Introduction

As the 20th in this biennial series, the symposium was a sell-out attracting over 300 delegates from 25 different countries, proving it to be one of the premier conferences in Organic Chemistry. 

The first meeting was held in Oxford in 1969, and since then the meetings have alternated between Oxford and Cambridge. 

Synthesis in Organic Chemistry traditionally provides an international showcase for the core area of organic chemistry - synthesis - covering all aspects of contemporary organic synthesis and providing a forum for the ever more exciting methodologies and strategies that continue to emerge. 

The 21st International Symposium: Synthesis in Organic Chemistry will take place in Oxford in 2009.

The Programme

All lectures in the programme were by invitation, and comprised of a mixture of main keynote lectures and supporting lectures, in single session format. Professor Ian Fleming gave a particularly exciting lecture entitled 'Short Cuts' which received a standing ovation from the audience.

We would like to thank all speakers who contributed, for further information on them and the programme, please see the In this section links.

Many delegates gave feedback on the quality of the programme  with comments such as:

"This is always an excellent meeting , the science is of an extremely high standard.  This year's meeting was fully up to the standard of previous meetings in the series."

For further details on the programme, please see the Programme In this section link.

Scientific organising committee

Thanks are given to the Scientific Organising Committee who organised a first-rate programme:

Richard Taylor (University of York, UK) 
Steve Davies (University of Oxford, UK) 
Jeremy Robertson (University of Oxford, UK)
Tim Donohoe (University of Oxford, UK)
Laurence Harwood (University of Reading, UK)
Ian Paterson (University of Cambridge, UK)

2007 OBC Lecture Award

Benjamin List, Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Germany, was announced as the winner of the 2007 OBC Lecture Award at the symposium. The Award is given to chemists early in their independent careers who have made a significant research contribution to organic or bioorganic chemistry. Professor List's lecture was presented on 17 July helping to celebrate the fifth year of successful publishing for Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry.