The Chemical Structure Association Trust

Abstract

AbstractThe Chemical Structure Association Trust (CSA Trust) is an internationally-recognized, registered charity that promotes and supports the advancement of scientific discovery through the application of computer technologies in the management and analysis of chemical structure information. In support of its Charter, the Trust provides grants specifically to nurture young scientists, ages thirty-five or younger, who have demonstrated excellence in research related to the storage, retrieval, and analysis of chemical structures, reactions, and compounds. Since its inception in 1988, almost one hundred students and researchers worldwide have benefited from travel bursaries and the CSA Trust Grant Program to further their education and research work, but the organization has a rich history that predates the formalization of its charity status. Its roots were planted half a century ago in 1965, when the Chemical Notation Association (CNA) was formed in the United States. It has been an interesting journey from the CNA to the CSA Trust and I have been blessed to have been a part of it almost from the beginning, along with other members of the American Chemical Society’s Division of Chemical Information. In honor of the organization’s 50th Anniversary, I’d like to give a brief overview of its past and its present activities.