Hello James, please forgive the belated response to your post made some 3 months ago asking for ideas to reinvigorate the division. I note that since you posted, nobody has come up with suggestions, at least not on this forum. However, although I'm not from head office, I am here to help.
I have two basic suggestions for consideration:
- Firstly, it appears you are looking for "much needed higher level events". Only higher level events? Could you consider some lower level events, ones which will garner interest among non-academic chemists as well? I'll come back to this with an idea later on.
- Secondly, could you consider looking at giving instrumentation companies a higher profile in your events? From my observation over the years, conference organizers tend to charge them a motza for the privilege of displaying their wares between breaks in the lectures. Even at the "What's New" events, they pay for their (strictly limited) 15 minutes of fame. Yet these companies employ highly skilled scientists, technologists and engineers to create instrumentation which is highly accurate and precise, as well as being rugged, reliable and designed for productivity. They are essential in keeping our food safe, processes running optimally and ensuring that our minerals and downstream products are consistent in quality as well as monitoring the environment. We should be inviting them into the main hall to tell us of the latest advances. Maybe these companies might then be willing to direct more of their advertising and marketing dollars towards RACI events.
Back to an idea for a lower level (read "fun") themed event. It could be called "Chemists Meet the Winemakers". A disclaimer – I live in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, an emerging cool climate wine making region. Also, I have no connection with any wineries in the region. Imagine local winemakers discussing the role of analysis in wine making and quality control. Imagine RACI members with wine making and analysis expertise leading discussions and giving keynote lectures. Imagine instrument companies discussing the latest advances in instrumentation and analysis in the industry. Imagine some wine tasting and winery visits thrown in. There would be an emphasis on keeping costs down so that as many members as possible could afford to attend. Provided a well thought out proposal could be put forward, it is possible that the local council could be approached with finding a cost-effective venue. The Southern Highlands is a tourism magnet, and the council is well attuned to supporting themed tourism activities. A pitch could be "bringing science to the Highlands".
Cheers, Tom
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Tom Smith
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-02-2025 14:32
From: James Chapman
Subject: Division Activities
Good Afternoon Analytical and Environmental CHemistry Division Members,
The committee are trying to reinvigorate the division and hold some much-needed higher-level events. We are looking for ideas of what we can do as a division to support community engagement of our discipline. We are running the 31st Annual R&D Topics event and are looking for student representatives to host the event, again we are looking for ideas with more events so that we can reengage.
Looking forward to hearing from you
Best Wishes
James
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James Chapman
Division President For Analytical And Environmental Chemistry
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