The Reporter. Chemistry around Australia. Volume 12 - Issue 08 - December /21 Vale Street, North Melbourne, Victoria 3051

Transcription

1 The Reporter Chemistry around Australia Volume 12 - Issue 08 - December /21 Vale Street, North Melbourne, Victoria 3051 T F E raci-vic@raci.org.au Contents From the Branch President Victorian Chemistry Titration Competition 3 37 th Annual Synthesis Symposium 7 December A Message from Milen Dryza, Patent Scientist 6 Peptide Users Group Summer Symposium- 3 December HSE Updates 10 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 your information to raci-vic@raci.org.au

2 From the Branch President November and December are busy months for chemists with meetings and seminars, marking exams (for our academic colleagues) and organising symposia. For nearly everyone, getting ready for Christmas is also a major preoccupation at this time of year. The Branch AGM and dinner were held on November 12th at which awards for 50 years membership of the Institute were given to Tom Healy and Geoff Vaughan. Several other 50 year members, unable to be present, were also congratulated in absentia for their long service to the Institute. We were pleased that a former RACI HGT, George James, was able to attend the AGM: George has been associated with the Institute for over 67 years. We d like to take this opportunity of expressing our thanks to RACI office staff who assisted in organising this year s AGM and attended the meeting. Branch Office Bearers for the coming year were affirmed: they are Richard Thwaites (President), Brian Smith (Immediate Past President), Lisa Kaminskas (Secretary) and Brian Salter-Duke (Treasurer). There are opportunities for Victorian RACI members to serve on the Committee to join Lucy Lunevich, Jeff Simpson and Milena Dryza who have already volunteered. The next meeting of the Branch Committee will be held on Monday December 10th at Vale Street at 6-00 pm, followed by dinner at the Castle Hotel. Even if you are not a member of the Committee, you are very welcome to attend as an observer, contribute to the discussion, and more important to join us for a meal. Among the items on this month s agenda will be consideration of a proposal to establish a new Group to focus on Food Chemistry and to fill a niche not covered by the Cereal Chemistry Division or the AIFST, and to cater (!) for those members with a particular interest in the chemistry of food (and beverages). Another proposal to be considered is to hold Branch meetings and other functions away from Vale Street on a fairly regular basis to make it easier for members working outside the CBD to participate in Branch activities. Many Groups are holding functions incorporating their own AGMs at this time of the year. Information on meetings which are still to be held is available elsewhere in this edition of the Reporter. Congratulations to all Group Office Bearers and Committee Members for stimulating and maintaining interest in their particular areas of chemistry and congratulations to those Groups which have already held very successful dinners, seminars and symposia. By the time this is published, the Assembly meetings will be over. Reports will be disseminated in due course. May I on behalf of the Branch Committee wish members, friends and families a very happy and safe Christmas, an enjoyable break over the holiday period, and every good wish for Richard Thwaites Victorian Branch President Page 2 of 12

3 2012 Victorian Chemistry Titration Competition Balwyn High School performed outstandingly at this year s Titration Competition, taking out the first, second and third prizes! Congratulations to the students that won, and students from Haileybury College and Presbyterian Ladies College who also did extremely well. Xavier Watson: It was really great to apply what we are learning in the classroom to a real-life scenario. I think it helps us appreciate more what we are learning as we see its application, and it really fuels our interest to continue further studies into science related areas. Whilst this competition was challenging and obviously had a competitive nature, I remember looking around and seeing everyone laughing and smiling. It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves! It all makes me realise how much I enjoy science pracs -especially titrations. And of course it's pretty awesome to tell people I'm one of the State Titration Champions for st Place Xavier Watson, Howard Ma and Jennifer Lau were outside the actual result. 2nd Place Tara Nair, Jasmin Jeon, Dinithi Withana were outside the actual result. 3rd Place Holly Wang, Ezgi Bridger and Page 3 of 12 Leslie Lam were outside the actual result.

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6 A Message from Milena Dyza, Patent Scientist Dear Victorian members, I am delighted to have been asked to contribute to the RACI Reporter. This is an important publication for the Victorian Branch. It provides members with an up-to-theminute snapshot of important events and meetings, allowing members to participate and contribute in a meaningful way to the growth and development of chemistry in Australia. As the first in what I hope will be a long-running series of useful and thought-provoking contributions, I provide you with a link to what I think is a very handy article 5 things to tell your patent attorney when you want a patent. It takes you through the first step in the process of getting a patent, which is, after all, the main reason that you will probably come to see a patent attorney (if not for the fantastic company we provide). Notably, for chemists, one of the most important aspects of this process is ensuring that your patent attorney understands the possible variations that your competitors could adopt (for example, changing substituents on a molecule, changing reaction conditions, or modifying components of pharmaceutical formulations), while still being able to retain the advantage of your invention. Discussing these modifications with your patent attorney, while sometimes being time-consuming, is crucial because it means that your attorney can ensure that all of these possibilities are covered by the claims and adequately described in your specification, thereby preventing an easy designaround of your patent and making the patent more valuable. If you have any queries and/or comments on the article, or any ideas on the types of articles you would like to see in this section, please contact me on milena.dryza@freehillspatents.com. I wish you and your families all the best for the upcoming holiday season. Milena Dryza Page 6 of 12

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11 HSE Updates The following information is regarding hazardous chemical regulation changes from the HSE Division. Australian HSIS Entry of Formaldehyde Changed Based on the NICNAS Priority Existing Chemical Assessment Report for Formaldehyde (Nov 2006), Safe Work Australia has updated the entry in HSIS for Formaldehyde (24 ) to reflect recommended changes in classification. The update includes a change to the carcinogen classification from Category 3 (limited evidence of a carcinogenic effect) to Category 2 (may cause cancer by inhalation) and is made in accordance with the Approved Criteria for Classifying Hazardous Substances [NOHSC:1008(2004] 3rd Edition. The full classification is available on HSIS from: Editor s Comment: This means all products with 0.1% Free Formaldehyde should now be classified as Toxic with R49 - May cause cancer by inhalation. There are many industrial products that have been formulated to be <0.2% so as to not classify as Skin Sensitisers, which have 0.1% Free HCHO and so will be Toxic Hazardous Substances if this classification is followed. APVMA: Exposures to Multiple Chemicals The APVMA is looking into the knotty problem of how to conduct risk assessments for exposures to multiple chemicals. Australian AgVet chemical legislation is based predominantly on assessments carried out on individual substances. Since humans and their environments are exposed to a wide variety of substances, there are concerns in the general public about the potential adverse effect of the interactions between those substances when present simultaneously in a mixture. A recent Workshop on Combined Exposures to Multiple Chemicals conducted by the Australasian College of Toxicology and Risk Assessment in Canberra, was attended by 23 APVMA staff members, considered the Framework for the Assessment of Combined Exposures to Multiple Chemicals, which has been developed by the World Health Organization s International Program on Chemical Safety. From APVMA Regulatory Update #153, July 2012: Page 11 of 12

12 *** PLACE YOUR MESSAGE HERE *** And have it read by all Victorian RACI members We are on the lookout for advertisers for our Newsletter. If your organisation is interested in reaching more than 2000 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 or NEWSLETTER DEADLINES DEADLINE for next newsletter: 20 th December 2012 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 Page service 12 of to 12 members.