Australasian Colloid and Interface Society

Web: http://acis.wildapricot.org/; E-mail: acis.enquiries@gmail.com

 

ACIS Newsletter – Issue 22, October 2020

 

Welcome

Dear members,

Welcome to our 22nd issue of ACIS News! We produce a quarterly newsletter - sent around in February, May, September, and December - to keep ACIS members informed of our initiatives and for members to directly communicate with our Society. We publish job announcements, meetings of interests to our society, career development opportunities and any exciting research that you would like to share with us. To keep you up to date with the on-goings in our colloids society, please send your suggestions and items for the next newsletter to christine.browne@monash.edu.

 

President’s Corner

Dear ACIS members,

It has been one hell of a year – but I think we are seeing a ray of sunshine at the end of all of this. This new feature for the Newsletter is not meant to be a ‘we did this, we did that’ – that is the role of the Board Bulletin, but I think it is worth the President giving an occasional ‘helicopter view’ of a few things for discussion when we next meet in person.

One observation that I wanted to share was that it is increasingly apparent that in times of difficulty and necessity, as we have seen in the general community (sadly not across states or federally) is the camaraderie, support and boost in activity across the ACIS community. If we could bottle that and maintain the momentum in the coming years we will do amazing things! The community has been engaged in more activities and at unprecedented levels and importantly the digital medium has enabled this to occur. I hope we can continue after Covid, and the pandemic after that, have come and gone.

An observation at least from my end is also how our community ties have proven stronger than university specific ties – greater support backed by action has come from within our community much more so than from within our organisations – for postgrads, ECRs, and in general. It is a discussion definitely to be had over a drink but in particular I feel that leadership has been especially lacking in the postgrad mental health space, and it has been inspiring to see that it has taken struggling students themselves to do something about it.

Lastly, I wanted to comment on our ‘Code of Conduct’. I believe ACIS is stronger for having taken a leadership position on this – one thing we can all consider is not only to commit to this at ACIS events as we are expected to as members, but to strive to take its principles of diversity and respect into everything we do in life outside of ACIS. If we do this and it becomes second nature – just like wearing a mask in Melbourne you no longer even think about it, it just is – so there would really be no need for a Code of Conduct.

Well – let me know if you want those few minutes of your life back after hearing my ramblings, but the Newsletter (which Christine Browne has taken on with great gusto!) is not so frequent that you can’t indulge the President just a little?

 

Cheers,

Ben

 

News

Non-Academic Career Pathways Event

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused financial upheaval in the university sector with the loss of many research jobs. Early-career researchers and those on casual contracts have been particularly affected. To support our members during this time the ACIS Equity & Diversity committee will hold a panel session focused on non-academic career pathways.

Tuesday 27 October from 5 – 6:30 pm

The event is mainly aimed at HDR students and ECRs who want to find out more about alternative career pathways other than the traditional academic route, including practical steps towards finding a job in industry, government or patent law. Confirmed speakers and panel members include:

Miles Kenyon, DMTC

Dr. Annabella Newton, Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick

Dr. Melanie Bradley, Orica

Dr. Gavin Styles, Dept. of Agriculture, Water and the Environment

Speakers will detail their own career pathway and provide advice on making the transition from academia, before opening up to a panel session with questions from the audience. Everyone, at any career stage, is welcome to attend. Feel free to bring your favourite tipple (beer, tea, kombucha…) and lots of questions for our panel members.

 

Registration:

Registration is essential and can be done using this link:

https://acis.wildapricot.org/event-4007473

 

ACIS 2021 Conference Update

Organisation of ACIS2021 is well underway, with 6 locations confirmed as our hubs: Brisbane, Palmerston North, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. We currently plan to have in-person meetings at each hub, with both live and virtual social events and networking. All talks and posters will be streamed online for all participants, to maximise impact and audience for your research.

Deadlines for abstract submission and registration will be released shortly, so please keep an eye on the ACIS website for more information!

 

Awards

2020 ACIS Early Career Travel Bursary Awardee

We would like to congratulate Dr. Aaron Elbourne from RMIT University for being the Awardee of the ACIS Early Career Travel Bursary. We wish him well on his travels!

 

ACIS ECR Lectureship Award

Background:

The Australasian Colloid and Interface Society has established an annual Lectureship to allow outstanding, recently appointed, colloid and interface research scientists to travel around Australia and New Zealand to present the results of their research work. The objective is to provide the Lecturer with the opportunity to achieve broader recognition and exposure at an early stage in their career. This will also help them to develop their network, engage active collaborations, and become invested in the Australian colloid and interface science community.

Eligibility:

There is no age limit, however nominees must have been appointed to their first academic, government or industrial position (at least academic level B or equivalent) within the five years preceding the closing date of nominations. In the case of career interruptions, such as for illness, caring or parenting responsibilities, etc. exceptions to this rule will be considered at the discretion of the ACIS awards committee.

Any member of ACIS may nominate an eligible nominee, who must also be a full member of ACIS. Self-nominations will not be considered. Nominees are required to supply the following documents in order to constitute a complete nomination:

1.    Letter of nomination prepared by the nominating member;

2.    A detailed curriculum vitae for the nominee, including a list of publications and/or other evidence of research output;

3.    Contact details of three referees (one of whom may be the nominating member).

4.    A tentative title and abstract of the lecture that would be given if the application is successful.

Requirements of lectureship:

The Lecturer will be expected to present a lecture in at least six state/territory capitals and/or major regional centres in Australia and New Zealand during the year of the lectureship. Given the current travel restriction it will be possible to adapt the periods of travelling to travel restrictions. A brief report of the lecture series will be required. The lecture program will be developed in consultation with the selection committee, with final approval by the Chair of the ACIS Awards and Prizes Committee. Should no sufficiently qualified applications as judged by the Committee be received, the lectureship award may not be made in any given year.

Reasonable travel and accommodation expenses up to a maximum of $3,500 will be provided

Key Dates:

Nominations close: 1st of December, 2020.

The recipient will be announced through the first ACIS newsletter in 2021.

Requests for further information should be addressed to Prof Gunther Andersson, email Gunther.andersson@flinders.edu.au.

Nominations should be sent to: acis.enquiries@gmail.com

 

ANBUG AINSE Neutron Scattering Symposium

The ANBUG AINSE Neutron Scattering Symposium will be held virtually so attendees can sign in from wherever they are, not just Australia.

Wednesday 11th November to Friday 13th November 2020

The meeting will bring the user community of ANSTO’s neutron infrastructure together with other global experts/users of neutron instrumentation. The conference will have the following theme areas:

·       Advanced Materials

·       Biological Systems

·       Biomedicine & Food Science

·       Chemistry & Crystallography

·       Cultural Heritage

·       Earth & Environment

·       Magnetism & Condensed Matter

·       Manufacturing & Engineering

·       Neutron Instruments & Techniques

Key Dates:

Registrations close: 4th November 2020

Further Information:

For more information please see the conference website: http://anbug.net/aanss2020/

 

Activities

Join our Awards, Communications, Conferences and Events Committees

ACIS needs its members to be actively engaged. Please let us know if you would like to be involved in the committees that will run the activities of the Society: Awards; Communications; Conferences and Events. Or if you would like to propose other activities we should be running. We especially invite students and early-career researchers to become involved. Please email your interest to acis@colloid-oz.org.au.

Visiting Scientist Register

Are you planning to host a visit by an outstanding scientist in the colloid and interface field? Why not let ACIS members know about the visit? We aim to keep track of visiting scientists, to facilitate their introduction to the Australasian scientific community. Please email details of the visit to acis@colloid-oz.org.au.

ACIS Membership

Please encourage your colleagues, students and industrial partners working in the field of colloids and interface to join us. General membership is $100 per annum. The membership year is from 1st March each year. Memberships paid after this date are valid until 28th February of the following year. More information is available on our website http://colloid-oz.org.au/.

 

LinkedIn LogoUse our LinkedIn Group to tell people your news

ACIS is now present on LinkedIn. Please join our LinkedIn group and post discussion items on job ads, conference calls, and interesting facts about the wonderful world of colloid and surface science.

 

 

The Newsletter team is:

Christine Browne – christine.browne@monash.edu