EuChemS Newsletters

Connecting societies

Did you know that you are part of EuChemS? Through the membership of a national chemistry association, you are also part of the European Chemical Society, which represents 51 member societies and organisations and 160,000 individual chemists. Although in size comparable to the American Chemical Society, EuChemS is less well-known among its members. This is something I would like to change.

Since the beginning of this year, I have the honor to serve as President-Elect of the European Chemical Society. It marks the start of a six-year term in the EuChemS Executive Board and I very much looking forward to be a member of this team. I see clear opportunities to increase the impact of EuChemS and contribute to improving the visibility of the chemical societies in Europe.

Let me first briefly introduce myself. I was trained as a synthetic organic chemist at the University of Amsterdam. Nowadays, I am a full professor in organic synthesis at Radboud University in Nijmegen. Perhaps more importantly, I have been president of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (KNCV) for the past three years. As president of the KNCV, I have seen how a society can be meaningful for its members. Through relevant events, sharing important information and by celebrating achievements together, members connect with each other and form a strong network.

I believe that when EuChemS plays a connecting role between the member societies, this network will become even stronger. It will also enhance collaboration between societies and increase their visibility on the European level. Ideally, becoming an individual member of a national society should be perceived as also becoming a member of the larger European community. Isn’t that an attractive perspective?

 

Floris Rutjes
EuChemS President-Elect

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Prof Dr Floris Rutjes

2019 – now        Director Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, NL
2016 – 2019       Vice‐Dean of Education, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, NL
2010 – 2016       Director Education Institute for Molecular Sciences, Radboud University, NL
1999 – now        Full professor and Chair of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Radboud University, NL
1995 – 1999       Part‐time professor Combinatorial Synthesis, University of Amsterdam, NL
1993 – 1995       Post-doctoral fellow, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA
1988 – 1993       PhD, Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Amsterdam, NL
1984 – 1988       MSc (cum laude), Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Amsterdam, NL