Dear Member,
 
Welcome to the March edition of the Networks Newsletter.  These monthly newsletters aim to keep all member networks updated with news describing how to get involved, as well as information of relevant events, services and new initiatives from the RSC Networks Team.
 
New Regional Coordinator for Scotland
 
We are pleased to announce that our new Regional Coordinator for Scotland started on Tuesday 5 March.  Her name is Margaret Richie and she joins us as an experienced chemistry teacher (Head of Science in Aberdeen) who has also been involved with many Scottish education initiatives.  She also has a degree in chemistry and a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from St Andrews.
 
 
Deadline approaching for the RSC Bill Bryson Prize 2013
Do you know a child with a knack for science communication? Encourage them to enter the RSC Bill Bryson Prize, an engaging and popular competition designed to recognise science communication in schools and colleges. The competition is open to students aged 5-18 with entries accepted in any format - recent entries have included videos, podcasts, posters, even cartoons and poems.
 
The 2013 competition theme is How does science keeps us healthy?  Entry opens later this month, deadline 31st March 2013. Find out more at http://rsc.li/bryson-prize.
 
Host “The Modern Alchemist” lecture tour
 
Following on from the success of the 2012 Christmas Lectures, the RSC is working with the Royal Institution and presenter Dr Peter Wothers, University of Cambridge, to deliver a touring lecture show entitled “The Modern Alchemist”.
 
We plan to run one event in each RSC region by the end of 2014 and would like to offer members the unique opportunity to host this exciting event at venues across the UK and Ireland.  Each venue should have capacity for a minimum of 400 attendees and be able to run the lecture twice – once in the early afternoon for 7-11 year olds and once in the evening for the general public.
 
The RSC and Ri will provide financial and administrative support to run the lecture.
 
For full details and to request an expression of interest form please email the Education team.
 
 
 SNIC-RSC Inorganic Chemistry Symposium and re-signing of MoU
 
The SNIC-RSC Joint Symposium on Inorganic Chemistry marked the re-signing of the RSC’s five year international cooperation agreement with the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC).
 
The two-day symposium, hosted by the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in Singapore, focussed on how chemistry can be used to address three challenges: Energy, Scarce Resources and Catalysis. The second day celebrated the achievements of women in science with an opening lecture from RSC President Lesley Yellowlees and two talks from past winners of the L’Oreal Women in Science Award (Vivian Yam and Bin Liu). There were 227 delegates in total, who came from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and India. The event was also supported by Johnson Matthey and the British High Commission in Singapore.
 
Internship for Chemists in Westminster
 
The Westminster Fellowship Scheme is an annual internship at the offices of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology [POST]. The RSC funds two candidates to work at POST for three-months, engaging in work that is intended to aid scientific research into public policy areas, as well as raising public awareness.  The candidate(s) will assist POST in its function of providing objective briefing material for MPs and Peers. The Scheme is open to RSC members only.
 
Applications for the Fellowship Scheme are open now until the deadline on 31 May.
 
Find out more and submit an application
 


The power of modern HPTLC

Wednesday 20th March 2013, 15:00 GMT
 
Speaker: Prof. Dr. G. Morlock, Chair of Food Science, University of Giessen
 
Join Chemistry World and Advion for a webcast on the latest developments in HPTLC technology. Professor Morlock will give an overview of current HPTLC methodology and explore some examples of HPTLC-MS coupling. She will then focus on the differentiation between desorption-based and elution-based coupling approaches, including the use of Expression CMS. She will also review other current hyphenations in HPTLC and conclude with examples of HPTLC-UV/Vis/FLD-bioassay-ESI-MS, the direct link to the bioactive compound of interest.
 
Register for this free webinar today at http://rsc.li/power-of-hptlc
 

IYC Legacy Grants
 
As I’m sure you know, the RSC President, Lesley Yellowlees, announced at the 2012 General Assembly that following the success of the IYC Challenge the RSC would be continuing the legacy of the International Year of Chemistry in the form of annual £1000 grants. The IYC Legacy Grants will be available to member groups to promote chemical science. Further information, the application form and the terms and conditions are all available now on the RSC website.
 
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
 
Kind regards, Fiona
 
Interest Group Audit
 
In 2012 the Audit Committee of the RSC requested that an independent review be undertaken of the governance and reporting arrangements for a sample of interest groups.
 
The review has encompassed the following;

• A review of the provision of guidance to Interest groups by the RSC in support of governance arrangements
• Highlighted issues relating to engagement & communication between the RSC and Interest Groups and identify recommendations for development.
• Reviewed the robustness of arrangements within the RSC for obtaining assurance from Interest Groups regarding compliance to guidance & legislation.

 
Comprehensive recommendations were made, including in the following areas:

• Financial and annual reporting;
• Interest Group membership subscriptions;
• Sponsorship and donations to groups;
• Bank accounts and charitable regulations;
• Administration and additional support;
• The Interest Group handbook and training for committee members;
• Improvements in communication;
• Improving links to Divisions
• Compliance such as with data protection and managing conflict of interest
• Processes for group events.

 
If you would like more information please feel free to contact the Networks Team.
 
The RSC is very grateful to all six groups for their cooperation in taking part in this audit, which has raised many important issues that the RSC will act on.
 
Chemistry Week
 
Chemistry Week 2013: A Picture of Health
16th – 23rd November 2013
 
The RSC Chemistry Week is a themed week of events that is held every two years to promote a positive image of chemistry and increase the public understanding of the importance of chemical science in our everyday lives.
 
As well as national events, activities are organised throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland by RSC members. We wanted to give you notice of the dates in case your university or Student Chemical Society would like to run any activities or events to coincide with Chemistry Week.
 
The overall theme for Chemistry Week 2013 will focus on health.
 
There will be five main strands:
•             Aging
•             Hygiene (Water Quality)
•             Lifestyle (Cosmetics and Exercise)
•             Food and Nutrition
•             Global Challenges
 
More information will be available on the RSC website and through your Regional Coordinators nearer the time.
 
Networks Blog

Keep up to date with the Networks blog to find out what our members are doing (my.rsc.org/blogs/80).

If you have any events that you would like to see on the blog, send information and pictures to networks@rsc.org.



 
Major deadlines coming up – check out the individual websites for more details and all the key dates.
 

EVENT	DEADLINE
2nd UK-India MedChem Congress 22-23 March 2013 CSIR - Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, India	Abstract deadline: 5 March 2013  Registration deadline: 15 March 2013
Fabrication, Structure and Reactivity of Anchored Nanoparticles: Faraday Discussion 162 10-12 April 2013 Seminaris CampusHotel, Berlin, Germany	Final registration deadline: 15 March 2013
Photo-inititated Quantum Molecular Dynamics: Faraday Discussion 163 15-17 April 2013 University of Nottingham, UK	Final registration deadline: 22 March 2013
Target Validation - Improving the Odds of Success in Drug Discovery 30 April 2013 The Chemistry Centre, London, UK	Abstract deadline: 19 March 2013
Challenges in Organic Materials & Supramolecular Chemistry (ISACS10) 18-21 June 2013 Kyoto, Japan	Oral deadline: 4 March 2013 Poster deadline: 5 April 2013
23RD International Symposium: Synthesis in Organic Chemistry 22-25 July 2013 University of Oxford, UK	Poster abstract and early bird deadline: 11March 2013
Challenges in Chemical Biology (ISACS11) 23-26 July 2013 MIT, Boston, USA	Oral deadline: 15 March 2013