Gautam Desiraju elected president of the IUCr
Gautam Desiraju has been elected president of the International Union of Crystallography [IUCr] during the IUCr General Assembly, in Madrid, on the 27 August this year. Desiraju, whose term will last three years, hails from the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit of the Indian Institute of Science, in Bangalore.
“I am pleased and honoured to be elected President of the International Union of Crystallography. The IUCr is unique among scientific unions in the success of its publishing activities, the educational slant in many of its endeavours and in its ability to cater to the priorities of scientists in both developed and developing nations,” said Desiraju.
“Crystallography is a subject that constantly succeeds in re-inventing itself using the advances in technology with each passing generation. I am committed to nurturing its continuing health and expansion, and will seek to encourage such academic activities within the Union that foster this positive growth.”
Desiraju, who will be the first Indian to hold the IUCr presidency, is well regarded within the field, and has been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards, including the Alexander von Humboldt Forschungspreis and the Third World Academy of Sciences award in Chemistry.
The General Assembly also saw the election of Claude Lecomte as IUCr vice-president; Luc Van Meervelt as General Secretary and Treasurer; and H. Dabkowska, W. Depmeier, J. M. Guss and M. L. Hackert were elected for six-year terms, and for a three-year term, as Ordinary Members of the Executive Committee.
For more information, please visit the IUCr website.
