13 June 2013
Following the Thames and Kennet Group AGM for 2013, we look back at the achievements and activities of the Group in the past 12 months.
Dr David Nutt, University of Reading, continues to facilitate liaison between the Group and the University of Reading. Student representatives Miss Charlotte Restick (University of Reading) and Mr Toby Mould (University of Surrey) attended a committee meeting. Toby Mould has started to organise a lecture programme for Surrey jointly with the Group.
The Group arranged or co-hosted (with the RSC Downland Section Trust) a number of highly informative and popular events over the year at various locations:
| 1 Dec 2011 | Prof Sir John Gurdon (Nobel Prize in Medicine 2012) University of Cambridge Nuclear reprogramming and prospects for cell replacement therapy |
Charterhouse |
19 Apr 2012 |
Prof Tony Cass |
Charterhouse |
3 May 2012 |
Prof Simon Conway Morris |
Charterhouse |
18 Oct 2012 |
Prof Paul McMillan |
Charterhouse |
5 Nov 2012 |
Dr Derek Wheeler |
University of Surrey |
21 Nov 2012 |
Royal Pharmaceutical Society Visit to museum and tour |
London |
29 Nov 2012 |
Dr John Varco |
Charterhouse |
The emphasis continues to be on outreach to a wider public, particularly towards young people in schools and colleges.
The Best Sixth Form Chemist awards are a prime example of this aim. The awards took place at the Universities of Reading (17 October 2012) with 17 schools and Surrey (8 October 2012) with 18 schools participating.
For the second time a County Award (selected at the committee's discretion) for Berks/Bucks and Surrey/West Sussex was presented to those students who have shown exceptional promise. These were Amit Patel of Dr Challoners Grammar School and Oliver Page of RGS Guildford. The Best Sixth Form Chemist event for Oxfordshire was organised by Science Oxford with a considerable contribution from the Group. SCI Executive Director 2010-13 Joanne Lyall and the Group secretary Steve Lenon both represented SCI.
The Group supports the Postgraduate Research Day Conference at the University of Reading. The SCI prize for best poster went to Lewis Hart, supervised by Professors Wayne Hayes and Howard Colquhoun, for his poster on 'Supramolecular polymers for inkjet printing applications'.
The committee also continues to support students at the University of Reading through its awards scheme for grants covering books or other necessities. In 2012 two students received a grant from the Society for books and a MolyMod kit.
The Group also sponsored and were represented by Steve Lenon at an Industrial Day at the University of Surrey:
Prizes awarded were as follows:
Group A
David Everson (oral presentation first prize) £30
Greg Miller (oral presentation runner up) £20
Shelley Watkinson (poster) £30Group B
Alex Henman (oral presentation first prize) £30
Amy Jones (oral presentation runner up) £20
Dean Brett (poster) £30Group C
Alice Wang (oral presentation first prize) £30
Jack Alton (oral presentation runner up) £20
Aaron Rush (poster) £30
We look forward to building on these successes with continued and similar activities in 2013. If you are keen to join us, or would like to find out more about our activities, do come along to one of our meetings. Or take a look at our volunteering page to see how you can get involved.
Dr Oliver Choroba
Chairman
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