Dr. Francis D'Souza of UNT Chemistry has been appointed as the 2nd Vice-President of the Society of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines (SPP). This international society serves the interests of scientists working in any area of porphyrins, phthalocyanines and related macrocycles, independent of their scientific discipline, be it chemistry, physics, biology, biochemistry or material science. Dr. D'Souza has been a member of the society since its inception in 2000.

"I am thankful to the Society of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines (SPP) for providing me this opportunity to serve under the capacity of the second Vice President," he said. "I look forward working with the dynamic international community representing over 40 countries, performing research on porphyrins and phthalocyanines."

SPP organizes International Conferences on Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines once in every two years in different parts of the world. Past meetings were held in France, Japan, US, Italy, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, China and Germany. Dr. D'Souza was a part of these meetings and has even co-organized symposia on the topic of 'Electron Transfer and Applications' for the conferences. The next conference is scheduled for 2022 in Madrid, Spain.

"Over the years the SPP organization has provided me ample of opportunities to interact with scientists from Universities and National Laboratories from different countries," said Dr. D'Souza. "A direct benefit of this activity is my extensive international collaborative research including scientists from India, Poland, Greece, Spain, Germany, Finland and Canada."

Dr. D'Souza has also served as an Associate Editor of the Society's Journal since 2005, and regularly publishes his group's research findings in the journal. To date he has over 25 publications in the Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines.

To learn more about Dr. D'Souza's research, visit https://sites.google.com/view/drfrancisdsouza/home