Message from the President - December 2020
Written by Danny Wong
Dear members,
I was informed that we started in November distributing the Newsletter from the NSW Branch to members in ACT as well. Therefore, I like to take this opportunity to welcome our readers from ACT! I hope this means of communication will enhance member interactions between the two branches, leading to joint events and close collaborations in the near future. Please do not hesitate to contact Ashraf Ghanem (ACT Branch President) or me if you have any suggestions.
End-of-the-year period is an appropriate and popular time to host various student presentation competitions. Among them, a face-to-face Australian Institute of Physics NSW Postgraduate and Royal Society of NSW Jak Kelly Awards Day was held on 10th November. This event was co-sponsored by the Australian Institute of Physics, the NSW Branch of RACI, The Royal Society of NSW and Laboratories Credit Union. I had the pleasure of representing the NSW Branch of RACI in attending the event at the Concord Golf Club. Research students from several universities in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory took turn to present to the audience their work covering different areas of Physics including those at the Chemistry-Physics interface. I was given the honour to present a medal to each participating student and also a trophy to the winner of the competition. The NSW Branch would like to congratulate Matthias Wurdack from School of Physics, Australian National University, as the winner. Matthias delivered an exciting talk on his work involving the development of low-energy transistor technologies with exciton-polariton superfluids in atomically thin semiconductors.
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Left picture: Danny Wong with Matthias Wurdack (ANU), Right picture: Student presenters -David Tuckett (USyd), Matthias Wurdack (ANU), Sebastian Murk (Macquarie), Jacob Johnston (Newcastle), Noah Mendelson (UTS), Matthew Donelly (UNSW).
As in past years, the NSW Branch of RACI is again a major sponsor in 2020 for the annual Young Scientist Awards organised by the Science Teachers’ Association NSW (STANSW). The Branch actively participated in the judging process for both the Primary and Year 7-12 levels of the Chemistry discipline in the competition, with a focus on work that demonstrated great skills and promising chemistry. Instead of a face-to-face prize ceremony, STANSW conducted this year separate online presentation evenings for each discipline with the Chemistry discipline held on the 16th November. The NSW Branch would like to congratulate Karmichael Candra from Redeemer Baptist School (project entitled “Ripeness After Harvest”) as the winner in the Primary Group. A highly commended prize went to Sarah Ge from PLC Sydney (project entitled “Moody Mackerel or Mackerel Moody? Histamine in Mackerel - the Best Way to store Spanish Mackerels in order to Reduce Your Chances of Histamine Poisoning and Related Anxiety Disorders”), and the first prize was awarded to Emily Shen from Kambala School (“Determining the Rate Law of Crystal Violet and Sodium Hydroxide”). It was exciting to come across so many students interested in STEM and participated in this annual competition. Thank you to all teachers, parents and family members for their support in nurturing future scientists in Australia!
As mentioned in my report in the November Newsletter, there are several newly elected members in the NSW Branch Committee 2020 - 2021 and I am sure many would be interested to acquaint with them. Please refer to October 2020 Newsletter to get to know our new Secretary, Jessica Carolan. Also, Charles McKibbin appears in the New Member section of this Newsletter. Meanwhile, I am glad to introduce Vipul Agarwal (UNSW Sydney) and William Li (ANSTO) through the December Newsletter (please refer to the section entitled “Getting to know New Branch Committee Members”). Once again, welcome Vipul and William to the Committee! Also, all members would have learnt from a recent communication from the National Office that Professor Pall Thordarson (UNSW Sydney) was elected to be the President-Elect of RACI. Congratulations to Pall! The NSW Branch looks forward to working closely with Pall in the next few years. The NSW Branch Committee has already included a planning day in early 2021 to roll out a series of events and activities for all members, assuming continued easing of social distancing rules and requirements in the new year. I have already heard from some members their eagerness to physically interact and socialise again with fellow members.
With the festive season fast approaching, the Branch Office will be closed between 18th December 2020 and 11th January 2021. Therefore, this is the last Newsletter for the year 2020. The first issue of the 2021 Newsletter will be available in the first week of February. It has been an unprecedented year, resulting in rapid and often immediate changes in conducting many chores in our personal lives and also business-related matters. Fortunately, the entire country was able to stand together and work closely through a difficult time and then emerge triumphantly. Meanwhile, we must spare a thought for colleagues who might have lost employments because of recent severe job cuts in many universities. The NSW Branch wishes you the best of luck in securing a new job as soon as possible! For organisations with any vacant positions, please let the Branch Office know and we will be more than happy to convey the information to all NSW members through the RACI website. I like to take this opportunity to wish all members a happy holiday season and a Merry Christmas! Please continue to take good care of yourselves and keep an eye on others as well. May 2021 be a more pleasant and productive year for us all!
Best wishes to everybody!
Danny Wong
RACI NSW Branch President
“Nurture the passion, discover the possibilities"
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