Bryant W. Rossiter -2- Prog. Coord. Conf. 



planning and execution, while at the same time muting the role of de- 

 veloped countries--particularly that of the United States. 



I was reminded there would be special problems in scheduling a meet- 

 ing on the other side of the world. For one thing, we would have to 

 avoid the monsoon season. Thus, the timing of the meeting--in mid-Decem- 

 ber--posed inconveniences for those in developed countries, interfering 

 as it would with year-end festivities and meetings of boards of directors 

 of industrial companies. And, of course, the long distances and time 

 differences would prove to be especially burdensome for communications. 

 They were, to be sure, but in somewhat of an aside I might note not al- 

 ways in ways we expected. For example, for a period we could not com- 

 municate with the cosponsoring organization. The International Rice Re- 

 search Institute, because thieves had cut and stolen the telephone line 

 connecting Manila and Los Banos. 



Finally, there would be difficulties posed by finances. Just re- 

 cently, I was told by the organizer of a major international conference 

 that the budget of three quarters of a million dollars for CHEMRAWN II 

 was far too high and that he could have conducted the conference for 

 one fourth of the cost. When I asked him where he would have held the 

 conference, he replied, "Williamsburg, Virginia." 



Despite these challenges, however--or perhaps because of them--CHEM- 

 RAWN II proved to be highly successful scientifically. And, like the 

 Rochester meeting, it, too, enjoyed an excess of revenue over expense. 



It is from the perspective gained from these and other domestic and 

 international meetings and from my association with the American Chemical 

 Society's Committee on International Activities, the CHEMRAWN Committee 

 of lUPAC, and the U.S. National Committee for lUPAC that I am talking to 

 you this afternoon. 



The CHEMRAWN II Conference on Chemistry and World Food Supplies and 

 the just-completed 1984 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin 

 Societies are my two prime examples of the importance of international 

 chemical meetings and the benefits they can have. The CHEMRAWN confer- 

 ences are proving to be such landmark events that the International Coun- 

 cil of Scientific Unions would like to see the concept used by scientists 

 in other disciplines. The result would be BIORAWNS, GEORAWNS, PHYSRAWNS, 

 and the like, as scientists and engineers in other disciplines assess 

 their research and development efforts applied to world needs. As for 

 the Pacific Basin Chemical Congress, the general conclusion has been 

 that a second such Basin-wide chemical conaress should be held, and the 

 first steps are now being taken for onfe to be held in December 1989. 



Rationale for ACS Participation 



In a few minutes, I shall use results from these conferences as 

 evidence of the value of international meetings. Before I do, however. 



