The Full form of IUPAC is International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. IUPAC is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations that represents chemists in individual countries. It is a member of the ISC (International Science Council). IUPAC was registered in Zurich, Switzerland, and the “IUPAC Secretariat” (its administrative office) is in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States. Currently, this administrative office is headed by Lynn Soby who is executive director of the IUPACs.
IUPAC was formed in the year 1919 by chemists from academia and industry. Over nearly 8 decades, the Union has succeeded in fostering worldwide communications in the chemical sciences and in uniting industrial, academic, and public sector chemistry in a common language. It is best known for its works in standardizing the nomenclature in chemistry and other fields of science, but IUPAC has its publications in many fields including biology, chemistry, and physics.
Some important work IUPAC has done in these fields include standardizing nucleotide base sequence code names; publishing books for chemists, environmental scientists, and physicists; and improving education in science. IUPAC is also known through one of its oldest standing committees, the CIAAW (Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights) for standardizing the atomic weights of the elements.