Blogs

When Problems Occur: Lessons in Spectroscopy, Setbacks and Better Solutions

By Jenny Pham posted yesterday
When Problems Occur: Lessons in Spectroscopy, Setbacks and Better Solutions Upon joining the BHP research laboratories as a graduate, I was given the choice of being in charge of instrumental analysis by XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) or OES (Optical Emission Spectroscopy). Both were used for comprehensive simultaneous analysis of research samples. Having earlier worked with spectroscopy, I chose OES. This was a vacuum Jarrell-Ash model designed mainly for steel samples as the vacuum optical range was limited to the UV, going from 400 to 190 nm. The curved reflection grating focussed its first order to an arc about a meter long. Typically 40 exit slits ...

🎨🧪 Vote Now for Your Favourite Shortlisted Artwork!

By Hannah McCarthy posted 3 days ago
The shortlist for this year's International Chemistry & Art Competition is here, and it's spectacular. From lino prints of crystal structures to paintings featuring nobel prize winners, our shortlisted finalists have found stunning new ways to bring science and art together. Now we need you to help choose the Peoples Choice winner. 🗳️ How to Vote Head to the voting page and click the Vote button to get started. Browse all the shortlisted entries — you'll see the image and details each artist shared when they submitted. Tap the thumbs-up icon next to your favourite artwork (or artworks!) to cast your vote. If you're ...

On Being a Scientist: A Guide to the Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research

By Jenny Pham posted 8 days ago
On Being a Scientist: A Guide to the Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research Dear Members, Please see the following guide, published by the National Academies, for your information: On Being a Scientist: A Guide to the Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research: Fourth Edition The guide explores the ethical responsibilities of scientists and provides practical advice for navigating the challenges researchers may encounter throughout their careers. #Feature #News

The Quiz, the Classroom, and the Community: Charles Fogliani’s Journey

By Jenny Pham posted 9 days ago
The Quiz, the Classroom, and the Community: Charles Fogliani’s Journey Charles Fogliani FRACI CChem has spent a remarkable career advancing chemistry education in Australia and across the region. From school students to university classrooms, from chemistry quizzes to international workshops, his work has helped make chemistry more visible, more practical, and more accessible. “Chemistry is for everybody,” Charles says, and that belief has guided much of his professional life. His contributions span teaching, curriculum development, community outreach, and the promotion of chemistry through the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. ...

Keep A Positive Attitude: From Daunting Orals to Defending Your Science

By Jenny Pham posted 10 days ago
Keep A Positive Attitude: From Daunting Orals to Defending Your Science In an earlier blog, attitudes involved for better teaching (Nernst equation and elevation of boiling point) were raised. In this contribution, one’s own attitudes towards presenting findings to an audience are discussed. Before ever starting a career, being required to give one’s first talks on topics to others can be daunting experience. How does one handle nerves and keep the audience’s attention? In my own case, such presentations that were encountered (orals for honours and the like) were doubly fearful for me due to my background. Coming from being a country ...

Fully Funded Program for Chemistry Educators & Lab Technicians in Shanghai, China: Applications Now Being Accepted!

By Hannah McCarthy posted 14 days ago
Dear Teachers and School Administrators, Please be advised that applications are now being accepted for the 2027 ICQ Global Chemistry Educators Program (GCEP) – a unique international opportunity for passionate chemistry educators! In partnership with our ICQ Agent, ASEEDER, this fully funded professional learning experience will take place from 7/9–19 July 2027 in Shangai, china . The following opportunities are available: 2-3 Chemistry Teachers 1 School Laboratory Technician (New for 2027) Now in its third year, the ICQ GCEP offers a chance to connect with fellow chemistry educators, explore global approaches ...

ICQ 2026 Global Rankings Announced: Celebrating Our Top Schools

By Hannah McCarthy posted 16 days ago
We are delighted to share the ICQ 2026 Global Rankings , celebrating the top 10 schools in each division. Congratulations to every school that has earned a place on the leaderboard. Their results reflect the hard work of their students and the dedication of the teachers who support them. We also want to congratulate every student who took part in ICQ 2026. Competing in a global challenge alongside students from around the world is an achievement in itself, whatever the final result. Thank you to our schools and teachers ICQ only happens because of the schools and teachers who make it possible. To everyone who facilitated ICQ for their students, ...

Turn your science skills into a teaching career

By Jenny Pham posted 17 days ago
Turn your science skills into a teaching career Are you a chemist, scientist or other degree-qualified professional considering a career change? The Queensland Department of Education’s Career Change Internship Program provides a supported pathway for experienced professionals to transition into a teaching career in Queensland state schools. The two-year program combines: postgraduate teaching studies a $20,000 scholarship in the first year a one-year paid teaching internship in the second year, with mentoring and support a pathway to permanent employment in a Queensland state school. Queensland’s high ...

Open access theme issue: Geometry, materials and the imagination

By Jenny Pham posted 21 days ago
Open access theme issue: Geometry, materials and the imagination Royal Society Publishing has published an open access theme issue of Interface Focus under the ‘Subscribe to Open’ 2026 initiative. Titled Geometry, materials and the imagination, the issue has been organised by Myfanwy Evans, Randall Kamien, Jacob Kirkensgaard and Gerd Schroeder-Turk. The articles are free to access online, offering readers an opportunity to explore new perspectives at the intersection of geometry, materials and the imagination. Access the issue The articles in Interface Focus 16:2 are available free of charge at: www.bit.ly/RSFS162 ...

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS - SNASforum 2026

By Jenny Pham posted 22 days ago
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS – SNASforum 2026 The Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) encourages Australian chemists, clinicians, researchers, industry professionals and students to consider submitting abstracts to SNASforum 2026 , an international multidisciplinary conference dedicated to advancing healthcare innovation and translational medicine. Organised by the Singapore National Academy of Science (SNAS) in conjunction with its 50th Anniversary , SNASforum 2026 will provide a premier platform for the exchange of ideas, presentation of cutting-edge research, and fostering collaborations across academia, healthcare, ...

Federal Apprenticeship Incentive Changes: What Laboratories Need to Know Before 1 January 2027

By Jenny Pham posted 22 days ago
Federal Apprenticeship Incentive Changes: What Laboratories Need to Know Before 1 January 2027 The Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System is changing, and the update may affect laboratories and other employers with 200 or more staff. From 1 January 2027 , employers with 200 or more employees will no longer be eligible for the priority hiring incentive, currently valued at $2,500–$5,000 per trainee , unless the relevant training contracts are signed and registered before the cutover. With paperwork and eligibility checks taking time to complete, employers are being encouraged to submit applications by 30 November 2026 at ...

RACI Partners with Knowable Me to Advance Accessibility and Inclusion in Chemistry Education

By Hannah McCarthy posted 20-08-2026
The Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) is proud to announce a new partnership with Knowable.Me, formalising a shared commitment to making chemistry education more accessible and inclusive across Australia. Chemistry should be open to everyone with the curiosity to explore it. Yet students, educators, families, and community members with diverse access needs can still encounter unnecessary barriers to participating fully in the field- whether in the classroom, in professional development, or in the broader chemistry community. This partnership exists to help change that. Why we're partnering with Knowable.Me Knowable Me brings ...

Help Us Build RACI's Industry Tour Directory for School Teachers

By Hannah McCarthy posted 11-08-2026
RACI is developing an Industry Tour Directory for School Teachers , and we're calling on our members to help us bring it to life. The directory is designed to give teachers and students greater exposure to real-world chemistry, laboratories, industrial operations, and STEM career pathways — connecting classrooms with the organisations actually doing the science every day. We're particularly encouraging laboratories, chemical and process industries, resources and minerals operations, research organisations, universities, technology companies, and other science-based workplaces to consider getting involved. Why it matters Industry ...

On the shoulders of giants: revisiting phosphate sorption by soils

By Jenny Pham posted 04-08-2026
On the shoulders of giants: revisiting phosphate sorption by soils The size of the pool of phosphate (PO 4 ) stored by a soil, and its relation to the PO 4 concentration in solution, are estimated by using PO 4 sorption protocols. These measures are of broad interest as they provide an index of both PO 4 bioavailability and of environmental risk through PO 4 runoff or leaching. Australian researcher, Dr N Jim Barrow, who passed away in 2025, was a world leader in describing anion sorption by soils. Early in the 1970s he showed that the relation between the concentrations of sorbed PO 4 and those in solution could be fitted by ...

Information from Safe Work Australia

By Jenny Pham posted 30-07-2026
Information from Safe Work Australia Dear Members, Safe Work Australia’s CEO has been in touch with the RACI CEO to provide the following update to support the transition from workplace exposure standards to workplace exposure limits. Information supplied by Safe Work Australia states that in April 2024, work health and safety (WHS) ministers agreed to introduce new workplace exposure limits, which will come into effect from 1 December 2026. From this date, employers must ensure no person at their workplace is exposed to an airborne contaminant above the exposure limit in the workplace exposure limits for airborne contaminants ...

RACI Policy Priorities Survey 2026's Results

By Jenny Pham posted 30-07-2026
RACI Policy Priorities Survey 2026's Results As RACI develops its policy priorities and advocacy agenda for 2026 and beyond, we recently surveyed our members to better understand the issues they believe should be at the forefront of national policy discussions. The response was clear. Members are looking for stronger support across the chemistry workforce and education pipeline, improved research and science system governance, enhanced industrial capability and safety, and practical frameworks for the responsible use of artificial intelligence in chemistry. Participants also highlighted a range of cross-cutting challenges, including workforce shortages, ...

From Molecular Codes to Rapid Diagnostic Kits: The Quiet Impact of Dr David Marlborough

By Jenny Pham posted 30-06-2026
From Molecular Codes to Rapid Diagnostic Kits: The Quiet Impact of Dr David Marlborough Early curiosity in molecular structure Long before rapid antigen tests became household items, David Marlborough was immersed in a very different scientific puzzle, the structural logic of life itself. During his PhD and postdoctoral work in the 1970s, Dr Marlborough focused on polypeptide conformations and the emerging understanding of how genetic information translates into protein structure. His research, published in Biopolymers (1973) and later in Origins of Life (1980), explored patterns that hinted at a deeper biochemical order. ...

Last Nominations?

By Jenny Pham posted 20-06-2026
Last nominations? There is still time to nominate someone outstanding for the RACI National Awards, but not much. Every year, these awards celebrate the people whose work is shaping chemistry in Australia and beyond. Some are driving discovery in the lab. Others are transforming classrooms, building stronger communities, mentoring the next generation or leading change in ways that may not always make headlines, but make a real difference. That is why nominations matter. A nomination is more than a form. It is a statement that someone’s contribution deserves to be seen, valued and remembered. It is one of ...

Applications for 2026 O’Donnell Student Travel Awards Now Open!

By Justin Chalker posted 16-06-2026
The RACI Polymer Division is pleased to announce that applications for the 2026 O’Donnell Student Travel Awards are now open! In 2026 nominations for this award will be submitted directly via the RACI website – information can be found at this link: https://raci.org.au/events-and-awards/awards/divisional-awards/polymer-chemistry-awards Nominations for this award are open from 16 June 2026, with a closing date of 15 August. You can read more about the O’Donnell award and the Division’s commitment to supporting student travel here .

Champion of Regulatory Science and Cross-Sector Leadership: David Lin’s Story

By Jenny Pham posted 12-06-2026
Champion of Regulatory Science and Cross-Sector Leadership: David Lin’s Story Overview David Lin is an Assistant Director at the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), where he applies over three decades of experience across academia, industry, and government to the regulation of agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemicals. In his current role, he leads the chemistry assessment to support robust regulatory decision-making that protects public health and the environment, including chemical re-consideration, adverse event report program, and compliance investigation to ensure the public the agvet chemical products ...