Federation of Asian Chemical Societies (FACS)

  Last updated on 14 May, 2001      

What is FACS? A Brief History and A Personal Experience

Hitoshi Ohtaki, The President of FACS 1997-1999, Ritsumeikan University

4. Enhancement of Activities of FACS

Asian Chemical Congress organized by FACS becomes larger and larger and the scientific standard of the conference increased in these years, because many excellent scientists have participated in the conferences. In 7 ACC in Hiroshima, we invited three Nobel Laureates (Prof. Y. T. Lee, Prof. J. M. Lehn, and Prof. S. Rowland) and in 8 ACC in Taipei, again three Nobel Laureates are invited (Prof. Y. T. Lee, Prof. E. J. Corey, and Prof. R. Marcus), and their lectures were very stimulating to the participants. Moreover, their attendance attracts scientists from all areas of Asia. Participation of good scientists elevates the standards of chemistry in ACC. On the other hand, activities of FACS are not well known by many of scientists in Asia. Moreover, FACS sometimes gives a feeling of a closed atmosphere to people. Executive Committee consists of seven members; the President, Past-President, President-Elect, Secretary-General, Treasurer, Coordinator of Projects and Chairman of the Publication Committee, and among them the President, Secretary-General and the Chairman of the Publication Committee are elected from one country due to the convenience for the organization of FACS. Since the bank accounts are open in Australia and Malaysia, the treasurer are customary elected from either Australia or Malaysia. The Treasurer and the Coordinator of Projects can continue their duties for several years because we have no limitation of their term due to practical reasons. The election system seems to be reasonable, but it sometimes produces a less flexible structure. The change of the election system may be considered at a suitable time.

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