NSW Branch

April is a productive and event-filled month for the RACI NSW Branch. The committee has been working on the 2025/26 budget, while also seeking volunteers—particularly for the vacant Treasurer position.

Several events are on the horizon, including the Fellows and Honorary Life Members Lunch on 2 May at L’Aqua, and a practical webinar on Laboratory Method Validation on 13 May, hosted by the Analytical and Environmental Chemistry Group. A special networking-style Branch meeting is scheduled for 29 April at the Belvedere Hotel.

The ever-popular Titration Competition is back for 2025, with expanded venues across NSW, and teachers are encouraged to register their schools via the RACI website.

The newsletter also highlights recent successes and ongoing opportunities within the broader NSW science community. The 2024 Polymer Group ECR Symposium drew 83 attendees and was supported by generous sponsorship. The Frontiers of Science Forum in March 2025 was another standout, showcasing cutting-edge scientific talks and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Dr Sviat Eliseenko, April’s Chemist of the Month, shares his journey from Russia to Australia and his work helping labs across sectors.

We also promote Educator-focused events include HSC support, inclusive science teaching, and STANSW conferences, alongside award opportunities and the upcoming Innovation and Industry Forum on 20 October at the University of Wollongong. These initiatives all aim to celebrate, support, and connect the chemical science community across NSW.

A sister professional Society, ISPE (International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering) Australasia Affiliate, is holding a Digital Innovation Conference on 24-25 September 2024 at the Rydges Hotel, World Square, Sydney.

The conference Home Page is here.  Program, Speakers and Registration pages are readily accessed from links on the top of this Home page.

Very generously, ISPE Australasia is offering current financial RACI members, ISPE member rates at $750.  This is a $500 discount from the $1,250 non-member rates.  You will need to nominate that you are a RACI member in the registration process. Included in the price, is a two (2) hour networking event at the conclusion of Day 1.

For those interested, there are also opportunities to exhibit and/or sponsor the event, with registration included. Information is available via the conference link above. 

As described by ISPE Australasia, “The conference agenda has been expressly designed to provide strategic direction and operational paradigms on day 1 with more detailed sessions on implementation and technologies on day 2, making the conference informative and useful across senior management and department heads as well as line managers, team leaders and supervisors. The sessions have been deliberately tailored for understanding by life sciences professionals (e.g., scientists, process specialists, quality) rather than IT or data scientists. 

Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with the leading subject matter experts and will leave the conference empowered to objectively assess which technologies can benefit their own organisations and how to progress with them.”  

Kind regards

David

David Edmonds

Committee

RACI Pharmaceutical Science Group (NSW)

Last Day to register for the NSW Branch Fellows and Honorary Life Members Luncheon on 17 May!

You don't have to be a Fellow (or even male 😀) to join us at this excellent, annual event. It's always a stimulating and fun event and one not to be missed.

This event brings together chemical professionals from across academia, technical and service industries in an idyllic location featuring panoramic views of the water.

Details are as follows.

When: May 17, 2024 from 11:00 to 14:30 (ET)

Where: L'Aqua, Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour.

What's Included?

Tickets include canapes on arrival, a delicious 3-course meal with table service and standard drinks in an iconic location.

Please join us in this celebration of long-standing members and RACI Fellows, their achievements and contributions.

Keynote speaker: Vipul Agarwal, Lecturer and NHMRC Fellow in the School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW

“Polymers – today’s necessity to tomorrow’s menace” 

Vipul recently invented a technology to recycle virtually all kinds of waste plastics which has now been licensed for commercialization in Australia.

Vipul will provide insights into his research in developing polymers for the betterment of human health and solving the problem of plastic waste.

Sponsors 

Special thanks to our sponsors, Sydney Analytical Laboratories, Envirolab and ALS Global

Register at https://www.raci.org.au/events/event-description?CalendarEventKey=f9362ba1-af96-4d34-8ca3-018ee4452fe5&CommunityKey=2720ef52-d16c-4b0b-a727-018bd1b7487f&Home=%2fevents-and-awards%2fevents