What does IUPAC mean?

1 Answer
Apr 9, 2015

IUPAC is the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. They decide the chemical nomenclature of newly discovered elements or compounds. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and was established in 1919 as the successor of the International Congress of Applied Chemistry for the advancement of chemistry.

The organization is best known for its works in standardizing nucleotide base sequence code names; publishing books for environmental scientists, chemists, and physicists; and leading the way in improving education in science. Its current president is Kazuyuki Tatsumi, and has been run by many different committees with different responsibilities.