readily available chemical, physical, thermodynamic and spectroscopic properties for the PAH. By the end of the discussion, the concept of an international committee to compile such data had arisen. However, to be useful to all scientists, the committee would have to expand to include biological, toxicological, synthetic, analytical and environmental occurrance data as well. The first meeting of ICPAC was held at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Attending that meeting were: Dr. Douglas Lane, Dr. Tuan Vo-Dinh, Dr. Curt White, Dr. Douglas Later, Dr. Willie May, Dr. Victor Snieckus, Dr. Edmond Lavoie, Dr. Kurt Loening Dr. Robert Lao and Mr. Howard Erisman. Douglas Lane and Tuan Vo-Dinh were asked to act as co-chairmen of the committee and continued to serve in that capacity throughout the existance of the committee. Special sub-committees were established to look after each specialized area of interest. Each sub-committee chairman was asked to invite any individual they felt could make a contribution to the work of the committee to join their particular sub-committee. Within 6 years, the membership of the "committee" had grown to over 100 individuals from more than 15 countries. The purpose and objectives of the committee were: 1. To identify a comprehensive set of chemical, physical, thermodynamic, spectroscopic, analytical and biological data for the identification and characterization of polycyclic aromatic compounds. 2. To ascertain which data are currently available and to compile that data in a meaningful format that is readily available to the PAC community. 3. To define and pursue a systematic and controlled approach for supplementing the existing data base with additional data that are currently missing. Tuan Vo-Dinh and Douglas Lane started a newsletter and sent it to all members of ICPAC on an informal basis. It was felt, by the committee, that the ICPAC executive committee should include individuals from outside North America. At the second meeting of ICPAC, which was held just before the 1985 International Symposium on PAH, the following individuals were invited to join the executive committee: Professor Dr. Maximilian Zander, Herr Professor Dr. Gernot Grimmer, Professor Keith Bartle, Dr. Walter Karcher and Dr. Anders Colmsjo. At this meeting, Dr. Max Zander suggested that ICPAC consider the formation of a technical journal. At the third ICPAC meeting held coincidentally with the 11th PAH Symposium, Dr. Zander informed the committee that Gordon and Breach Publishers had agreed to publish a new journal which would be called Polycyclic Aromatic Comapounds. Dr. Zander agreed to spearhead the negotiations with Gordon and Breach to formalize the concepts and structure of the new journal. Volume 1 of the new journal made its appearance in 1990. During the 13th PAH Symposium in Bordeaux, France, in 1991, the ICPAC executive met and voted to chanbe the name of the committee to the International Society for Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds (ISPAC). All individuals interested in Polycyclic Aromatic Compound research would be encouraged to become active members in the new society. At the business meeting of the International Symposium, the board of directors of the conference made a motion that the onference unite merge with ISPAC. This motion was passes, and Dr Douglas Lane and Dr. Tuan Vo-Dinh were asked to serve as the founding co-presidents of the new sciety, and, during the following 2 years, to chair a committee to incorporate ISPAC as a non-profit society, to establish the operational framework for the new society, to draft a set of bylaws, and to define its aims and objectives. Dr. Willie May and Dr. David Longfellow volunteered to serve on that committee. In January, 1993, ISPAC became a fully incorporated, non-profit society, incorporated under the laws of the state of Maryland. Named as the principals for incorporation were Douglas Lane, Tuan Vo-Dinh, Willie May and David Longfellow. The first formal elections for the ISPAC executive took place at the 14th International Symposium which was held at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, USA. The first elected president was Dr. Willie May of NIST. The charter of ISPAC states that: The mission of the Society is to: (i) encourage research on; (ii) review, compile and disseminate information on and (iii) provide leadership in the field of Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds. The Society will pursue this mission through the following objectives: 1. Provide forums for the presentation and discussion of nes methodologies and development of technology for research into all properties and processds related to Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds. A giennial conference will be the focal point for this objective. 2. Encourage excellence in research and deucation related to Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds. 3. Encourage and facilitate the interchange of information among members and other professional and technical groups. 4. Provide information for use by scientists and the public at large. 5. Identify a comprehensive set of properties for the identification and characterization of Polycyclic Aromatic Coounds, to ascertain which data are currently available and to compile that data in a format that is useful to the research community. ISPAC is a very young society. It needs active participation from researchers interested in Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds to make it grow and to succeed in its mission. If you carry out research on any aspect of the PAH and would be interested in becoming a member of the society, we encourage you to apply for membership. Presidents of the International Society
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