World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists
Encyclopedia
The World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists (WATOC) is a scholarly association founded in 1982 "in order to encourage the development and application of theoretical methods" in chemistry
, particularly quantum chemistry
and computational chemistry
. It was originally called the World Association of Theoretical Organic Chemists, but was later renamed the World Association of Theoretically Oriented Chemists, and then renamed once more to the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists.
WATOC organizes a triennial world congress (most recently in 2011 in Santiago de Compostela
, Spain
) and numerous smaller conferences on more specialized topics.
The association awards two yearly medals: the Schrödinger
Medal to "the outstanding computational chemist
in the world who has not previously received this award", and the Dirac
Medal to "the outstanding computational chemist
in the world under the age of 40".
Some of the presidents of WATOC (present and past) are Leo Radom
, Paul von Rague Schleyer
, H.F. Schaefer
and I.G. Csizmadia.
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, particularly quantum chemistry
Quantum chemistry
Quantum chemistry is a branch of chemistry whose primary focus is the application of quantum mechanics in physical models and experiments of chemical systems...
and computational chemistry
Computational chemistry
Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry that uses principles of computer science to assist in solving chemical problems. It uses the results of theoretical chemistry, incorporated into efficient computer programs, to calculate the structures and properties of molecules and solids...
. It was originally called the World Association of Theoretical Organic Chemists, but was later renamed the World Association of Theoretically Oriented Chemists, and then renamed once more to the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists.
WATOC organizes a triennial world congress (most recently in 2011 in Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) and numerous smaller conferences on more specialized topics.
The association awards two yearly medals: the Schrödinger
Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger was an Austrian physicist and theoretical biologist who was one of the fathers of quantum mechanics, and is famed for a number of important contributions to physics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933...
Medal to "the outstanding computational chemist
Computational chemistry
Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry that uses principles of computer science to assist in solving chemical problems. It uses the results of theoretical chemistry, incorporated into efficient computer programs, to calculate the structures and properties of molecules and solids...
in the world who has not previously received this award", and the Dirac
Paul Dirac
Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM, FRS was an English theoretical physicist who made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics...
Medal to "the outstanding computational chemist
Computational chemistry
Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry that uses principles of computer science to assist in solving chemical problems. It uses the results of theoretical chemistry, incorporated into efficient computer programs, to calculate the structures and properties of molecules and solids...
in the world under the age of 40".
Some of the presidents of WATOC (present and past) are Leo Radom
Leo Radom
Leo Radom, born on December 13, 1944 in Shanghai, China, is a computational chemist. He attended North Sydney Boys High School. He has a Ph D and a D Sc from the University of Sydney and carried out post-doctoral work under the late Sir John Pople. He is Professor, School of Chemistry, University...
, Paul von Rague Schleyer
Paul von Rague Schleyer
Paul von Ragué Schleyer is an organic physical chemist of substantial significance whose research has been cited with great frequency. A 1997 survey indicated that Dr. Schleyer was, at the time, the world's third most cited chemist, with over 1100 technical papers produced...
, H.F. Schaefer
Henry F. Schaefer, III
Henry "Fritz" Schaefer III is a computational and theoretical chemist. He is the author of a large number of scientific publications, and was the 6th most cited chemist from 1981 to 1997 and the Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Center for Computational Chemistry at the...
and I.G. Csizmadia.