Group News

A number of events are being set up by SCI's Regional and Technical Groups for Early Career Scientists. Keep an eye on our events calendar and make the most of support being offered to PhD students, postdocs, and those starting out in industry or academia.

We look forward to putting our 2012-14 strategy into place, with the support of our members and partners. For more information on the SCI's priority objectives, see the About Us page below.

Getting too many e-mails from us? You may belong to too many technical groups. We'd recommend you limit your choice to just a couple, and one regional group.

With the worst of the British winter still around, this month's newsletter has a tropical feel to remind us of the warmer places where you would probably rather be.

The challenges associated with providing sufficient food in the near future are now high profile, but the nutritional quality of food is also an issue for huge numbers of people today

Please tell us what you think of SCI's services

As voted by Members at the 2011 Annual General Meeting, annual membership fees are now £90 for Standard Membership and £25 for Student Membership.

There is no doubt that 2012 will be challenging but we must just rise to meet the challenge. Your Committee is in the process of finalising a programme of events for this year including some in conjunction with our partners

At the Board's annual planning day on 21 September 2011, we reviewed our strategic direction and rolling three-year plan, and realigned our priorities for the future.

SCI's Board of Trustees has decided that SCI should undertake a thorough review of its awards programme. During 2012, we are therefore cutting back the distribution of awards to a minimum until the review is completed.

When your Board of Trustees last met on 16 November 2011, the key priority was to agree the rolling business plan for 2012-14 and the budget to implement this.

On 17 November at SCI HQ, Professor Subhash Anand, from the University of Bolton, presented a Public Evening Lecture on Nonwoven Fabrics in Healthcare and Medical Devices, where he reminded us that 'life often hangs by a thread'.

We have added two new 'Associations' to our 'stable'. Firstly we are now supporting Grow Careers, a website aimed at promoting careers in all aspects of the horticulture industry (see 'News from our Associates').

Medicinal Plants: From Crop to Cure? was held on Tuesday 29 March 2011 at SCI HQ, London, UK and organised by SCI's BioResources and Horticulture Groups. Monique Simmonds from RBG Kew gave the Keynote Address to 70 attendees.

This month we have two events coming up. First there will be our 'Ask a Horticultural Scientist' week on 15 - 22 May when anyone can submit questions to a new SCI forum to be answered by our team of horticultural scientists. On 19 May, we have an Agri-Food Hub event, Biofortified and Functional Food: A Healthy Future?

A study published today in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture outlines a new, commercially viable method of measuring chemical compounds in cranberries, which are linked to the prevention of urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Water use to grow and process biomass feedstocks for fuels has recently emerged as an important controversy. In a world where several countries already face water stress – and where over 70% of global freshwater use takes place in the agricultural sector – bioenergy development might present considerable challenges, from the perspective of water quantity as well as water quality.

Read the Members' Code of Ethics, which is available online below.

EUREKA runs the Eurostars SME Programme to co-fund R&D and innovation projects in research-intensive SMEs, which have an ambition to develop ground-breaking new products, processes and services for the world market.

There have been a number of changes to tenancies at our London Belgrave Square headquarters recently.

Can you think of a fellow member worth their weight in gold? Nominate them to receive the Lampitt Medal or a Distinguished Service Award

During October we held two events which revolved around the production of cider. The first event included a visit to Charles Dowding's 'no-dig' garden where he produced vegetables with little more than a trowel.

Julian Perfect has kindly volunteered to take up the role of Hon Librarian. SCI will continue to seek additional volunteers to support Julian and to help us to ensure continuity.

On 17 November 2011, Prof Subhash Anand delivered an SCI Public Evening Lecture on 'Non-woven fabrics in healthcare and medical devices'

During September the Group held its Annual General Meeting which was followed by talks by Kevin Moran and Alison Foster. The Group also joined the Professional Horticultural Group South West to visit Golden Acres Nurseries and Knoll gardens in Dorset; both are reported below

Andrew Ladds (CEO of SCI, 2005 - 2010) has resigned as an SCI trustee, effective 1 September 2011, citing the growing demands of his chemical-using business activities

Dame Sue Ion has been a prominent figure in the UK nuclear industry for decades, and is internationally recognised as an expert in nuclear fuels.

On 16 September we will be holding our Annual General Meeting - 2.00pm at SCI HQ. This will be preceded by an open committee meeting at 11.00 am. All members are welcome to attend both meetings.

We have definitive legal advice on the subject of sending 'unsolicited direct marketing emails' and a few suggestions on how to guard against breach of the legislation are also set out below.

July saw the Society's Annual General Meeting at which Sue and I were presented with a Distinguished Service Award.

Presenting my work at this conference also gave me the opportunity to promote a recent publication in the well-regarded journal Plant Physiology which included work relating to my PhD which formed part of a larger HortLink project (HL0182).

Distinguished Service Awards are presented annually at the Society's AGM. The awards celebrate the hard work and goodwill of longer-serving Members of all component parts of the Society

6-12 June 2011 sees the return of the Food Group's popular 'Ask A Food Scientist': your chance to ask an expert any food-related question!

Spring has finally arrived and crops now have a chance to catch up

Biofortified and Functional Food: A Healthy Future? 19 May 2011 Past Papers

Three top UK scientists were recognised at SCI's International Honours Presentation on 12 November 2009.

'Ask a Horticultural Scientist' ran from 15-22 May 2011, and was your chance to ask your questions on professional crop production and protection and other horticultural issues via the SCI forums.

Is there a scientific basis for concern over human-induced climate change? This was the subject of the first Public Evening Lecture of 2011, entitled 'The challenge of climate change', given by Sir Brian Hoskins. A soundtrack of the lecture is now available

This month we offer our thanks and congratulations to our Treasurer, Alison Foster. Firstly for helping to organise a most successful conference 'Medicinal Plants: Crop to cure?'.

The College of Scholars was established to help current SCI scholars make the most of the opportunities the SCI scholarships provide

New regulations on the sale of herbal medicines come into force at the beginning of April. Our Crop to Cure event on 29 March is therefore an ideal opportunity to bring yourself up to date with what the new regulations will mean for all involved in the growing and production of herbal medicines.

On 16 September 2010, SCI hosted a free Public Evening Lecture featuring Fred Pearce, who is currently the environment consultant of New Scientist magazine and a regular contributor to British newspapers.

Prof David Philips presented a lecture on the subject of light - from sun damage to photo-medicine as part of SCI's Public Lecture Series. The overheads can be downloaded here, and you can also listen to audio.

Another successful year for the SCI Horticulture Group was reported at our AGM on 24 September 2010.

A profile of the newest members of SCI's governance: Dr Brian Iddon, Professor K Clive Thompson and Dr Roger Gilmour

SCI provides opportunities for some of the brightest people in the world to exchange ideas and gain new perspectives on markets, technology, and people, SCI Honorary President Dr Stephanie Burns says in a video shown at the 7 July 2010 AGM.

GM Food was the subject of the third in the SCI's series of public lectures and took place on 2 December 2010.

Dr Geoff Fowler reports

In the six months since Joanne Lyall was appointed Executive Director of SCI, she has launched a new business plan for 2011-13.

Joanne Lyall joined SCI as Executive Director on 21 June 2010

On 9 November 2010, the Membership Advisory Committee held its annual Members' Forum, chaired by Dr Geoff Fowler

SCI members are not impressed with the BBC's coverage of science and think it is neither impartial nor accurate, according to a survey carried out in September 2010.

In this period of substantial public sector cuts the Chancellor has recognised the fundamental role science will play in economic recovery.

Continuing its policy of opening up and publicising the Horticulture Group's activities, the Group has created a Wikipedia entry to complement and add to the Society's existing entry

The Horticulture Group has recently become an organisational member of the Society of Biology

After a typical cold, grey English summer week, the sun came out to welcome the SCI Horticulture Group to the University of Oxford Botanic Garden.

SCI's Horticulture Group will be conducting an evening tour of the gardens on 11 June 2010

Our Annual General Meeting will be held at Belgrave Square on 24 September. As well as the formal meeting we will have an intriguing talk by David Whalley and Alison Foster entitled 'Magic Murder and Plant Potions'.

As Europe and America limp slowly out of recession, many eastern countries continue to surge ahead. Several reports have questioned their ability to feed themselves. Rebecca Lewis of Promar International sounds a warning and describes the impact their horticultural industries could have on the UK fresh produce industry.

Spring has finally arrived and crops now have a chance to catch up

Last month saw the passing of David Miller, one of our founder members and an inspiration to the Group who will be greatly missed.

During our visit to the Millennium Seedbank the topic of how to germinate 'difficult' seeds was discussed, including these are seeds that recolonise after fire. Richard Todd of the Fine Chemicals Group has investigated the topic and describes the chemistry behind this phenomenon

Welcome to the first Newsletter of 2011. We have a report from Alison Foster outlining the results of last autumn's tenth summit of the Convention on Biological Diversity and some recent news from our Associates.

Everyone by now must be familiar with the eyecatching biomes of the Eden Project. But how did it all start?

Earlier this month we bade farewell to Erin Taylor and in her place we welcome Zoe Daniel who joins us from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

In this issue Margaret Waddy continues her story on Ghana with a look at the exotic plants that are commonly grown in the country. Alison Foster continues her Plants of the Month with the colourful clock vine and the less attractive thorn apple.

This month we see some new initiatives to make the Group more interesting and accessible.

The Professional Horticulture Group South West visited Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, Dorset, on 8 September 2010.

As part of its on-going aim to open up the Group to as wide an audience as possible, SCI Horticulture has launched a Facebook Group

Horticulture, BioResources, and Food Commodities and Ingredients Groups have all recently launched Facebook Groups.

Food scientists from the Food Commodities and Ingredients Group answer questions from SCI members and the general public on subjects ranging from cooking and nutrition, to vegetarianism and food safety.

Six young researchers won prizes for their presentations at BioResources Group’s recent Crop Productivity, Sustainability and Utility conference at the University of Reading. PhD students and post-docs from 14 universities and research institutes presented oral papers and posters at this multidisciplinary event.

The Congress was attended by more than 3,000 participants and was a joint event between the Portuguese Horticultural Association and the Spanish Society for Horticultural Sciences. The Congress was a very large event including colloquia, symposia, seminars, workshops, poster sessions and exhibitions addressing every issue and specialisation of horticultural science and industry.

I was accepted to give a talk on ‘Evaluation of factors affecting shelf-life and quality biomarkers of imported avocado fruit’ in the ‘Postharvest’ session, one of the 18 symposia present at the conference.

Educationalist Sir David Harrison, SCI member and former chairman of the Awards Committee, talks about his perception of science in education, the media and today’s quality of teaching

REACH is an EU-led initiative to test all chemical substances imported or manufactured in quantities of over one ton in the EU by 2018.

Diane Wood started out as an SCI Member and now works for the Society providing support and customer care.

The global financial crisis has reduced access to credit, combined with a sharp decline in demand for durable goods – both of which have impacted the chemical industry.

SCI, the society established nearly 140 years ago to link science with business in the application of scientific innovation, has recognised three top UK scientists in the International Honours announced on 12 November 2009.

In July 2009, SCI entered into a broader strategic alliance with the American Chemical Society (ACS) to advance chemistry-based knowledge and address global issues of mutual interest and benefit to our members.

SCI provided very valuable resources for my career, Dr Melling tells Members News

More than 50 SCI members attended the Members’ Forum held on Wednesday 25 November 2009

SCI and its publishing partner John Wiley and Sons are launching a new range of books.

Want to reduce ageing, improve cognitive function and manage your weight better? Perhaps you should consume more antioxidants. Are antioxidants just a marketing food fad or does the science behind the word hold value?

SCI’s website now features a poll on the homepage, where users can vote to express their opinions on a variety of issues.

It could be said that this waving, drowning or emerging figure represents the global chemical industry as delegates heard at the SCI Summit, since some companies are suffering badly while others are making the best they can, and others even seeing some improvement.

The Young Chemist in Industry symposium is an annual, one-day meeting, which represents a unique opportunity for younger chemists to showcase their industrial research to an external audience.

Stephanie Burns, CEO and Chairman of Dow Corning and new Honorary President of SCI, talks about her experience leading a corporation where innovation is paramount. She also discusses SCI's role in driving knowledge transference in the chemical industry, CSR initiatives and innovative ideas for the future of SCI involving community engagement and mentoring of young scientists.

Have you ever read a news story based on science that concerns you?

Sue talks about her experiences with teaching science to boys and girls, and particularly about her efforts to encourage girls into the field.

An alliance between SCI, the Society of Dyers and Colourists and the Oil and Colour Chemists’ Association will deliver reciprocal benefits to members of all three organisations

SCI is always happy to welcome new volunteers and members to the Society.

On Thursday 11 and Friday 12 September 2008, SCI ran two ‘workshop and best practice sharing’ events, open to all Treasurers, Secretaries and Chairs of Regional Interest (RIG) and Technical Interest Groups (TIG).

The main aim of SCI is to bring members together and an online forum can help us do this through the web.

The third SCI Members' Forum 2009 took place on 25 November at SCI HQ, London.

On Monday, 28 September 2009, SCI will be hosting a one-day ‘Volunteer Workshop and Best Practice’ day for the Honorary Chairmen, Secretaries and Treasurers of all its UK-based Interest Groups.

Good packaging means safe and effective product delivery, as well as enhancing consumer appeal.

The Food Commodities and Ingredients Group is publishing the results of its 'Ask a Food Scientist' campaign to mark Food Safety Week held in June 2009

Do the slogans 'from plough to plate' or even, 'from field to forecourt' mean anything to you? If so, there are around a thousand SCI members who share your interests in agriculture, food, feed, fuel or fibre.

A J Banks travel bursar Jordi Giné Bordonaba reports from Antalya

SCI's BioResources Group is creating an Early Careers Network for, and run by, younger members studying or researching in universities and industry.

In today’s commodities markets, sugar has started to peak as renewed enthusiasm in stock and commodities takes hold.

The Horticulture Group, in conjunction with young postgraduate students from the Plant Science Laboratory at Cranfield University, is running 'From Field to Fork: How to improve the quality of fruits and vegetables'.

William Hudson, is a member of the Horticulture Group and has been involved with horticulture for many years. He has developed specific expertise with innovative soft fruit production systems and an astute view of the ways in which existing food distribution and marketing systems have damaged British production.

Following the Group’s Annual General Meeting on 25 September 2009 at SCI Headquarters in London, Tom de Vesci talked about the sustainability of harvesting peat for growing media in horticulture and the use of coir as an alternative.

Dr Henry Wainwright's Real IPM Company specialises in crop protection. Established in Kenya in 2003, it focuses on promoting ‘integrated pest management’ (IPM) crops, reducing pesticide use by producing and selling biocontrol agents.

Eighty three delegates met at Syngenta’s Jealott’s Hill Research Station on Wednesday 9 September 2009 to hear seven internationally acclaimed scientists speak about the future of agricultural research.

Writtle College's Nigel Kirby considers how UK garden design should respond to climate change

Scientists representing research groups from the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland presented the latest information about advances in our understanding of the exquisitely complex ways in which plants alter their metabolism in response to stress stimuli.

Special reduced subscription for SCI members

We were saddened to learn of the death of Guernsey horticulturalist David Miller, a founder of SCI's Horticulture Group, who passed away on 19 May 2010.

Organised by SCI’s Construction Materials and Horticulture Groups, in association with Safeguard Europe Ltd and Cityroofs Ltd UK & Ireland, 'Green Roofs' was held on 29 April 2010 at SCI HQ, London, UK.

Most readers will be familiar with Kew's public face; its plant collection; its historic buildings and glasshouses as well as modern additions. Some will be familiar with its place in the history of the Empire; sneaking rubber out of Brazil to create the plantations of Malaya and quinine to keep the Raj functioning. Members of SCI 's Horticulture Group were treated to a look behind the scenes to see some of the activities that are less obvious to the average visitor.

On 15 July 2009, the Horticulture Group joined the Bristol and South West Regional Group and the South West Growers Group for a visit to Home Covert Gardens and Arboretum.

The objective of Plants to the Rescue, a conference organised by the SCI Horticulture Group on 30 September 2009, was to demonstrate and discuss the enormous value of plants in supporting human 'well-being'.

Organised by SCI’s Horticulture Group, Plants to the Rescue was held on 30 September at SCI HQ, London and had over 80 delegates in attendance.

The well-established knowledge transfer (KT) strengths of most reputable British universities are not always apparent to all industry sectors, despite the fact that they are major contributors to the country’s economy.

Now a member of the Horticulture Group, Jordi tells us about the work he does for SCI

On 17 July 2008, 50 members toured the gardens at Highgrove House, organised by SCI’s Horticulture Group.

Growing Success: Horticultural Business Perspectives was held to promote the benefits of knowledge transfer to the horticultural business community and specifically to increase awareness of the UK government-sponsored Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme.

SCI member Dr Alison Foster explains why she changed career path from chemistry to horticulture.