Volume 21 - Issue 12 – December 2013

1/21 Vale Street, North Melbourne, Victoria 3051

T 03 9328 2033

F 03 9328 2670

E raci-vic@raci.org.au

www.raci.org.au

Please note that Caroline, Branch Coordinator, will be on annual leave from 5/12/2013 to

20/1/14. If you need assistance, please contact the National Office at member@raci.org.au

SNIPPETS!

What’s happening in the Victorian Branch? The Victorian Branch would like to hear from members who would like to send in information that may

be of interest to the membership. Do you know of any interesting stories or projects that are making a

difference, or events that you would like to share with readers? If so, please email your information to

raci-vic@raci.org.au

Contents

From the Branch President 2

Congratulations to Victorian Award Winners 4

LAST DAYS 38th Annual Synthesis Symposium 5

Australian National Chemical Analysis Competition results 5

A Point of Intersections 6

Hazmat & Environment Notes 7

RACI National Congress 2014 9

Art & Science of Crystal Growing Competition results 13

Chemistry in the Kitchen Lecture Tour 15

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From the Branch President

The Victoria Branch AGM was held at the Castle Hotel in North Melbourne on Monday November 11.

Office Bearers and Committee members for the next 12 months are as follows:

President: Richard Thwaites

Immediate Past President: Brian Smith

Vice President/President Elect: Kay Latham

Secretary: Milena Dryza

Treasurer: Brian Salter-Duke

Committee members: Greg Dicinoski, Lisa Kaminskas, Linda Chan, Julia Stuthe, Lucy

Lunevich, George Nikolakopoulos, Rita Ashok Kulkarni

I’d like to thank all members of the 2012-2013 Committee for the work they have done and for the

enthusiastic support they have given to the Institute. I’d also like to thank members of the incoming

Committee for agreeing to stand and participate in the activities of the Branch.

A special mention must also be made of Lisa Kaminskas for winning the inaugural Vic Branch

President’s Award for her involvement in the Branch Committee over many years and her contribution

to chemistry.

The first meeting of the new Committee will be held on Monday December 2 in the RACI offices at

6.20 pm. Remember that all members of the Branch (i.e. all RACI members and fellows living in

Victoria) are very welcome to attend, particularly representatives from Groups. Key items to be

discussed include planning events for 2014: if any readers have ideas for technical, social or outreach

functions and programs, then please do not hesitate to let us know.

The day after the next Branch meeting (i.e. Tuesday December 3), the Retirees Group will meet for

lunch. One of the good things about AGMs is that Honorary Life Membership awards are made to

people who have been members of the Institute for 50 years. Most people in this category are retirees,

of course, but you don’t need to be a 50 year member (or fully retired) to come along to lunch at the

Castle Hotel and enjoy convivial conversation and a decent pub meal.

Other RACI functions in December include the Organic Synthesis Symposium on December 6. This

event will be advertised elsewhere in the Reporter. Keep an eye out for notices promoting any other

end of year events.

Concern has been expressed that the Institute either doesn’t send out enough emails to alert people

to forthcoming events, or sends out too many. What do our readers think? Maybe if anyone has

strong views on the matter you could let the office know. We realise that it is impossible to satisfy all of

the people all of the time, but we shall continue to do our best to satisfy most of the people most of

the time.

Did you know that a new Group has been formed within the Vic Branch? It is the Polymer Group, and

at the inaugural committee meeting at the end of October, ideas were tossed around for future

activities and events. Please watch out for further information on this new Group.

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The student essay competition did not receive much support from undergraduates, but we did get

entries from high school students. The winning entry is published in this month’s “Reporter”, so

congratulations to Kit Ho of the John Monash Science School. Please read the thought-provoking

essay and see if you agree with Kit’s conclusions.

The winning photographic entries in the “Art and Science of Crystal Growing” competition will be

exhibited at Scienceworks in Spotswood during the coming school Christmas holidays, from December

20 to January 31 2014. The kids have come up with some really interesting images and I urge you to try

and visit Scienceworks to see them. Many thanks again to Linda Tegg for judging the photos.

Congratulations to a team from Presbyterian Ladies College who came highest in the State in the

National Titration Competition. They are the recipient of the St Bernard’s College Shield, which they will

hold until the end of 2014.

The RACI Annual General Meeting and Assembly were held on Saturday November 23, preceded by

the Annual Awards Dinner on Friday 22. The Assembly brings together members of the RACI Board,

Branch Presidents and Division Chairs to work through a fairly lengthy agenda of topics of relevance to

the Institute and all its members. Among the topics discussed were the ongoing financial position of

the Institute, the congresses to be held in 2014 (in Adelaide), in 2017 (in Melbourne), and the proposed

congress in Turkey in 2015 jointly with the Turkish Chemical Society to coincide with Gallipoli centenary

celebrations, the structure of the Board, accreditation, and how to sign up and keep post-graduate

students.

It is good to see that in the 2012-2013 year, the overall loss was considerably less than in previous

recent years and was less than the provision for depreciation. In other words, there are signs that the

Institute may financially have turned the corner.

On the other hand, it is not good that membership continues to decline. Membership across the whole

Institute fell by some 9.5% between October 2012 and November 2013. In Victoria, the decline in the

number of members was only 3%. We may take some comfort that our numbers did not fall

proportionately as much as those in other States, but any decline in membership is a worry.

Congratulations to all members who managed to recruit new members to the RACI. We need to

ensure that friends and colleagues who are not members continue to be made aware of the benefits

of belonging to the RACI and are encouraged to join. We should set as a Branch objective for 2014 no

further decline in numbers.

As this is the last “Reporter” before the end of the year, may I take this opportunity of wishing all our

readers, their families and friends a Joyful Christmas Season, and best wishes for a happy, healthy and

safe New Year.

Best wishes

Richard Thwaites

Victorian Branch President

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Congratulations to National Award Winners from Victoria

The 2013 National Awards Dinner was held at the Melbourne Mercure Hotel, Treasury Gardens, on

Friday November 22 2013.

Around 80 RACI members and friends gathered to enjoy a convivial evening to celebrate the

presentation of this year’s National Awards. The evening was chaired by Professor Mark Buntine, RACI

President, and the guest speaker was Professor Jane den Hollander, Vice Chancellor of Deakin

University.

Congratulations are offered to all award winners, but special mention must be made of National

Award winners who now work in Victoria. These are listed below:

Applied Research Award: Professor Suresh Bhargava, RMIT University

Distinguished Fellowship Award: Emeritus Professor David Wood, University of Melbourne

H G Smith Memorial Medal: Professor Cameron Jones, Monash University

Rennie Memorial Medal: Dr David Lupton, Monash University

Other winners included Dr Michael Kelso (Biota Award), Dr David Hvasanov (Cornforth Medal),

Professor Seb Perrier (Le Fevre Memorial Prize), Professor Maxwell Crossley (Leighton Memorial Medal),

Dr David McGuinness (Organometallic Award), and Dr Gwen Lawrie (Pearson RACI Chemistry

Educator of the Year Award).

Brief biographies of each of the award winners were presented on the night. It was noted that

although Professor Crossley has worked in Sydney for over 30 years, he is a graduate of the University

December 2013 REPORTER Chemistry Around Australia

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of Melbourne.

At the Assembly meeting the following day, the President urged all RACI members to consider

nominating colleagues or friends – or themselves – for an award: a long-standing RACI objective is to

ensure that outstanding research, teaching or leadership is recognised.

Please make it a priority for 2014 to consider whether someone you know might be eligible for an

award. Eligibility criteria for RACI national awards are on the website, or are available from the RACI

office.

Last Days - 38th

Annual Organic Synthesis Symposium

The Organic Chemistry Group in conjunction with the School of Chemistry and the Bio21 Institute,

University of Melbourne, is holding its Annual Organic Synthesis Symposium on Friday 6 December 2013

Closing date for registrations: Thursday 5 December 2013

Click here for further information, and to register.

RACI Australian National Chemical Analysis Competition

The top finishing 147 teams in the State run Titration Stakes Competition recently participated in the

Australian National Chemical Analysis Competition. Twenty-six teams from Victoria took part.

The Vic Branch is very pleased to announce that four teams

from Victoria were placed in the top 30.

The highest placed team were Shi Jing Wong, Tian Gan and

Samara Cua from Presbyterian Ladies’ College.

The other teams were from Hillcrest Christian College,

Traralgon College, and a second team from PLC.

On Monday 25 November, Dr Richard Thwaites, Vic Branch

President, attended Presbyterian Ladies’ College to present

the winning girls with the St. Bernard’s College Shield, in

recognition of their excellent efforts.

Many congratulations to all those who took part.

L to R Shi Jing Wong and Tian Gan. Absent is Samara Cua

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A Point of Intersections

It is in the 21st century when all the sciences of the world will come together to continue our progress.

We saw it in the invention of prosthetics, the brainchild of medicine and engineering which brought

hope to many. We saw it when GPS and other satellite technologies came to be, combining Albert

Einstein’s special relativity with computer science. And hopefully, in the future, we’ll see many more

scientific disciplines link hands and grow bridges.

The emerging fields of bioinformatics(molecular biology and computer science), biochemistry(biology

and chemistry), and many more herald the age where scientists will no longer study one single area

and stay firmly entrenched in that area. Rather, current specialists are reaching out to other fields-

even if they appear to be on polar opposites, like when Leonard Adleman, a prominent American

computer scientist, invented DNA computing in 1994, after studying molecular biotechnology. Science

is increasingly making connections between fields to solve problems- whether it is the challenge of

finding effective drug delivery methods or trying to keep up with Moore’s law.

What lies ahead? As we push the boundaries of silicon-based computer chips, it is likely that we will

turn to alternatives- and the alternatives are many. Some researchers are working on quantum

computing- using quantum effects to manipulate data. Some are further building on the DNA

computing mentioned above. Fluidics, which implement our understanding of fluid mechanics, let the

path of a fluid act like the logical elements of conventional computing.

Computing isn’t the only arena that is going to benefit from the merging of the sciences. It is very likely

that our health will reap many of the rewards. Nanotechnology could see us free from painful, bulky

needles, with the invention of the Nanopatch, which involves many more tiny needles, none which

penetrate deeply enough to touch the nerves. Computational neuroscience and neuroinformatics

strive to simulate a human brain, to enable us to understand a human brain further- and just maybe,

‘upload’ a brain, by transferring all the data, all the connections in a human brain into a computer.

This is one of the theories that cyronics is based on- that a human mind can be uploaded to be

revived at some future date.

Interdisciplinarity is going to be the basis of science in the future. There will come a time when the

science behind all the products we use is not merely biology, or engineering, or physics, or chemistry.

Rather, it will be a combination of human scientific knowledge. As the saying goes, united we stand.

Kit Ho

Kit is a Year 10 Student at John Monash Science School.

She wins $200 as first prize winner in the Secondary School category of the Student Scribes essay

competition.

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Hazmat & Environment Notes

USA EPA Safer Chemical Ingredients

The USA EPA Safer Chemical Ingredients List contains chemicals that meet the criteria of the Design for

the Environment (DfE) Safer Product Labelling Program. This voluntary program recognizes products

that are high-performance and cost-effective using the safest chemical ingredients. At present, more

than 2,500 products carry the DfE Safer Product Label. Grouped by functional use.

Chelating Agents Colorants Defoamers Enzymes & Enzyme Stabilizers

Fragrances Oxidants & Oxidant Stabilizers Polymers Preservatives and Antioxidants

Processing Aids and Additives Solvents Specialized Industrial Chemicals

Surfactants Uncategorized

From: www.epa.gov/dfe/saferingredients.htm

Combustible Iron Dust Hazard - CSB Report/Video

Two combustible iron dust incidents and a Hydrogen Explosion that then caused a combustible iron

dust incident occurred over a six month period at the Hoeganaes facility in Gallatin, TN, USA resulting

in fatal injuries to five workers. The facility produces powdered iron and is located about twenty miles

outside of Nashville.

Final Report: www.csb.gov/assets/1/19/CSB_Case_Study_Hoeganaes_Feb3_300-1.pdf (1.9 Mb, 31

pages)

From: www.csb.gov/hoeganaes-corporation-fatal-flash-fires/

Editor: A compelling video. We need to control this hazard.

December 2013 REPORTER Chemistry Around Australia

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China: Physical Hazard ID & Classification of Chemicals

17th July 2013, The State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) of China publishes its order 60 - the

measures for the administration of physical hazard identification and classification of chemicals. The

new regulation will come into force on 1st Sept 2013.

The measures impose the following new obligations on manufacturers & importers of chemicals in

China:

carrying out physical hazard identification at SAWS-approved institutions for chemicals with unknown

hazard properties, preparing hazard classification report and submitting it to NRCC;

preparing SDSs & labels for chemicals which have been confirmed as hazardous by NRCC;

registering chemicals which have been confirmed as hazardous according to SAWS's order 53;

building chemical safety management file including hazardous properties of chemicals with known

physical hazards, identification and classification reports and the name & quantity of chemicals that

have not been assessed.

From: www.cirs-

reach.com/news/China_SAWS_Publishes_Order_60_The_Measures_for_The_Administration_of_Physical_H

azard_Identification_and_Classification_of_Chemicals.html

IMDG Code & IATA Regs Change the UN No. Size

A key change is that the UN letters & UN No. on packages >30 kg or L is the mandatory size of 12mm &

6mm height for 5-30 kg or L (IATA Regs and IMDG from 1 Jan 2014). ADG Code is expected to require

this from 1 July 2015. Currently it asks for 7mm height for packages >25kg or >25L and 5mm height for

5-25kg or L.

From: IATA Regulations and the IMDG Code.

These sizes are larger than are in the ADG Code (which has 7mm >25kg & >25L and 5mm for >5kg or

>5L to 25kg or 25L)

NSW Storage of Hazardous Chemicals Placarding

NSW Workplaces using, storing and handling hazardous chemicals in tanks or in quantities exceeding

prescribed quantities are required to be placarded under the NSW Work Health and Safety Regulation

2011 (WHS Regulation). This guide provides information on how to identify when placarding is needed and

the types of placards required.

Public’n: www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/formspublications/publications/Documents/placarding-

for%20storage-of-hazardous-chemicals-4630.pdf (20 pages)

From: www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/formspublications/publications/Pages/placarding-for-storage-of-

hazardous-chemicals.aspx (with thanks to Dr Lara Wallis for the alert)

Stockholm Convention: HBCD Flame Retardant Ban

HBCD, the third most commonly-used flame retardant chemical, was added to the Stockholm

Convention for global elimination with a five-year exemption for use in building insulation. The listing also

requires labeling new building insulation products containing HBCD which helps countries separate

dangerous products and wastes. Delegates rejected a proposal to allow recycling of products containing

HBCD – a practice prohibited by the Convention.

December 2013 REPORTER Chemistry Around Australia

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http://ipen.org/pdfs/ipen_cop6_press-release_10_may_2013.pdf

http://www.ipen.org/cop6/2013/05/10/flame-retardant-ban-stalls-on-asbestos-and-paraquat/ and

www.ipen.org

Note: The Stockholm Convention may have updated its webpage with this information at: www.pops.int

Notes provided by Mr Jeff Simpson MRACI

RACI National Congress 2014

Call for Abstracts & Registration Now Open!

Call for Abstracts Now Open

Registration Now Open

Accommodation

Plenary Speaker Profile - Alán Aspuru-Guzik

Sponsorship and Exhibition

Contact us

Call for Abstracts Now Open!

Abstract submissions for RACI2014 are now open. Authors are able to submit their abstracts online via

the RACI2014 website. Submissions will close 9 May 2014 and delegates will receive a copy of all

accepted abstracts onsite at the Congress.

Submit your Abstract online now

December 2013 REPORTER Chemistry Around Australia

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Registration Now Open

Online registration is now open for the Congress. Please read the registration information on the

website carefully before beginning the online registration.

All fees are quoted in Australian dollars (AUD) and are inclusive of 10% GST. Registration cut-off dates

come into effect midnight Australian Eastern Standard Time.

Early Bird

Before 1 August 2014

Standard

After 1 August 2014

Member Full Registration* $900 $1,080

Non-Member Full Registration $1,170 $1,404

Student Member Full Registration $450 $540

Student Non-Member Full Registration $585 $702

Member Day Registration $300 $300

Non-Member Day Registration $390 $390

Student Member Day Registration $216 $216

Student Non-Member Day Registration $281 $281

* To be eligible for the member's rate you must be a RACI Member. All members will be cross checked for

eligibility.

Accommodation Bookings Available

The RACI 2014 Congress Secretariat has confirmed rooms at several accommodation properties for

the benefit of Congress delegates. You are encouraged to secure your accommodation through the

Congress Secretariat to ensure that you receive the negotiated competitive rates. Accommodation can

be booked via the registration form or by contacting the Congress Secretariat.

For more information, please visit the website.

Rates quoted are:

Per room per night

In Australian Dollars and inclusive of 10% Australian Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Subject to availability

Based on single/double/twin occupancy

December 2013 REPORTER Chemistry Around Australia

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Plenary Speaker Profile

Each newsletter we will profile a new plenary speaker for the Congress.

To view the biographies of all plenary speakers, please visit the website.

Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik

Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik is currently Professor of Chemistry and

Chemical Biology at Harvard University, where he started his

independent career in 2006 and promoted to Associate Professor in 2010

and Full Professor in 2013. Alán received his undergraduate degree in

Chemistry from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1999. He received the

Gabino Barreda Medal from UNAM, which prizes the top achiever in each field of study. After receiving

his PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004, under Professor

William A. Lester, Jr., he was a postdoctoral scholar in the group of Martin Head-Gordon at UC

Berkeley from 2005-2006.

Sponsorship and Exhibition

As we draw closer to the end of the calendar year, and 12 months out from the Congress, sponsorship

and exhibition sales are starting to heat up. We encourage potential supporters to contact us now to

secure your exposure as our early-bird registration marketing ramps up and our registration brochure is

released through our marketing networks.

RACI2014 expects to welcome 1000+ delegates and the program seeks to provide relevance for

academics, scientists, students, members of industry, research bodies and government departments.

We have been discussing with some sponsors the opportunity to align their organisation with speakers

and sessions as they are confirmed. Contact us for more details on the opportunities here.

December 2013 REPORTER Chemistry Around Australia

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For further details see the RACI2014 prospectus below. To secure your exhibition space or to discuss

a tailored sponsorship package, please contact our Sponsorship and Exhibition Director today:

Click here to view our prospectus.

Click here for an application form.

Emma Bowyer

RACI 2014 Sponsorship & Exhibition Director

Level 9, 234 George Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Tel: (+61) 2 9254 5000

Email: sponsorship@racicongress.com

Web: www.racicongress.com

Contact us

General Enquiries

RACI 2014 Congress Secretariat

C/- ICMS Australasia Pty Ltd

GPO Box 3270

Sydney NSW 2001

Telephone: (+61) 2 9254 5000

Fax: (+61) 2 9251 3552

Email: info@racicongress.com

December 2013 REPORTER Chemistry Around Australia

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Winners - Art and Science of Crystal Growing 2013

The Victorian Branch resumed the crystal growing competition this year and it was quite successful,

bearing in mind that the event had been in abeyance for several years.

The objects of the competition were twofold covering the science of growing crystals and using

artistic licence to take some pretty and interesting pictures.

On the science side, the object was for students to

grow big crystals, and to write a report on what

they saw, how much the crystal grew, etc. The idea

is for students to report on their observations and to

tabulate growth versus time. They took digital

pictures of their crystals during the growing process.

We judged the science side of the competition in

terms of how well they had described their

observations, how much the solution level in the

beaker had dropped over time, how big the crystal

had grown over time, and how regular and nice it

looked. We thought that it would not be a good Students from Mentone Girls’ Grammar School – Winners Prep-2

idea to send us the crystals in the mail in case any damage occurred. In addition, the students got to

keep their crystals, which, we believed, was an important factor.

On the artistic side, we asked students to take a picture of their crystal - using their imagination to

incorporate it into a suitable setting, using different coloured light, getting different reflection and

refraction patterns. We engaged the services of a young professional photographer, Linda Tegg, to

judge the artistic merit of the artistic competition.

The winners of the scientific part of the crystal growing competition received book vouchers.

They are, as follows:

Year 3 to 4 – Launching Place Primary School

Year 7 to 8 – Brauer College

The winners, who will have their artwork on show at ScienceWorks during the summer school holidays,

are:

Prep to Year 2 – Mentone Girls’ Grammar School

Lola A Nicolette H

Madeleine D Katia H

Isobella D Madison L

Sasha D Paige L

Zoe F Alea O

Lola G Evie R

Tabitha G Annie S

Paige T

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Year 3 to 4 - Launching Place Primary School

Maeryn Bird

Danielle Ellis

Tegan Hudston

Erin Packer

Year 7 to 8 - Winners and Overall Winners – Our Lady of Mercy

College, Heidelberg

Jessica Lomen

Juliette Rosa

Year 7 to 8 Runner- Up – Brauer College

Matt Schnerring

Thanks to all those students and teachers who participated in this year’s competition; and many

congratulations to all our winners!

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Chemistry in the Kitchen Lecture tour

With the idea of promoting careers in Chemistry, it was decided to develop some programs to

encourage Victorian high school students to have an interest in food composition, food chemistry and

food processing.

With the support of Dr Richard Thwaites, president of the RACI Victoria branch, I wrote the first (titled

Protein) of a series of presentations related to Kitchen Chemistry. With the aid of animations the

presentation introduced the students and their teachers to the following content:

• What is protein?

• Protein and human nutrition

• Protein processing

• Protein analysis

In order that the protein presentation would be of practical interest a practical component was

included so that students could relate protein chemistry to practical everyday occurrences that occur

in the home kitchen.

The processing methods included;

• Enzyme protein denaturation - Mozzarella Cheese

• Acid protein denaturation - Cottage cheese

• Heat protein denaturation – Jelly

For those students that are interested in chemical analysis, a chemical analysis method was also

utilized

• Biuret test for Proteins

The presentation was provided to a number of schools in Melbourne including the King David School,

Armadale; Hillcrest Christian College, Clyde North; Kew High School, Kew East and Hawthorn

Secondary College, Hawthorn East. Thanks to my partner Charlotte for her assistance in this.

Following the Melbourne presentations we began a tour of country Victoria. As a part of this tour we

visited the following schools, Victory Lutheran College, West Wodonga; St Augustine’s College (two

sessions), Kyabram; Sacred Heart College, Kyneton (two sessions) and Euroa Secondary College,

Euroa.

The presentations went exceptionally well and the students received an insight into how chemistry is

involved in their everyday lives. The cheese making practicals were particularly popular and the

students and teachers were quite interested in how easily they could produce their own cheese.

Indeed some of the feedback that I received commented that the presentations were beneficial and

interesting and that for their current level the students received in-depth learning about proteins, its

chemistry in relation to food and the human body as applied to the making the different foods.

In summary a very successful series of presentations which are expected to expand in number and to

be delivered to a larger number of schools in future years.

Dr. Adel Yousif – Chair, Food Nutrition & Analytical Chemistry Group

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DEADLINE for next newsletter:

20 January 2014

NEWSLETTER DEADLINES

In order to meet our printing deadlines we will publish the latest dates (see opposite) by which copy materials must be delivered to the Vic Branch office. If you have news that may be of interest to members, please send them in to us. By advertising your event in The Reporter you will ensure that all Victorian members will know about it, thereby increasing attendances and improving our service to members.

We are on the lookout for advertisers for our Newsletter. If your organisation is interested in reaching

more than 1500 professional Chemists each month in Victoria, we would be pleased to talk with you.

Minimum rates are $200 per month for one-third A4 page.

Contact the Vic Branch office on 03 9328 2033 or email raci-vic@raci.org.au

*** PLACE YOUR MESSAGE HERE ***

And have it read by all Victorian RACI members