in 1988, the geochemical society created the goldschmidt conferences in honor of the geochemist victor goldschmidt (1888–1947), "considered to be the founder of modern geochemistry and crystal chemistry". it was soon joined by the european association of geochemistry, and at the 2014 meeting the two organizations signed a memorandum of understanding for the governance and trademark protection of the meeting. the conference is one of the world's largest devoted to geochemistry. the society's board of directors holds its annual meeting during the conference.