Formation 1949 (1949) (1867) Headquarters Frankfurt Membership 31,000 | Type Learned society Location Germany Official language German | |
The Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh) is a learned society and professional association founded in 1949 to represent the interests of German chemists in local, national and international contexts. GDCh "unites those people associated with the chemical and molecular sciences and supports them in their responsible and sustainable endeavors for the good of the public and of our environment."
Contents
History
The earliest precursor of today's GDCh was the Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft zu Berlin (DChG). Adolf von Baeyer was prominent among the German chemists who established DChG in 1867; and August Wilhelm von Hofmann was the first president. This society was modeled after the British Chemical Society, which was the precursor of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Like its British counterpart, DChG sought to foster the communication of new ideas and facts throughout Germany and across international borders.
In 1946, a merger created the current organization.
Honorary Members of the GDCh have included Otto Hahn, Robert B. Woodward, Jean-Marie Lehn, George Olah and other eminent scientists.
Activities
Scientific publications of the society include Nachrichten aus der Chemie, Angewandte Chemie, Chemistry A European Journal, European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, European Journal of Organic Chemistry, ChemPhysChem, ChemSusChem, ChemBioChem, ChemMedChem, ChemCatChem, ChemistryViews, Chemie Ingenieur Technik and Chemie in unserer Zeit.
In the 21st century, the society has become a member of ChemPubSoc Europe, which is an organization of 16 European chemical societies. This European consortium was established in the late 1990s as many chemical journals owned by national chemical societies were amalgamated.
Prizes and awards
The society acknowledges individual achievement with prizes and awards, including medals originally conferred by predecessor organizations like the Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft (DChG) and the Verein Deutscher Chemiker (VDCh):