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. If you require further information about any of the items in the newsletter, or have any comments or ideas for content please contact the Networks team.

Committee members and representatives are encouraged to disseminate this information, as appropriate, to colleagues and other members. E-alert request forms can be downloaded from the Useful Forms and Documents page. Up to date lists of members can be obtained by emailing the Networks Team.
 

February Networks Newsletter

  • RSC Staff Changes
  • Nominations for the 2012 Soft Matter Lectureship
  • Joint ChemComm–RSC Prizes and Awards Symposium in London
  • RSC Organic Section North East Regional Meeting
  • How to get more involved with the Divisions
  • The RSC Bill Bryson Prize for Science Communication – open for entries worldwide
  • Advance Notice – RSC at Spring ACS
  • RSC Books – New title: The Case of the Poisonous Socks
  • RSC Corporate Partners
  • Company Accreditation
  • Deadlines for Local Section and Interest Group annual reports and accounts
  • 2012 Regional Meetings
  • RSC Events
Dear Member,
 
Welcome to the February edition of the Networks Newsletter.
 
Staff Changes in the RSC Membership Department
 
Gemma Wood has taken up a new position within the RSC as Manager of Membership Development, in this role Gemma will be looking at ways of increasing membership to the RSC and further developing the services we currently offer.  Sheena Elliot is the new Manager of Member Services; Sheena joins the team from a previous role as Campaigns Manager at the RSC.  Sheena and the Networks Team will continue to provide support for the RSC Networks.
 
For queries relating to Interest Groups please continue to email interestgroups@rsc.org and for all other member networks matters please email networks@rsc.org.
 
Nominations now open for the 2012 Soft Matter Lectureship
 
Do you know someone who deserves recognition for their contribution to the soft matter field?  Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2012 Soft Matter Lectureship. This annual Lectureship was established by the journal in 2009 to honour a younger scientist who has made a significant contribution to the soft matter field.
 
For more information click here
 
Joint ChemComm–RSC Prizes and Awards Symposium in London
 
Date: Wednesday 22 February 2012
Location: Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South Kensington Campus, Imperial College London, UK
Time: 1300-1800
This event will appeal to scientists with an interest in analytical science, protein structure and interactions, and biosensors. To register your interest to attend this event, please contact awards@rsc.org
The following distinguished scientists have agreed to speak:

  • Dr Perdita Barran, University of Edinburgh, UK
  • Professor Carol V Robinson, University of Oxford, UK 
  • Professor Marius Clore, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, USA 
  • Professor Albert Heck, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
  • Professor R Graham Cooks, Purdue University, USA 
  • Professor Anthony P F Turner, Linköpings University, Sweden
For further details please visit the website

RSC Organic Section North East Regional Meeting

Date: Wednesday 28 March 2012
Location: Department of Chemistry, University of York
Time: 10:00 - 17:00

The purpose of this event is to bring together organic chemists from the region in a stimulating and friendly environment to recognise the achievements of individuals in advancing the chemical sciences and also to foster collaborations. The symposium will appeal to academic and industrial scientists with an interest in organic chemistry and applications. Attendance at the symposium is FREE OF CHARGE and student participation is strongly encouraged. Registration is required, to register please contact paul.clarke@york.ac.uk

Confirmed plenary lectures from Dr John Clough (Syngenta) – 2011 Creativity in Industry Prize Winner and Professor Lewis N. Mander (Linköping University) – 2011 Robert Robinson Award Winner.
For further information, please visit the website

Get more involved with the Divisions!

The closing date for receipt of nominations for vacancies on Boards and Divisions is 5 March 2012. Further information on the vacancies can be found online

The RSC Bill Bryson Prize for Science Communication – open for entries worldwide

The RSC Bill Bryson Prize for Science Communication is designed to encourage and recognise clear science communication in schools and colleges.

The Bill Bryson Prize 2012 offers the chance to welcome the Olympics to the UK.  In support of this major event the 2012 competition theme will be "Science and Sport”.  The competition is open to students aged 5-18 anywhere in the world and entries can be submitted in all formats, from posters to power points to puzzles! The best entries from each category will receive a cash prize of £500 for their institution, and £100 for the winning students to share and will be awarded at a prize-giving ceremony in London.

The closing date for entries is 31 March 2012.  For more information please visit the website.

Advance Notice – RSC at Spring ACS
 
The RSC will once again be holding a reception for members and special guests at the Spring ACS meeting in San Diego.  Full details will appear in RSC News, in RSC GrapeVine and on the website.  The reception will be on Sunday 25th March at one of the convention hotels from 17.00-18.30 so if you are travelling to San Diego make a diary note now and watch the website etc for registration details.
 
Any questions to Andrew Scott at the RSC:  scotta@rsc.org
 
 

RSC Books – The Case of the Poisonous Socks
 
Written by a respected science historian and established author (William H Block, University of Leicester, UK) , this unique collection of essays touches on all aspects of chemistry. The book contains 42 tales about chemists and their discoveries from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The title is taken from the lead chapter which describes how respected chemist, William Crookes, solved a mystery from the 1860s of how brilliantly coloured socks were causing the feet of unfortunate wearers to swell. Other topics covered include: the quirky beliefs of American philanthropist, George Hodgkins; the development of the chemical laboratory since the 1830s, and the career of C.P. Snow before he became a novelist.
 
Light in style, and presented as a series of unconnected vignettes, the book will interest chemists, teachers, historians and everyone with an interest in science.
 
“The Royal Society of Chemistry is to be congratulated for publishing these spirited essays as part of the Year of Chemistry. They deserve and ought to reach a wide public; and will also be a valuable resource for professional historians for the way they bring to life so many chemists at work and play – like paintings by Ford Madox Brown or William Frith.
Reviewed by David Knight, Durham University, 2011
 
For more details on this exciting new title please visit the website

RSC Corporate Partners
 
The successful RSC Partnership Programme has now been developed into the RSC Corporate Partner Programme.  This programme is open to organisations of any type across the world whether academic, educational, industrial, commercial or not-for -profit and offers a  clear and public association with the RSC together with a range of benefits such as discounts on membership, reduced rates on advertising, special rates on use of the chemistry centre in London and discounts on journals.  If the organisation you work for is already spending in excess of £3000 on journal subscriptions, membership, advertising etc it will be worth looking at the advantages of the RSC Corporate Partner Programme and the benefits of a very public association with the RSC.
 
For details see the website.
 
Company Accreditation
 
The RSC has for some years been successfully accrediting company training schemes and have recently added BP, UCB Pharma and Nucleargraduates to this list. These schemes offer the employee a 'fast-track' route to the professional award of Chartered Chemist (CChem) while providing employers with the confidence that their training is of a recognised high standard. 
One of the major advantages of having a training scheme accredited is that employees can participate in a company training scheme and at the same time work towards the widely recognised professional qualification of Chartered Chemist.
Advantages to the employer include: 

  • Aiding the recruitment and retention of high quality employees
  • Cost efficient use of training resources - graduate trainees can be involved and meet as a group for some parts of the scheme
  • Assurance that the outcomes of the training scheme meet the RSC's professional requirements for the award of CChem
  • Assurance that the company's scheme stands comparison with good practice elsewhere.  
 
Advantages to the employees are that they are part of a group with common aims and interest, they receive continuous monitoring and support from the company through an experienced colleague who acts as a mentor, and they can advance to CChem in the shortest possible time. That is, CChem can be achieved after 4 years rather than the 5 years required through the RSC's normal application procedure.
The advantages to the RSC include the ability to set, monitor and maintain the professional standards for the award of CChem, and to gain a better understanding of the needs of employing organisations.
 
If you think your company may be interested in accreditation, please contact the RSC’s Professional Standards Specialist, Sarah Harrison: harrisons@rsc.org
 
Local Sections and Interest Groups
 
2012 Regional Meetings

The dates for this year’s Regional Meetings have been announced, more information on the Regional meetings can be found in the December edition of RSC News.
 

12 January South East
19 January Eastern
2 February North East
16 February Midlands
23 February North West
28 February Scotland
1 March Ireland
13 March Wales
15 March South West
 
 
Late submission of Annual Accounts
 
The deadline for Local Sections and Interest Groups to submit audited accounts was 14th February. Funds for 2012 cannot be released to a Local Section or Interest Group until their 2011 accounts have been received. Please note that the accounts need not have been ratified by the committee prior to submission.
 
2011 Annual Reports
 
The template for the 2011 annual reports, to be completed by all RSC member groups, has been sent to all RSC Local Section and Interest Group Secretaries. The purpose of these reports is to ensure that RSC staff are up to date with all member activities and to identify opportunities for us to better support RSC Groups in the future. The form is also available to download from the RSC website.
 
The deadline for completed reports is 20th February 2012. Completed reports should be sent to networks@rsc.org. If you have any questions about completing the report please do not hesitate to get in touch.
 
International Sections
 
Budget Proposals
 
International Section committees are requested to submit their budget proposal for 2012 as soon as possible, if not submitted already. This will allow for them to be processed and paid promptly.
 
RSC Networks Blog
 
A summary of some of the events organised by International Sections has been added to the RSC Networks blog.
Any RSC Section or Group wishing to have something added to this blog should email their request to networks@rsc.org


RSC Events Deadlines


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

EVENT DEADLINE
CPD Opportunities for Teachers of Chemistry
21, 26 & 28 March 2012
Cardiff, Swansea & Pontypridd, UK

 
 
Registration deadlines fast approaching!
Getting Started in Pedagogical Research in Higher Education
28 March 2012
The Chemistry Cetnre, London, UK

 
 
Registration deadline:
16 March 2012

 
Tribology: FD156
2 - 4 April 2012
University of Southampton, UK
 
Poster abstract and early bird deadline:
24 February 2012

 
Practical Applications of Modern Tools in Organic Synthesis and Purifications
2 - 4 April 2012
IISER, Pune, India
 
Early bird registration deadline:
10 March 2012

 
Challenges in Inorganic and Materials Chemistry (ISACS8)
19 - 22 July 2012
Toronto, Canada

 
 
Oral abstracts deadline:
24 February 2012

 

Challenges in Nanoscience (ISACS9)

31 August - 3 September 2012
Xiamen, China

 
 
Oral abstracts deadline:
30 March 2012

 
 

Posted by Sarah Hobbs on Feb 17, 2012 3:58 PM Europe/London

Share this |

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linked More...

Leave a comment?

You must be signed in to leave a comment on MyRSC blogs.

Register free for an account at http://my.rsc.org/registration.