Analytical & Environmental Chemistry Division

Hello Analytical and Environmental Division members!

We're launching a themed social media campaign to highlight how analytical and environmental chemistry touch our everyday lives, and to share the exciting career paths available in these fields. We want your ideas to shape this content!

We'd love your input on:

• Real-world examples of analytical/environmental chemistry you encounter daily (e.g., water quality testing, food safety, air pollution monitoring, pharmaceutical quality control)

• Career stories or insights you're willing to share (student journeys, role transitions, day-in-the-life snapshots)

• Topics you think would engage students and early-career chemists most

• Formats you prefer: short videos, infographics, member spotlights, Q&A threads, before/after visuals, etc.

Reply below or email communications@raci.org.au with:

1. One idea for a post that shows chemistry in everyday life

2. One career-path topic you'd recommend featuring

3. Your willingness to contribute (e.g., share a story, provide a photo, be interviewed, draft a caption)

Your contributions will help us create authentic, impactful content that showcases the vital work of our division and inspires the next generation of chemists.

Let's make chemistry visible and relatable. Share your thoughts this week! 👇

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Jenny Pham
Marketing Officer
The Royal Australian Chemical Institute
Email: communications@raci.org.au
Phone: (03) 9328 2033
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Hi Jenny,

Great initiative, happy to throw in a few ideas, and to put my hand up to contribute.

1. Everyday chemistry post idea: "How they actually test your drinking water." A short, plain-English explainer on how heavy metals and contaminants in water are measured (ICP-MS / ICP-OES), pitched at "the chemistry behind something you used this morning." Works as an infographic or a 30-second video, and it's the kind of analytical work most people never realise is happening.

2. Career-path topic: The non-linear career. I'd love to see a feature on how an analytical chemistry career rarely runs in a straight line, bench to lab management to commercial roles, and how the technical grounding underpins all of it. It directly answers the "where can this take me?" question students are asking.

3. Happy to contribute: I can offer my own story for a member spotlight or Q&A. The short version: I came out of UTS, was made redundant from a metallurgical  role, and landed in GC/GCMS sample prep I hadn't asked for, then got hooked on chromatography on night shifts keeping the instruments running. That led to building and running environmental labs in Sydney, Dubai and South Africa (one of which is still going twenty years later), and eventually to the commercial side, these days I sell the analysis tools instead of selling to get samples analysed. Plenty of real lessons in there for students and early-career chemists about mistakes, overseas moves, and that analytical chemistry can take you a long way from the bench.

Let me know if I can help.

Best regards

Matthew Hill

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Matthew Hill
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