Chemistry in Australia magazine

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October 2017

AJC: celebrating 70 years of chemical science publishing

By Jennifer M. Foster

Next year, the Australian Journal of Chemistry will celebrate 70 years of publishing research papers from all fields of chemical science, with a focus on multidisciplinary chemistry and emerging areas of research.

In 2018, the Australian Journal of Chemistry (AJC) will achieve the milestone of reaching 70. To appreciate where AJC now stands, it is important to understand its roots.

By Simon Copland

Profile: Dr Brendon Hammer

It’s fair to assume that the most likely outcome of a degree in chemistry is a life in the laboratory. While the lab can lead to a lifetime of discovery, chemistry can also open up doors to all sorts of careers. Even international diplomacy. Don’t believe it? Just ask Dr Brendon Hammer, a Research School of Chemistry (RSC) alumnus and Australia’s current Ambassador to Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Kosovo, Slovakia and Slovenia.

By Peter Junk

RACI Centenary Congress wrap-up

The RACI celebrated its 100th birthday at the Centenary Congress in Melbourne, 23–28 July 2017. The conference was an outstanding success, and right from the outset I would like to thank the CEO of the RACI, Roger Stapleford for his inexhaustible contributions. Roger oversaw much of the logistics of this congress, and, as one could imagine, the organisational aspects were enormous.

Inside running: a cell-by-cell view of metals

Single-cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy offers a potentially significant breakthrough in detailed biological studies.

Protection and prevention in chemical warfare

Protection, antidotes, treatments and of course prevention are the subject of ongoing research in the face of chemical weapons attacks.

A chem lab in your phone

The mobile phone in your pocket could be used for medical diagnostics and environmental testing if Associate Professor Conor Hogan and his team from La Trobe University have their way. This could be potentially life-changing for people in developing countries and remote areas with limited resources, by making such chemical measurements more accessible and extremely inexpensive.

The new world of electric cars

In recent weeks, there have been several major announcements of proposed electrification of passenger cars, which may have long-term consequences and implications for the Australian vehicle fleet.

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September 2017

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From chlorine to sarin: chemical weapons, past and present

By Colin A. Scholes

Ongoing conflict in Syria has returned the weaponisation of chemicals to maim and kill military combatants and civilians to the public consciousness.

The incidents of chemical weapons use in Syria, as part of the ongoing civil war, have globally demonstrated the tragedy these weapons can inflict. Conversely, the award of the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has demonstrated efforts and success in reducing and in some cases eliminating weapons stockpiles.

By RACI news

Ajayan Vinu

Ajayan Vinu has been working as a Professor of Nanomaterials at the University of South Australia since October 2015. Before moving to the University of SA, he was working as a full professor at the University of Queensland from September 2011 to September 2015. Professor Vinu is recognised as a world leader in the field of nanoporous materials, with specific interest in the material’s application in carbon capture, energy storage, adsorption and separation, and catalysis.

By National Institute of Standards and Technology

More precise determination of Planck’s constant

Using a state-of-the-art device for measuring mass, researchers at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made their most precise determination yet of Planck’s constant, an important value in science that will help to redefine the kilogram, the official unit of mass in the SI, or international system of units. Accepted for publication in the journal Metrologia (https://doi.org/10.1088/1681-7575/aa7bf2), these new results came ahead of a 1 July international deadline for measurements that aim to redefine the entire SI in terms of fundamental constants of nature.