THE REPORTER | Volume 25, Issue 1 1

President’s Letter

2016 IUPAC-Richter Prize in Medicinal Chemistry

Hazmat & Environment Notes

Women in Chemistry Welcome to 2016 Afternoon Tea

Chembeers

Chemical Education Symposium 2016

Other Upcoming Victorian Events

February 2016

February2015

Issue 24, Volume 1

The Reporter

Volume 25, Issue 1

CHEMISTRY AROUND AUSTRALIA IN THIS ISSUE

Happy New Year! I hope you are all feeling rested and ready to tackle the year ahead.

In my opinion, 2015 ended on quite a positive note for industry and science, and indeed, possibly, for Australia’s future economy. I speak of the ‘National Innovation and Science Agenda’ (http://www.innovation.gov.au/page/national-innovation-and-science-agenda-report) launched by Prime Minister Turnbull in December. ‘Welcome to the Ideas Boom’, it claims, and about time too! Finally, the government appear to have noticed that Australia cannot survive on digging stuff out of the ground and flogging it to anyone that wants it, and that it is time to look to their above ground resources – to realize Australia’s human capital in the form of its collective intellect, its innovative ideas. However, if we are to achieve this ‘ideas-based economy’, we have a lot of work to do, as currently our rate of collaboration between industry and researchers (2-3%) is the lowest in the OECD, the proportion of researchers employed in Australia’s business sector is significantly lower (43%) than in countries such as Germany (56%), South Korea (79%) and Israel (84%) etc., and the number of SMEs bringing new ideas to market is also low.

In the design of the Innovation Package the government seems to have taken a very sensible and holistic approach … which is most encouraging, and have acknowledged that ‘innovation is important to every sector of the economy – from ICT to healthcare, education to agriculture, and defence to transport.’ The National Innovation and Science Agenda has four pillars: Culture and capital, Collaboration, Talent and skills, and Government as an exemplar (i.e. it is looking at itself too – as role model, facilitator etc). These pillars provide a framework for Australia’s innovation policy, and $1.1 billion of funding has been allocated to these initiatives over the next four years. The majority of the initiatives, and their related funding, commencing at the beginning of the new tax year in July 2016.

President’s Letter by Kay Latham

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So what are the key ideas? and how do they help industry and science ?

Firstly, the government has acknowledged that ‘Australians have great ideas but don’t always make the most of those ideas, missing the opportunity …. (or not provided with ?) … to transform them into new businesses and new jobs’, and that to turn things round ‘we (the system/ government) need to improve the availability of finance for our innovative startups’. To help achieve this, the government is putting in place new initiatives to ‘align our tax system and business laws with a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation’.

Some of the key initiatives in this space include: tax breaks for early stage investors in innovative startups - a 20% non-refundable tax offset on investments, capped at $200,000 per investor per year, and a 10 year exemption on capital gains tax, provided investments are held for three years; an $8 million ‘Incubator Support Program’ – a new component of the Entrepreneurs’ Program, which will offer competitive matched funding to support development of new incubators and accelerators in regions or sectors with high innovation potential, and provide access to top quality research and technical talent through 3–12 month secondments of national or international expert advisers; a $36 million investment over five years through a Global Innovation Strategy to improve Australia’s international innovation and science collaboration, by establishment of five ‘landing-pads’ (physical research space, with advice, facilities and contacts) in Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv and three other locations to support entrepreneurial Australians ($11 million), $22 million of seed funding to assist Australian collaborations with international research-industry clusters, such as the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, and investing $3 million to help reduce barriers to regional collaboration. It is also setting up a $200 million CSIRO Innovation Fund to co-invest in new spin-off companies and existing startups that will develop technology from CSIRO and other publicly funded research agencies and universities, and a Biomedical Translation Fund to co-invest $250 million with the private sector.

To encourage greater collaboration between researchers (universities) and businesses, the government is introducing a new mechanism to measure ‘non-academic impact and industry engagement’ when assessing university research performance, which will be piloted through the Australian Research Council in 2017.

This has been/continues to be a major issue, as the current measures of academic/University performance (eg. number & quality of publications, $$ of competitive funding success, and number of postgraduate completions) do not promote dialogue between academics and industry. It is, therefore, vital that this issue be addressed and conquered. The government is also aiming to connect more SMEs with researchers by: expanding and re-launching the Research Connections program as ‘Innovation Connections’; opening up the Australian Research Council Linkage Projects to continuous applications to fast track decisions on collaborative research grants; and commencing a new application round of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) program in February 2016.

Elsewhere, further funding has been allocated to the Australian Synchrotron ($520 million) for the Square Kilometre Array ($294 million), and $1.5 billion to the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). The government will also be investing in the future of information technology by establishing a new Cyber Security Growth Centre; and boosting Australia’s capability in quantum computing research by investing $26 million towards building a silicon quantum circuit.

However, without investment in talented and skilled labour, there will be no ideas and/or no idea realization, so this capital investment is being backed up by: the implementation of a National STEM School Education Strategy and Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, to inspire the next generation in STEM and ensure that our young people have the skills they need for the future; and to get the skills that businesses need now, the Government has been refining its visa settings, and looking to promote an expand opportunities for women in STEM. In the former case, there are: planned changes to 457s for startups so that they can access the workers they need right now; a new Entrepreneurs Visa to attract up and coming entrepreneurial talent; and enhanced pathways to permanent residency for high quality STEM and ICT postgraduate students. To encourage and support more women in STEM, the government is investing $13 million, with the aim to increase participation of girls and women in the research sector, STEM industries, startups and entrepreneurial firms. One such initiative is the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) program announced in September 2015, in which 23 Universities and research institutions are participating, and aiming for Athena SWAN Bronze accreditation by 2018/2019. This program, and others (for example, there is some stirling work going on through Veski with their ‘Inspiring Women’ program - http://www.veski.com.au/inspiring-women), aim to support workplace gender equality, to promote role models

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to inspire young women, and hopefully, to realise the full potential of the workforce through greater contribution from women in STEM. …. make it so !

In the words of Prime Minister Turnbull (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfCjdToaXwU), this new Innovation Package is ‘critical for Australia to remain a high-wage, fair, social-welfare net economy for Australia’, and will support ‘a more innovative, agile and entrepreneurial Australia’….

Fingers crossed! As always, happy to receive your responses, feedback and ideas at any time. Find out more at http://www.innovation.gov.au.

On that note, back to Branch business.

The very capable Melissa (Branch Coordinator) has compiled a list of upcoming RACI events, at the back of the Newsletter, along with electronic links for ease of registration, so I won’t repeat her valuable efforts here. However, of note in the calendar is ChemBeers 2016, our annual ‘social’, which will take place at 5.30pm on 17th February at Taste Baguette, Monash University, Clayton campus (as last year). Please come along if you are able (http://www.raci.org.au/events/event/chembeers-2016-2). All welcome.

Also, I remind the Committee and all that our next Branch Meeting is on Monday 1st February at 6.20pm at Vale Street, with an optional dinner afterwards at The Metropolitan Hotel.

So, until March….. best wishes

Kay

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International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and Gedeon Richter, Plc.

announce the 2016 IUPAC-Richter Prize in Medicinal Chemistry

Call for Nominations The 2016 IUPAC-Richter Prize will be presented during the EFMC lnternational Symposium (August 28 - September 1, 2016) on Medicinal Chemistry in Manchester (UK), where the recipient will also give a plenary lecture on the subject of his/her research. The prize is to be awarded to an internationally recognized scientist, preferably a medicinal chemist, whose activities or published accounts have made an outstanding contribution to the practice of medicinal chemistry or to an outstanding example of new drug discovery.

PRIZE USD 10 000

Prize has been established by a generous gift from the Chemical Works of Gedeon Richter, Plc. (Budapest, Hungary) to acknowledge the key role that medicinal chemistry plays toward improving human health.

Applicants should be received by NOMINATION only, with just one person needing to serve in that capacity, although a total of five (5) individuals should be listed as referees overall. The package must be submitted electronically and should contain a complete resume, a professional autobiography of not more than two pages, and a one-page summary of what the individual considers to be his/ her activities, accomplishments and/ or publications that have had the most significant impact upon the field of Medicinal Chemistry. The material will be forwarded confidentially to an independent selection committee appointed by the IUPAC Subcommittee on Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Development. For further information please contact Professor Janos Fischer, Chairman of the IUPAC Subcommittee on Drug Discovery and Drug Development by email at mailto:j.fischer@richter.hu

Nomination materials should be submitted by 15 February 2016 to IUPAC Secretariat by email at: secretariat@iupac.org

Telephone: +1 (919) 485 8700 Fax: +1 (919) 485 8706

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Hazmat & Environment Notes 1. APVMA Regulatory Science Strategy: Draft

Consultation Period: 24 Nov 2015 to 17 Feb 2016

“Regulatory Science involves a pragmatic application of the scientific method for the purpose of making a decision about whether to allow something (e.g. chemicals) to be used within the defined legislative framework and timeframes.”

“Regulatory Science can encompass both pre-market and post-market activities. Regulatory science does not include regulatory affairs (the administrative aspects of regulation) or regulatory law (the legal aspects of regulation).”

The APVMA’s final strategy will focus on:

- increasing the APVMA scientific capacity and capability - building national and international linkages

- enhancing communication and engagement

- enhancing the APVMA ability to identify and respond to emerging regulatory issues

- improving regulatory science methodologies; and - improving the APVMA regulatory science performance

Regulatory Science Strategy Draft (16 page pdf or doc)

From: http://apvma.gov.au/node/19226

2. Smartphone Fire Causes Emergency Landing

25 Aug 2015: A flight from Seoul to London was forced to make an emergency landing in Russia after a passenger’s smartphone caught fire, when it had been crushed after being dropped between two seats.

The crew of the British Airways Boeing 787-800 declared an emergency after reporting smoke in the cabin and diverted the flight as flight attendants tried to cool the device before bringing the fire under control.

Flight Safety Australia previously reported in March a Lithium battery caught fire in similar circumstances after falling down the side of a passenger’s seat, before being crushed when the seat was reclined.

The incident led to Air France to update its pre-flight briefing safety video, warning passengers not to move their seat if they lose their electronic device.

From: Flight Safety Australia www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2015/08/smartphone-fire-causes-emergency-landing/

National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2015-19

June 2015: The Australian Government has released its first National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy (AMR) to guide Australia’s response to the threat of antibiotic misuse and resistance. PDF [4.3 MB] (48p) & Word [559 KB] (44p)

The Strategy was developed in partnership with industry and government, and will guide action by governments, health professionals, veterinarians, farmers and communities to reduce the emergence of resistant bacteria.

Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of a microorganism (like Bacteria, Viruses and Parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as Antibiotics, Antivirals and Antimalarials) from working against it. As a result, standard medical treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others. Resistance to current antimicrobials is increasing faster than the development of new drugs, and so effective treatments cannot keep pace.

From: www.agriculture.gov.au/animal/health/amr

Chemical Release Animation: DuPont La Porte

30 Sept 2015: USA CSB Animation of the Chemical Release at DuPont's La Porte Facility.

15 Nov 2014: The accident at DuPont’s facility, located east of Houston, killed four workers and injured a fifth when Methyl Mercaptan, a toxic chemical used in the company’s insecticide and fungicide manufacturing process, was released.

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Video URL: https://youtu.be/pbFzuS8Bdhw

CSB Background for this, released on the 15 Nov 2014.

CSB: DuPont La Porte Interim Recommendations (48p pdf)

From: www.csb.gov/videos/animation-of-chemical-release-at-duponts-la-porte-facility-/

Nanomaterials: New OECD Data Available

New data on 11 commercially viable nanomaterials was made available in June 2015 as part of a seven-year testing programme by the OECD.

“The OECD testing programme has made it possible to release an unprecedented volume of nano-specific data to the public," says Jenny Holmqvist, coordinator of nano activities in ECHA and Chair of the OECD steering group on the Testing and Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials. The aim of the programme was firstly, to assess whether the existing test guidelines for substances need to be adapted to consider nano-specific issues, and secondly, to respond to the growing need for nano-specific data.

The data available confirms that, in general, the existing test methods used for conventional substances are also applicable for nanomaterials. "It is reassuring to be able to conclude this. However, there may still be a need to look further into the details of the testing guidelines to capture the potential challenges of testing nanomaterials compared to other chemicals," Ms Holmqvist stresses.

Nanomaterials data: Fullerenes; Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes; Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes; Silver; Gold; Dendrimers; Silicon Dioxide; Nanoclays; Cerium Dioxide; (plus Titanium Dioxide; & Zinc Oxide are both forthcoming).

Jeff Simpson: To download these Dossiers go to:

www.oecd.org/chemicalsafety/nanosafety/dossiers-and-endpoints-testing-programme-manufactured-nanomaterials.htm

From Sept 2015 ECHA Newsletter:

http://newsletter.echa.europa.eu/home/-/newsletter/entry/4_15_nanomaterials-new-data-available

Microbeads: California to Protect Marine Life

California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation on Thursday 8 Oct 2015, requiring California, USA, to phase out the use of microscopic exfoliating beads in personal care products sold in the state starting in 2020 to protect fish and wildlife.

The tiny plastic beads found in soap, toothpaste and body washes are so small that they are showing up in the bodies of fish and other wildlife after passing through water filtration systems without disintegrating.

The bill, AB888, seeks to drastically restrict all use of the non-biodegradable beads.

From: www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/09/california-bans-microbeads-to-protect-marine-life

Alerted by NTN Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NTN

30 July 2015: The Canadian Government is also planning on developing regulations to prohibit plastic microbeads in personal care products.

From: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1011609&tp=1

Canadian Microbeads webpage: www.chemicalsubstanceschimiques.gc.ca/plan/approach-approche/microb-eng.php

Chemical Labels: So Much Information, So Little Space

Mixtures being placed on the EU market had to be reviewed by 1 June 2015 to comply with the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation. This meant, in many cases, that mixture producers had to re-classify their products and include more information on the product label than before. The increased amount of information has proven to be challenging, especially for products sold in small packages.

Jeff Simpson: A range of labelling solutions are discussed in the Sept 2015 ECHA Newsletter.

From: http://newsletter.echa.europa.eu/home/-/newsletter/entry/4_15_so-much-information-so-little-space

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Safe Work Australia: Guide to Handling Isocyanates

9 July 2015: This Safe Work Australia (SWA) 14 page Guide provides information on how to manage health and safety risks associated with the manufacture, storage, handling, generation and use of Isocyanates in the workplace.

Isocyanates are widely used in manufacturing materials like polyurethane foams, rubbers, plastics, varnishes, adhesives and paints.

Guide: www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/Documents/912/guide-to-handling-isocyanates.pdf

From: www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/about/publications/pages/guide-to-handling-isocyanates

MIT & MCI Scheduling Public Submissions

Accord, APMF, ASMI and one other, made public submissions on the Chemical Scheduling Proposal on:

Methylisothiazolinone (MIT); and

Methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI).

https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/public-submissions-scheduling-matters-referred-joint-accsacms-11-august-2015.pdf (24 pages 3.76 Mb)

From: https://www.tga.gov.au/scheduling-submission/public-submissions-scheduling-matters-referred-joint-accsacms-11-august-2015 (1 Oct 2015)

Jeff Simpson: These submissions contain useful information on the use of MIT and MCI/MIT (3:1) and the issue of skin sensitisation under various scenarios. The is also comment how BIT has anti-fungal properties at 100 ppm.

A key issue is that MIT does not work as a biocide at <50 ppm, even under the best manufacturing set up, so reducing MIT to ≤15 ppm would mean it would have no biocidal action. For MCI/MIT (3:1) there seems to be some scope for ≤15 ppm for rinse off products and ≤7.5 ppm for leave on products where all the biocidal action is due to the MCI, and MIT is an impurity that does not contribute.

Jeff Simpson: It will be interesting to see what the Scheduling Committees and the Delegate decide to do. As a minimum we need the same 15 ppm MCI/MIT (3:1) cut-of as for industrial products, above which skin sensitisation needs to be labelled for domestic products.

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Women in Chemistry Welcome to 2016 Afternoon Tea

Monday 8th February 2016

Our first event of 2016! The Women in Chemistry Group look forward to welcoming you at this busy and popular event.

Date: Monday 8th February 2016, 2:30pm – 4.30pm

Venue: Melbourne Brain Centre (Kenneth Myer Building), Foyer and Lecture Theatre,

30 Royal Parade, The University of Melbourne, VIC

The Women in Chemistry committee are delighted to announce our guest speaker for this event is Dr Tara Pukala from The University of Adelaide (School of Chemistry and Physics).

Please come along to hear Dr Pukala speak about her career in research thus far, and to meet and network with our committee and local community over coffee and cake. If you have never attended one of our events before, now is the perfect opportunity to come along and see what we’re all about.

As it is our first event for the year we will be providing details of upcoming events for 2016 and provide you with an opportunity to sign up for our mailing list, so you never miss the details of our upcoming calendar.

As always, this event is not run exclusively for women – the Committee encourages all members of the community to attend.

Please Click Here to Register.

Dr Tara Pukala obtained a PhD from the University of Adelaide in 2006, followed by a postdoctoral position at the University of Cambridge, UK, working with Prof Dame Carol Robinson in the field of native mass spectrometry. Tara returned to Australia to her current role as lecturer in the Discipline of Chemistry at the University of Adelaide in 2008. Here she leads a multidisciplinary research group focused on developing new approaches, primarily utilising mass spectrometry, to investigate the structure, function and interactions of macromolecules important in biology.

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Chembeers! Wednesday 17th February 206

It’s on again! Come and join us to celebrate the start of the New Year.

ChemBeers is an opportunity to get together with other chemists for a drink, canapés and finger food, good conversation and networking opportunities.

Our sponsors, the RACI and members of the Victorian Branch Committee will be on hand to talk about the products and services they offer, and to promote forthcoming activities and events.

Date Wednesday 17 February, from 5:30pm

Venue Taste Baguette, Menzies Building, Monash University, Clayton

Who is invited? Anybody and everybody with an interest in Chemistry and related disciplines

Click Here to Register

This event is proudly sponsored by

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Chemical Education Symposium 2016

Thursday 31st March – Friday 1st April

Monash University, Melbourne Call for Abstracts (Due Monday 8th February, 2016)

The RACI Chemical Education Division will hold a two-day symposium Thurs-Fri, 31st March and 1st April, 2016 at Monash University in Melbourne.

This meeting will be in a fresh format, with enhanced opportunities for discussing a number of key themes as larger groups. Each themed session will be facilitated by a leader from the Australian Chemical Education community.

The four key themes and leaders are:

Theme 1: Assessment Fit For Purpose. (Assoc. Prof. Glennys O'Brien) This theme seeks to bring clarity to best practice in assessment, with a particular focus on using groupwork, project-based learning and embedding communication skills into learning activities in chemistry.

Theme 2: Optimising Laboratory Learning. (Assoc. Prof Mauro Mocerino) This theme will focus on making the most out of the laboratory-teaching environment, with a strong emphasis on demonstrator training and development, and getting the most out this face-to-face element of chemistry education.

Theme 3: Individualised Learning. (Prof. Adam Bridgeman) This theme will focus on how we can use data to provide students with learning resources and support that are personalised to their needs.

Theme 4: Reaching The Regions. (Dr Erica Smith) This theme will explore some of the challenges and successful approaches for delivering chemistry courses to off-campus and remote cohorts of chemistry students.

Call for Abstracts (Oral Presentations & Posters)

We are calling for abstracts that may be in one of two formats:

Oral contributions can be entered in any of the themed sessions. Please allow for no more than a 10-minute snapshot of your work.

Poster contributions may be on any topic, and will be accompanied by a 3-minute oral introduction during the program, prior to the poster session.

Please Click Here to Register

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Other Upcoming Victorian Events 3 February: Dangerous Goods Advisory Group

8 February: WINC Welcome to 2016 Afternoon Tea

16 February: Retired Chemists Lunch

17 February: Chembeers 2016- Taste Baguette, Monash University, Clayton

2 March: Chemical Hazard Communication Network Meeting

31 March – 1 April: Chemical Education Symposium 2016

Want to Contribute to The Reporter? The Victorian Branch would like to hear from members who would like to send in information that may be of interest to the membership. Do you know of any interesting stories or projects that are making a difference, or events that you would like to share with readers? If so, please shoot an email to raci-vic@raci.org.au.

We are also on the lookout for advertisers for our Newsletter. If your organisation is interested in reaching more than 1500 professional Chemists each month in Victoria, we would be pleased to talk with you. Minimum rates are $200 per month for one-third A4 page. Contact the Vic Branch office on 03 9328 2033 or email raci-vic@raci.org.au.

The deadline for the next issue of The Reporter is 20 February 2016.

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