The Photochemistry Section has been created after merging the former "Swiss Group for Photochemistry and Photobiology" (SGPP) into the Swiss Chemical Society (SCS) as effective by June 15, 2004.

The main purpose of the Photochemistry Section of the Swiss Chemical Society is to enlarge the basic knowledge and practical know-how in photochemistry, photophysics, and photobiology and thus to enhance the application of the effects of light in areas such as synthesis, electronics, material science, biology and medicine.

The targets of this specialized group are researchers from universities and industry working with all kinds of photonic tools or interested in the areas mentioned above.

Organization

The Photochemistry Section is part of the SCS Division of Chemical Research and acts as the Swiss Section of the European Photochemistry Association (EPA). The membership of the Photochemistry Section is constituted by SCS members who are also members of the EPA.

The main organs of the Photochemistry Section are:

• The general assembly where all members have full voting rights. A general assembly must be called by the board at least once a year, usually during one of the assemblies of the SCS.

• The board consists of a president and at least two other members who meet at least once per year. They will be elected for two years.

The duties of the general assembly are:

• To elect the board and the president of the Photochemistry Section.

• To nominate a delegate to the board of the SCS Division of Chemical Research.

• To nominate a member of the SCS award committee, to participate in the award of the Grammaticakis-Neumann prize.

• If the representative of the founder of the Grammaticakis-Neumann Prize or his heirs decides to delegate his seat on the award committee, to nominate a second member.

• To nominate two Swiss representatives to the Standing Committee of the EPA.

• To vote on eventual amendments of the bylaws of the Photochemisty Section in accordance to the SCS regulatory framework.

• To vote an eventual dissolution of the Photochemistry Section. At least two different general assemblies are required to wind up the specialized group, with a minimum time period of six months between the two decisions.

The board is reponsible for all duties of the Photochemistry Section which are not attributed to other organs.

To further science in its field, the Photochemistry Section may:

• Organize national and international meetings, workshops, and Summer Schools in the field of photochemistry, photophysics, and photobiology.

• Organize Graduate Student Symposia to further the exchange of know-how at this level and the networking of ongoing projects in photochemistry, photophysics, and photobiology.

• Participate in the multinational symposia on photochemistry that are organized every few years by the Photochemistry Societies of Germany, Austria, France, and Italy, and to organize occasionally such symposia in Switzerland.

• Propose scientific lecture sessions dealing with photochemistry held within the annual SCS General Asemblies.

• Offer to support young researchers in the field of photochemistry, photophysics, and photobiology for presenting their work at international meetings, or to attend Summer Schools.

Finances

All assets of former SGPP are transferred to the SCS Division of Chemical Research. The Grammaticakis-Neumann Prize funds are integrated into the prize funds of SCS, in order to ensure a proper continuation of the will of the founder, Dr. Gramaticakis.

The Photochemistry Section does not maintain its own treasury. The budget for its scientific activities is part of the budget of the SCS Division of Chemical Research and is treated in accordance to the SCS regulatory framework.

The following annual fees are raised by the SCS from the members of the Photochemistry Section:

• The SCS membership fee. For those former SGPP members who are not SCS regular members at the time of the merger, a reduced annual membership fee is collected for a three-year period starting 2005. After this period, full membership fees will be charged.

• The EPA membership fee.

Grammaticakis-Neumann Prize

The Photochemistry Section organizes the award of the Grammaticakis-Neumann Prize for outstanding work of young scientists in the fields of photochemistry, photophysics and photobiology. As a rule, the award lecture will be published in the journal Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences.

Communication

The communication tools are Chimia, the SCS website, regular letters to the members of the Photochemistry Section, the EPA Newsletter, and as a scientific publication vehicle the journal Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences of the Royal Society of Chemistry.