EYCN Podcast - Chemistry To Your Ears · European Young Chemists' Network

All about IUPAC

·37 min·2 clips

Mary Garson says women from over 40 countries joined “Women Sharing a Chemical Moment in Time.”

1. EYCN Podcast - Chemistry To Your Ears speaks with IUPAC President-elect Mary Garson about IUPAC and its projects. 2. Mary Garson matters because she is IUPAC president-elect, vice president for the 2024 and 2025 term, and president for 2026 and 2027. 3. The episode asks what IUPAC does beyond nomenclature and how Mary Garson moved from a 1972 organic chemistry lecture into nearly 30 years of service. 4. Garson says she first heard about IUPAC in first-year organic chemistry lectures when nomenclature was mentioned. 5. She describes a 1996 cold call from the Brisbane Convention Center that led her to help bid for the IOPAC General Assembly and Scientific Congress for 2001. 6. The Brisbane bid succeeded, and she served as executive secretary for combined meetings that also included the Asian Chemical Congress and the Asian Federation of Medicinal Chemistry meeting. 7. Garson says the Brisbane work brought her into contact with IUPAC leadership, division volunteers, and later the Division of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry. 8. She reports being elected a titular member in 2006 and serving as division president in 2014. 9. Garson also says she became a bureau member and later co-chaired the IUPAC 100 management committee for the 2019 centenary celebrations. 10. She adds that Javier Garcia-Martinez later appointed her inaugural chair of the Committee on Ethics, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 11. Garson identifies “Women Sharing a Chemical Moment in Time” as the project she is most invested in. 12. She says that 2009 event was created for the 2011 International Year of Chemistry and highlighted women’s contributions to chemical discoveries that benefit society. 13. Garson says women from more than 40 countries joined that event using video conferencing and social networking tools. 14. She explains that the project grew into the Global Women’s Breakfast Network, co-convened with Dr. Laura McConnell from the USA. 15. Garson says the network has held more than 1,900 events in over 100 countries since 2019. 16. She says the annual breakfast is held on a Tuesday in February, with the 2024 theme “catalyzing diversity in science” and a 24-hour chain from New Zealand to Hawaii. 17. Garson describes the tone of the project work as grassroots, informal, and strongly focused on communication and mentoring. 18. She says the interview format is conversational and wide-ranging, with examples from conferences, awards, governance, and outreach. 19. People interested in women in chemistry, young chemists, and IUPAC structures will get the most from this episode. 20. People wanting a short, purely technical talk on one chemistry subfield may skip this one.

As heard by us

Chemistry's international machinery, explained with patience, career context, and a clear sense of where young chemists fit.

Mary Garson's conversation with Karl is a calm, institution-minded look at IUPAC through the career of a chemist with long ties to the organization.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want IOPAC explained through the people, networks, and sustainability-minded chemistry it helps organize.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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