European Chemical Society


The European Chemical Society is a European non-profit organisation which promotes collaboration between non-profit scientific and technical societies in the field of chemistry.
Based in Brussels, Belgium, the association took over the role and responsibilities of the Federation of European Chemical Societies and Professional Institutions founded in 1970. It currently has 51 Member Societies and supporting members, with a further 19 divisions and working parties. It represents more than 160,000 chemists from more than 30 countries in Europe.
Since 2017, Pilar Goya Laza, research professor of the Spanish National Research Council, is President of EuChemS. Nineta Hrastelj is General Secretary. On 3 October 2019, the EuChemS General Assembly voted Floris Rutjes of Radboud University as EuChemS President-Elect, his term as president beginning in January 2021.

Aims and function

The European Chemical Society has two major aims. By bringing together national chemical societies from across Europe, it aims to foster a community of scientists from different countries and provide opportunities for them to exchange ideas, communicate, cooperate on work projects and develop their networks. EuChemS in turn relies on the knowledge of this community to provide sound scientific advice to policymakers at the European level, in order to better inform their decision-making work. EuChemS is an official accredited stakeholder of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Food Safety Agency, and the European Chemical Agency. EuChemS also relies on quality science communication to better inform citizens, decision-makers and scientists of the latest research developments in the chemical sciences, and their role in tackling major societal, environmental and economic challenges.
Because the field of chemistry is particularly vast with many different disciplines within it, EuChemS provides advice and knowledge on a broad range of subjects including:
The EuChemS scientific divisions and working parties are networks in their own fields of expertise and promote collaboration with other European and international organisations. They organise high quality scientific conferences in chemical and molecular sciences and interdisciplinary areas.
The European Young Chemists' Network is the younger members' division of EuChemS.

Events

EuChemS organises a variety of different events, including policy workshops with the European Institutions, specialised academic conferences, as well as the biennial EuChemS Chemistry Congress. There have been 7 Congresses so far since the first in 2006, held in Budapest, Hungary.
The congresses have taken place in: Turin, Italy ; Nuremberg, Germany ; Prague, Czechia ; Istanbul, Turkey ; Seville, Spain ; Liverpool, UK. The next ECC is due to take place in Lisbon, Portugal in 2020. The ECCs usually attract some 2000 chemists from more than 50 countries across the world.

Awards

EuChemS proposes several awards including the European Chemistry Gold Medal Award, awarded in 2018 to Nobel Laureate Bernard Feringa; the EuChemS Award for Service; the EuChemS Lecture Award; the European Young Chemist Award; the EuChemS EUCYS Award; the EuChemS Historical Landmarks Award, as well as several Divisional Awards.
EuChemS implemented in 2020 the EuChemS Chemistry Congress fellowship scheme. The aim of EuChemS fellowship scheme is to support early career researchers actively attending the EuChemS Chemistry Congresses.

Projects and Activities

In light of the UN declared International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements of 2019, EuChemS published a Periodic Table which depicts the issue of the abundance of the chemical elements to raise awareness of the need to develop better recycling capacities, to manage waste, and to find alternative materials to the elements that are at risk of being unusable.

Members & Supporting Members

Supporting members: