The Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) is both the qualifying body in Australia for professional chemists and a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership ...

promoting the science and practice of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

in all its branches. The RACI hosts conferences, seminars and workshops. It is the professional body for chemistry in Australia, with the ability to award the status of

Chartered Chemist Chartered Chemist (CChem) is a chartered status awarded by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the United Kingdom, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) in Australia, by the Ministry of Education in Italy, the Institute of Chemistry ...

(CChem) to suitably qualified candidates.

History

The RACI was formed as the Australian Chemical Institute in Sydney in September 1917. The driving force was

David Orme Masson Sir David Orme Masson KBE FRS FRSE LLD (13 January 1858 – 10 August 1937)L. W. Weickhardt,Masson, Sir David Orme (1858–1937), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 10, MUP, 1986, pp 432–435. Retrieved 6 October 2009 was a scie ...

, professor of chemistry at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

. It was incorporated under the Companies Act in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1923. It was given a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

in 1932, but it was not until a supplementary royal charter in 1953 that "Royal" was added to the title of the institute. It moved to Melbourne in 1934. It was incorporated in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 2000. Since 1993, the institute has had its office at 21 Vale Street,

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...

, VIC 3051, Australia.

Affiliations

The RACI is a member of the

Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies Science & Technology Australia (STA), formerly known as the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS), is an organisation representing the interests of more than 90,000 Australian scientists and technologists, and pr ...

(FASTS) and the

Federation of Asian Chemical Societies The Federation of Asian Chemical Societies (FACS) is a professional association representing chemical societies of countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asi ...

(FACS). It has branches in all states and territories in Australia and divisions for the following areas of chemistry: * Analytical and

Environmental chemistry Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source. It can be defined as ...

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon ma ...

science *

Chemical education Chemistry education (or chemical education) is the study of teaching and learning chemistry. It is one subset of STEM education or discipline-based education research (DBER). Topics in chemistry education include understanding how students learn ...

Interfaces Interface or interfacing may refer to: Academic journals * ''Interface'' (journal), by the Electrochemical Society * '' Interface, Journal of Applied Linguistics'', now merged with ''ITL International Journal of Applied Linguistics'' * '' Int ...

Colloid A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a liquid, while others extend ...

s and

Surface science Surface science is the study of physical and chemical phenomena that occur at the interface of two phases, including solid– liquid interfaces, solid– gas interfaces, solid–vacuum interfaces, and liquid– gas interfaces. It includes th ...

Electrochemistry Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an out ...

* Industrial chemistry *

Inorganic chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subjects of organic chemistry. The distinction between the two disci ...

* Materials chemistry *

Medicinal chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with designing and developing pharmaceutical drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, synthesis and developme ...

and

Chemical biology Chemical biology is a scientific discipline spanning the fields of chemistry and biology. The discipline involves the application of chemical techniques, analysis, and often small molecules produced through synthetic chemistry, to the study and ...

Organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J ...

Physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistica ...

Polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + '' -mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

chemistry *

Radiochemistry Radiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes (often within radiochemistry the absence of radioactivity leads ...

In addition to the divisions having organised conferences, they have co-operated in running occasional national conventions since 1953.

Membership

A member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute is designated with the honorific affix "MRACI". As the professional body for chemistry in Australia, the institute has the ability to award the status of

("CChem") to suitably qualified candidates. Election to fellow of the institute ("FRACI") is dependent on a position of eminence, services rendered, academic honours, experience and status, creative achievement, responsibility and contribution to chemical science, and recommendation by the RACI Assessment Committee. The institute also accepts undergraduate and postgraduate student members, associate members, school affiliate members, and industry affiliate members.

Publications

''Chemistry in Australia'' is a magazine published by the RACI monthly. It contains news, reviews of books and chemical software, as well as reports and stories aimed at a broad chemical audience. It is free to read online, and also available as a hard copy for members. It was established in 1934 as the ''Journal and Proceedings of the Australian Chemical Institute''. The Chemical Education Division publishes the ''Australian Journal of Education in Chemistry'' (). It was formally called ''Chemeda: The Australian Journal of Chemical Education''. It includes articles on chemical education at all levels in schools and universities, including experiments from the Australasian Chemistry Enhanced Laboratory Learning (ACELL) Project.

Awards

The institute makes several annual awards including:

H. G. Smith Memorial Award

The H. G. Smith Memorial Award is the premier award of the RACI. It is awarded annually to a member who has contributed most to the development of some branch of chemical science, judged by research work published or accepted for publication during the ten years (or equivalent relative to opportunity) preceding the award. The recipient is required to be a current member for a minimum of 3 years. If in the opinion of the RACI Board there is no candidate who has sufficient merit, the Board may refrain from making an award. Notable recipients of the award include: *

David Rivett Sir Albert Cherbury David Rivett, KCMG (4 December 1885 – 1 April 1961) was an Australian chemist and science administrator. Background and education Rivett was born at Port Esperance, Tasmania, Australia, a son of the Rev. Albert Rivett ( ...

(inaugural recipient in 1929) * James Arthur Prescott (1931) *

Edward Sydney Simpson Edward Sydney Simpson (11 March 1875 – 30 August 1939) was an Australian mineralogist and geochemist. Simpson was born in Woollahra, New South Wales to an Irish father and English mother. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School and the Universi ...

(1932) * Ian William Wark (1933) *

Francis Patrick Dwyer Francis Patrick John Dwyer FAA (3 December 1910 – 22 June 1962) was Professor of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra. He was one of the most distinguished scientists Australia has produced. At the time of his death in 1962 he ...

(1943) *

John Stuart Anderson John Stuart Anderson FRS, FAA, (9 January 1908 – 25 December 1990) was a British and Australian scientist who was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne and Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Oxford.

(1944) * Martina Stenzel (2017)

Other awards

The Cornforth Medal for the most outstanding PhD thesis submitted by a member. It is named after the Australian Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner, Sir

John Cornforth Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr., (7 September 1917 – 8 December 2013) was an AustralianBritish chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions, becoming the only Nobel ...

. The

Rennie Memorial Medal The Rennie Memorial Medal is an Australian National Award that is awarded annually to a financial member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute with less than 8 years of professional experience since completing their most recent relevant qua ...

for the member of less than 8 years of professional experience since completing their most recent relevant qualification who has contributed most towards the development of some branch of chemical science. The Leighton Memorial Medal is awarded to individuals in recognition of eminent services to chemistry in Australia. The Ollé Prize for a member of the institute who submits the "best treatise, writing or paper" on any subject relevant to the institute's interests. The Adrien Albert award recognises the enormous contributions made by Prof. Adrien Albert to medicinal chemistry. It is the premier award of the Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology Division and is given for sustained, outstanding research in the field of medicinal or agricultural chemistry or chemical biology. The research upon which the award is made must be conducted wholly, or largely, within Australia and New Zealand.

References

External links

* {{authority control Chemistry societies Learned societies of Australia Scientific societies based in Australia Scientific organisations based in Australia Organisations based in Australia with royal patronage Chemistry education Scientific organizations established in 1917 1917 establishments in Australia