Please introduce yourself:

My name is Prof. Wolfram Koch, and I am Executive Director of the German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker - GDCh). I studied chemistry at TU Darmstadt and TU Berlin and obtained my PhD in the area of computational chemistry in 1986. In the period from 1987-1991, I was Postdoc and Research Staff Member at IBM Research in San Jose, CA (USA) and Heidelberg (Germany) and afterwards, Professor of Theoretical Organic Chemistry at TU Berlin. I serve as Executive Director of the GDCh since 2002, and am also involved in many advisory and executive boards of scientific and related organizations.

1. What is/was your relationship with Wiley-VCH?

First, as a scientist I was a reader, referee and author. Then as GDCh Executive Director Wiley-VCH was and is the most important publishing partner of our society. Together and in connection with Chemistry Europe we publish more than two dozens journals, such as Angewandte Chemie or Chemistry – A European Journal. Hence, for about two decades I enjoy a very close, fruitful and successful relationship with Wiley-VCH, its staff and its management.

2. Why did you decide to collaborate with Wiley-VCH?

The GDCh has strong historical connections to Wiley-VCH. Verlag Chemie, the predecessor of today’s Wiley-VCH was founded in 1921 (what we celebrate now!) by the GDCh’s predecessor organizations and our partnership has remained very strong since then. Hence, our collaboration and partnership was less a decision but more a legacy – and if I may add, a very successful one - of the past.

3. What was your most remarkable situation or exciting experience during this time/ so far?

The most striking and exciting experience with Wiley-VCH for me personally was the extremely successful relaunch of Chemistry Europe last year. This was done in an extraordinarily professional way, organized and coordinated by Wiley-VCH in Weinheim and in close partnership with the participating chemical societies. It clearly showed the commitment of Wiley-VCH and all people involved to this joint endeavour.

4. How can a publisher like Wiley-VCH help to tackle societal challenges in the coming years?

Scientific information and the dissemination of it is at the heart of progress. Publishers such as Wiley-VCH therefore play a crucial role. Open access and open data are becoming more and more important in that respect and I very much appreciate how Wiley-VCH is addressing these issues. The DEAL agreement in Germany, pioneered by Wiley, was a great achievement and I sincerely hope that similar arrangements will soon follow in other countries. 

5. Please complete this sentence: 100 Years of Growing Knowledge is….

…a history to be proud of and at the same time a commitment to the future – to which the GDCh will contribute as best as we can.

Ad multos annos!