Message from the corecifchem chair

[Howard Flack]

David:

> In the meantime the following people have agreed to serve:
> 
>         Herbert Bernstein
>         John Bollinger
>         Carol Brock
>         David Brown
>         Howard Flack
>         Greg Shields
>         Ton Spek
>         John Westbrook


   As the molecule is something essentially chemical rather than
crystallographic, I would suggest that we find someone knowledgeable
about chemical (molecular) nomenclature to act as a consultant. The
above people are rather more crystallographic. We need to know where the
chemical nomenclature experts stand on "infinite" molecules e.g.
polyethylene. IUPAC has a current project for the electronic encoding of
molecular names. I don't know any of these chemical nomenclature experts
although we now use the IUPAC dictionnary of stereochemistry
extensively. I had some brief and caustic e-mails with some of the
originators. I think that Frank Allen may know who is a suitable person
to contact. Certainly he and Brian (McMahon) went some time ago to a
IUPAC/RSC meeting in Cambridge, UK on related matters. Of course the
IUCr has a contact on the IUPAC committee concerned with chemical
nomenclature (at the moment I think it is Authier ex-officio as chair of
the nomenclature commission) but it is not exactly his 'cup of tea'.

  Just a thought,

H.