President's Corner

Anything new after Chia Laguna?

A Congress is always the best time for our Community of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, gathered all together as we renew old links, to make new acquaintances and draw the best from this rare and pleasant opportunity to make plans together, set up new groups and take on new responsibilities.

Before anything else, I would like to thank our Italian friends just one more time, on your behalf, for not only for their nice, and wise, choice of venue, but more so for their effort, efficiency and helpfulness throughout this Congress and its preparation. Therefore, Alberto and Bruno, please share our thanks with your co-workers of any generation!

Let me recap now the changes that occurred in Chia Laguna, which you may like to learn of or be reminded of.

Several changes have occurred in the Executive of ICTAC. I am glad to welcome a new Vice-President (Don Burlett, from the US), a new Treasurer (Csaba Novak, from Hungary), a new Membership Secretary (Hirohisa Yoshida, from Japan), and a new Chair of the Scientific Commission (Rosa Nomen, from Spain). All of them, I know, are ready to create an excellent team and to draw the best from the broadly international character of the Executive, very much an ICTAC tradition.

Another change was the creation of an Advisory Committee. This was done in order to make it easier for immediate past members of the Executive to pass their experience, know-how and advice to their successor, so as to avoid any gap in the functioning of the Executive. The pioneers of this Advisory Committee, i.e. its first two members, are Harry McAdie and Pat Gallagher, certainly the two strongest "living pillars" of ICTAC. It is therefore a pleasure rather than a duty to acknowledge that their dedication and work for the benefit of ICTAC over many years (in fact, decades) largely contributed to the existence and development of the ICTAC we know today. We will still be able to count on their help to prepare the special 40th Anniversary issue of ICTAC News, in which they will contribute to the expected historical flavour.

It is reasonable to think that such an Advisory Committee will be able, even with shorter terms of the Officers, to ensure that the desired continuity is achieved. This is why it was also decided in Chia Laguna to limit to a maximum of two terms of 4 years (under normal circumstances) the terms of the Secretary, Treasurer and Membership Secretary. This will bring these positions in line with the other Councillors (also 4 years, renewable once).

Under the same spirit of "general renewal", it was also proposed to Council to start a "new blood programme" aimed at attracting bright and enthusiastic young scientists into our field of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, who could become, tomorrow, the frame of our Federation. For this purpose say, 10 of them would receive a grant to attend our Congress. This idea in part follows from the conclusions of the Task Group on Sources of Funding for Attendance at ICTAC Congresses and also from the experience gathered by the organizers of ICTAC 13, who effectively proposed 10 grants to young scientists. In order to reach this objective the programme will rely on the assistance of the National Groups or Associations as they are more likely to identify these young scientists, probably still unknown at the international level. The Affiliate Groups or Associations will have to be highly selective, since it will not be necessary to propose more than one candidate per country. The criteria to be taken into account and the form of the grant will have to be agreed upon two years prior to our next Congress. This brings me to the last news: as you probably know, we had two strong bids for the organization of ICTAC 14 in 2008, but only one, of course, could be retained. I would therefore like to wish, on your behalf, all the best to the Brazilian Association for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (ABRATEC) for an exceptional ICTAC Congress in Poços de Caldas (State of Sao Paulo) in 2008!

Jean Rouquerol
President of ICTAC