Royal Society of Chemistry

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences." The organisation carries out research, publishes journals, books and databases, as well as hosting conferences, seminars and workshops. It is the professional body for chemistry in the UK, with the ability to award the status of Chartered Chemist (CChem) to suitably qualified candidates. The headquarters of the Society are at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. It also has offices in Thomas Graham House in Cambridge where RSC Publishing is based.

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History

The RSC was formed in 1980 from the merger of the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society and the Society for Analytical Chemistry.

Divisions and forums

The society is organised around 5 divisions and 4 forums, based on subject areas, and local sections, both in the United Kingdom and overseas. Divisions and forums cover broad areas of chemistry but also contain many special interest groups for more specific areas.

• Analytical Division for analytical chemistry and promoting the original aims of the Society for Analytical Chemistry. 12 Subject Groups.
• Dalton Division, named after John Dalton, for inorganic chemistry. 6 Subject Groups.
• Education Division for chemical education. 4 Subject Groups.
• Faraday Division, named after Michael Faraday, for physical chemistry and promoting the original aims of the Faraday Society. 14 Subject Groups.
• Organic Division for organic chemistry. 6 Subject Groups.
• Chemical Biology Forum. 2 Subject Groups.
• Environment, Sustainability and Energy Forum. 3 Subject Groups.
• Materals Chemistry Forum. 4 Subject Groups.
• Industry and technology Forum. 13 Subject Groups.

There are 12 subjects groups not attached to a division or forum.

Local sections

There are 35 local sections covering the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In countries of the Commonwealth of Nations and many other countries there are Local Representatives of the Society and often some activities.

Publications

The Society is a not-for-profit publisher: surplus made by its publishing business is invested to support its aim of advancing the chemical sciences.

In addition to an extensive list of scientific journals and reviews (See *Category:Royal Society of Chemistry for a list) covering all areas of chemistry, the Society publishes:-

• A general chemistry magazine Chemistry World sent monthly to all members of the Society throughout the world.. The editorial board consists of 10 academic and industrial chemists. It was first published in January 2004. It replaced Chemistry in Britain, first published in 1965. Its contents include news, articles of a general chemical nature, such as the history of chemistry and technological developments, book reviews and letters from readers. Its ISSN is 1473-7604.
• Three supplements, Chemical Science, Chemical Biology and Chemical Technology which draw together coverage from all RSC publications, providing a 'snapshot' of the latest developments across the chemical sciences, in industrial applications and technological aspects of research, and in chemical biology respectively. They include Research highlights, showcasing newsworthy articles, as well as the most important scientific advances reported in research articles and Essential Elements, reporting the latest developments and news, including details of new books. They are published monthly and are freely available online and as a free supplement in the print issues of some journals. Chemical Science is available in issues of Chemical Communications, Dalton Transactions, Journal of Materials Chemistry, Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Chemical Society Reviews, New Journal of Chemistry and Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry. Chemical Biology is available in Chemical Communications, Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Molecular BioSystems, Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences and Natural Product Reports. Chemical Technology is available in The Analyst, Analytical Abstracts, Chemical Communications, CrystEngComm, Green Chemistry, Journal of Environmental Monitoring, Journal of Materials Chemistry and Lab on a Chip.
• Books for students, including the Tutorial Chemistry Texts series of 23 books, edited by Professor E. W. Abel, and the 8 books in the Molecular World series, whose coordinating editor is Professor L. E. Smart.
• Books on the history of chemistry, such as a history of the Faraday Society.

Library

The Society has a large library covering mainly Chemical-based subjects, including online access for members, housed at Burlington House.

Medals and awards

The RSC awards a variety of medals and prizes each year that include awards for excellence in any area of chemistry, in specialist areas or for achievement at particular stages of a chemist's career.

Medals are awarded centrally by the RSC and by the divisions of the organisation. There are also awards that are administered by RSC interest groups.

The centrally awarded medals include the Meldola medal and prize which is awarded to a British chemist who is under 32 years of age for promising original investigations in chemistry and the Corday-Morgan medal and prize which consists of three separate awards made for the most meritorious contributions to experimental chemistry (including computer simulation).

Previous winners of the Meldola medal include C.K. Ingold (1921, 1922), C.N. Hinshelwood (1923), R.H. Stokes (1946), D.H. Williams (1966) and J. Evans (1978). The 2005 recipients are R.J. Allen and M.L. Clarke.

The Corday-Morgan medal and prize recipients include D.H.R. Barton (1949), R.S. Nyholm (1950), F. Sanger (1951), J.W. Cornforth (1953), R.E. Richards (1954) and G. Porter (1955). Later recipients include many of the current leaders of the chemistry community in the United Kingdom. The 2005 recipients are B.G. Davis, H.H. Fielding and P.A. Gale.

The Faraday Division annually awards the Marlow Medal and Prize for contributions to physical chemistry or chemical physics by members of the Faraday Division under the age of 32. Recent recipients include Andrew-Orr-Ewing, (1999), Jonathan A Jones, (2000), Helen Fielding (2001), Jonathan Essex (2002), Daren Caruana (2003), Jonathan Reid (2004), Julie Macpherson (2005) and Fred Manby (2006).

See also

• Society of Chemical Industry