A Brief History of the IZA
Edith M. Flanigen
1994 IZA
Awardee
| The International
Zeolite Association (IZA) is a scientific society dedicated to promoting
and encouraging zeolite and molecular sieve science and technology
worldwide. Its origins date back to the 1st international conference
on molecular sieves held in London in 1967 under the chairmanship
of Professor Richard M. Barrer. At the 2nd Conference in this series
held in 1970 at Worcester, MA, USA, a permanent International Zeolite
Conference Committee was elected, chaired by Edith M. Flanigen. The
Committee's charter was to organize periodic international conferences.
An international organization, then called the International Molecular
Sieve Conference (IMSC), was established at the 3rd International
Conference at Zurich in 1973, with a formal organizational structure
including a constitution and by-laws. Professor Jan B. Uytterhoeven
served as first president. The name of the organization was changed
to the present International Zeolite Association at the 4th International
Conference at Chicago in 1977. The IZA's main purpose is to organize International Zeolite Conferences (IZC's) on a regular basis (11 held 1967 - 1996), and to sponsor and promote other activities such as regional and special meetings, working commissions, publications and educational activities in the field. The IZA has a constitution and by-laws, is governed by an elected Council (15) and Executive Committee (4), and is a member of IUPAC. It has three working commissions on Structure, Catalysis, and Synthesis, with one proposed on adsorption and ion exchange. The journal "ZEOLITES" was designated the official journal of the IZA in 1994, and publishes periodic IZA Newsletters, and special publications from the IZA commissions. The IZA sponsors two international awards: the Donald W. Breck Award (1983 - ) given to an individual or team for the most significant contribution to molecular science and technology between IZC meetings; and the IZA Award (1994 - ) to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field. The IZA Awardee is expected to serve as an ambassador to the world until the next IZC. Today, IZA membership numbers over one thousand. Over nine hundred attended the previous 10th IZC at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany in 1994. In addition, national zeolite associations have been established in Great Britain, Japan, France, Italy, Hungary and Germany, each of which carries out IZA activities on a regional basis. In 1995 the Federation of European Zeolite Associations (FEZA) was founded to coordinate activities among the European Associations. The current members of the IZA Council can be found by clicking here. Professor Richard M. Barrer was named Honorary President of the IZA at the 1994 meeting. |