Restructuring IUPAC at the Turn of the 20th Century

Abstract

Around the turn of the century IUPAC undertook a major restructuring. Commissions, which had been the heart of IUPAC’s scientific work for most of its 80-year history, were virtually eliminated and largely replaced with a system of peer-reviewed projects [1, 2, 3]. Brigitte Van Tiggelen asked Ted Becker, Secretary General in that key transition period (1996-2003) and a central figure in the restructuring effort, to reflect on the rationale for this significant change and to describe just what was done.