RSC News Vol 36 : Issue No. 14

RSC NEWS
14 October 2005

Vol 36 : Issue No. 14

Editors - Marilyn Holloway and Sue Riches

This editorial space has been saved for a run down on the RACI Ball held last Saturday and written up by Valeska Ting. Thank you to all those who supported this effort and particularly thanks to Nathan, Valeska, Jodie and Okanya (as depicted) who worked so hard to set everything up.

THE RACI CHEMISTRY BALL 2005

The 2005 RACI Chemistry Ball on Saturday 8^th of October was certainly a night to remember!! (Though when trying to write a quick report on the event, one finds that one has a general warm fuzzy feeling about the whole night, but the details are a bit hazy . . .)

The ball was a chance for everyone to get out of their lab coats and dress up and also for members of the RSC, the department and the ACT branch of the RACI to meet and mingle and hopefully have a good time.

There were a number of people who fully got into the ball spirit and were dressed to the nines, which was great to see . . .

The Ainslie Football club came through once again as a fantastic venue. .. . the meals were excellent and the chatty bar staff managed the important job of ensuring that the beer and the champagne flowed freely.

The energetic latin trio Kalybú (discovered in a joint effort by Marilyn, Okanya and Nathan) were brilliant, and did a great job getting everyone onto the dance floor.

The academics were well represented with Profs Withers and Rae leading the charge on the dance floor

(who says crystallographers can't dance??).

There were of course the odd moments. Such as the appearance of a six-foot waltzing white rabbit. That could, of course might have been something to do with the large amount of champagne consumed on the night . . .

A big thank-you goes out to our "sponsors": The

Royal Australian Chemical Institute (good to see you there, Mick!!), The Research School of Chemistry, and the Graduate Program, for getting behind the ball and making such an event possible.

Thanks also goes to Teatro Vivaldi for the generously contributing six bottles of wine for the door prizes.

All in all, it can be said that the Ball was a definite success. Hope to see you all there next year!

AWARDS:

The John Travolta Award ("For an excellent display of coordination and rhythm on the dance floor") went to Bradley Stevenson.

David Boon Award ("For an exceptional display of speed and determination") for the drunkest person at the ball went (deservedly) to Jonathan Foot.

The Entropy Award "Most energetic of the evening") went to Jasmine

Worst Dressed Award ("Clearly no foresight or taste...") went to Mark Ellison (Guess which one he is!)

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Michael and Narelle Quigley (formerly Narelle Hincksman) on the birth of a son, Thomas John, on Monday 3 October. Both Narelle and Thomas are reportedly doing well.

Our congratulations also go to Joanne Adams and Andrew Cregan (both formerly from RSC) who announced their engagement on 22 September.

2005 ANU STAFF AWARDS

The Vice Chancellor's Selection Committee has announced that the Research School of Chemistry nomination for The Vice Chancellors Award for Excellence has been successful. Kevin Cooper, Lee Welling, Geoff Deeble and Chris Tomkins are the recipients, following their efforts during and after the Birch Building fire. They will receive a formal letter of acknowledgement and an invitation to the awards ceremony on November 3 in The Great Hall, University House, from 5.00pm - 6.30pm, with a cocktail reception to follow in the garden.

"The Boys" will be presented with a cheque for $4,000 between them. See you at Bramley's fellas.

ACADEMIC PROMOTIONS 2005

Congratulations to the following academic staff who were recently promoted:

Dr Ian Crossley to Level B
Dr Alan Payne to level B
Dr Kiyoshi Ozawa to level B
Dr Mick Sherburn to level D
Dr Nick Dixon to level E

Lee Welling has sent us the following:

These are from a book called Disorder in the Court and were actually recorded and now published by court reporters - who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were taking place.

Q: Are you sexually active?
A: No, I just lie there.

Q: What is your date of birth?
A: July fifteenth.
Q: What year?
A: Every year.

Q: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
A: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

Q: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
A: Yes.
Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
A: I forget.
Q: You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?

Q: How old is your son, the one living with you?
A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
Q: How long has he lived with you?
A: Forty-five years.

Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
A: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
Q: And why did that upset you?
A: My name is Susan.

Q: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo or the occult?
A: We both do.
Q: Voodoo?
A: We do.
Q: You do?
A: Yes, voodoo.

Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?

Q: The youngest son, the twenty-year old, how old is he?

Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?

Q: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
A: Yes.
Q: And what were you doing at that time?

Q: She had three children, right?
A: Yes.
Q: How many were boys?
A: None.
Q: Were there any girls?

Q: How was your first marriage terminated?
A: By death.
Q: And by whose death was it terminated?

Q: Can you describe the individual?
A: He was about medium height and had a beard.
Q: Was this a male, or a female?

Q: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
A: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

Q: All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
A: Oral.

Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Q: And Mr.. Dennington was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.

Staff Publications since last issue as at 11 October 2005

Crossley, I.R., Hill, A.F., Willis, A.C. Poly(methimazolyl)borate complexes of platinum. Organometallics (2005), 24(21), 4889-4892. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/om050377j

Hill, A.F., Rae, A.D., Smith, M.K. Niobium and tantalum tris(methimazolyl)borate complexes [M(=NC₆H₃ⁱPr₂-2,6)Cl₂{HB(mt)₃}] (M = Nb, Ta; mt = Methimazolyl). Inorg. Chem. (2005) 44(21), 7316-7318. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ic051218v

Hodgson, J.L., Coote, M.L. Propagation mechanisms in ring-opening polymerization of small phosphorus heterocycles: toward free-radical polymerization of phosphines? Macromolecules (2005), 38(21), 8902-8910. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ma051691s

Hodgson, J.L., Green, K.A., Coote, M.L. Should dithiophosphinate esters function as RAFT agents? Org. Lett. (2005), 7(21), 4581-4584. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ol0516420

Krausz, E., Peterson Årsköld, S. Identifying Redox-active Chromophores in Photosystem II by Low-temperature Optical Spectroscopies. In Artificial Photosynthesis: From Basic Biology to Industrial Application. Collings, A.F., Critchley, C., Eds. Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA: Weinheim (2005), pp. 87-107.

Ozawa, K., Dixon, N.E., Otting, G. Cell-free synthesis of ¹⁵N-labeled proteins for NMR studies. IUBMB Life (2005), 57(9), 615-622. http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1080/15216540500217859

Withers, R.L., Otero-Diaz, C., Gómez-Herrero, A., Landa-Canovas, A.R., Prodan, A., van Midden, H.J.P., Norén, L. Compositionally modulated Fermi surfaces, structured diffuse scattering and ternary derivatives of 1T-TaS₂. J. Solid State Chem. (2005), 178(10), 3159-3168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jssc.2005.07.032

GONGS

It has recently been my (aka Marilyn's) task to prepare a brief History of the RSC for the Heritage Unit of the ANU, and to that end I was obliged to collect the major medals and awards won by our staff since the School's inception. Now, there are some that don't like "the blowing of bags" as such, but I could not help but be impressed by the long list that I have compiled (which, please note, is not complete owing to the modesty of some). Accordingly, and of my own accord, I would like to share this list with you all, but in particular, with the younger members of our scholarly body - take a deep breath, for the list is long (and impressive):

1954 Emeritus Professor A.J. Birch H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*

1964 Emeritus Professor D.J. Brown H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*

1971 Professor D.J. Evans Deas-Thompson Prize for Physics, U Sydney

1972 Emeritus Professor D.P. Craig H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*

1975 Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson Burrows Award, RACI*

1977 Emeritus Professor M.A. Bennett H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*

1978 Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*

1979 Professor D.J. Evans Fulbright Fellowship

1980 Emeritus Professor A.L.J. Beckwith H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*

1980 Emeritus Professor A.J. Birch Leighton Memorial Medal, RACI*

1980 Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson Award for Inorganic Chemistry, American Chemical Society
1980 Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson Bailar Medal, U Illinois

1981 Emeritus Professor D.P. Craig Order of Australia: AO

1981 Emeritus Professor L.N. Mander H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*

1982 Emeritus Professor R.W. Rickards H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*

1983 Professor D.J. Evans Rennie Medal for Chemistry, RACI*

1983 Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson Nyholm Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry, London

1985 Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson Dwyer Medal, U New South Wales

1986 Professor M.G. Banwell Rennie Medal for Chemistry, RACI*

1988 Professor D.J. Evans Distinguished Young Chemist Award, Federation of Asian Chemical Societies

1988 Professor D.J. Evans Bronze Medallion, Australian Rheological Society

1988 Professor L. Radom H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*

1989 Professor N.E. Dixon Boehringer-Mannheim Medal, ASBMB

1990 Professor D.J. Evans Frederick White Prize, Australian Academy of Science

1990 Professor L.N. Mander Flintoff Medal and Prize, Royal Society of Chemistry, London

1991 Emeritus Professor D.P. Craig Leighton Memorial Medal, RACI*

1992 Professor M.G. Banwell Grimwade Prize in Industrial Chemistry, Melbourne U

1992 Emeritus Professor R.W. Rickards Adrien Albert Award, Medicinal and Agricultural Chemistry Division, RACI*

1992 Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson Centenary Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK

1993 Professor L.N. Mander Jeffery Medal, U New South Wales

1993 Professor L.N. Mander Birch Medal, Division of Organic Chemistry, RACI*

1993 Professor L.N. Mander CIBA Award in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Royal Society of Chemistry, London

1994 Professor L. Radom Schrödinger Medal, WATOC

1995 Professor L. N. Mander Archibald Ollé Prize, NSW Branch, RACI*

1995 Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson Rolf Sammet Award, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität, Frankfurt am Main

1997 Dr D.J. Brown Olle Prize for Chemical Literature, RACI*

1997 Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson International Izatt-Christensen Award in Macrocyclic Chemistry

1997 Professor J.W. White H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*

1998 Professor C.J. Easton DSc, U Adelaide

1999 Professor P.M.W. Gill Dirac Medal, WATOC

2000 Dr M.L. Coote Cornforth Medal, RACI*

2000 Professor M.G. Banwell Humboldt Research Award, AvHF, Germany

2000 Professor C.J. Easton Archibald Ollé Prize, RACI* for Chemical Literature

2000 Professor C.J. Easton Birch Medal, RACI* for Research in Organic Chemistry

2000 Professor D.J. Evans H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*

2000-1 Professor D.J. Evans S.F. Boys-A. Rahman Lectureship, Royal Society of Chemistry, London

2000 Professor L. N. Mander Centenary Medal, Australian Government

2000 Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson Leighton Medal, RACI*

2001 Dr M.L. Coote Young Scientist Prize, IUPAC

2001 Emeritus Professor D.P. Craig Centenary Medal, Australian Government

2001 Professor C.J. Easton Weston Visiting Professorship, Weizmann Institute, Israel

2001 Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson Mathew Flinders Medal, Australian Academy of Science

2002 Professor C.J. Easton Erskine Fellowship, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

2002 Professor L. N. Mander David Craig Medal, Australian Academy of Science

2003 Professor M.G. Banwell Award in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK

2003 Professor Michael Collins Physical Chemistry Division Medal, RACI*

2003 Professor D.J. Evans Centenary Medal, Australian Government

2003 Emeritus Professor R.W. Rickards Australian Centenary Medal, Australian Government

2004 Professor M.G. Banwell Boehringer-Ingelheim Lecturer, Ohio State U

2004-5 Professor M.G. Banwell Novartis Chemistry Lecturer

2004 Professor M.G. Banwell Birch Medal, RACI*

2004 Professor C.J. Easton Tasmanian Alkaloids Lectureship

2004 Professor D.J. Evans Moyal Medal, Macquarie U

2005 Professor M.G. Banwell Merck Lecturer, UK

2005 Professor P.M.W. Gill Pople Medal APATCC

2005 Professor J.W. White Craig Medal, Australian Academy of Science

2005 Professor J.W. White Leighton Medal, RACI^*

^* Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1954	Emeritus Professor A.J. Birch	H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*
1964	Emeritus Professor D.J. Brown	H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*
1971	Professor D.J. Evans	Deas-Thompson Prize for Physics, U Sydney
1972	Emeritus Professor D.P. Craig	H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*
1975	Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson	Burrows Award, RACI*
1977	Emeritus Professor M.A. Bennett	H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*
1978	Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson	H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*
1979	Professor D.J. Evans	Fulbright Fellowship
1980	Emeritus Professor A.L.J. Beckwith	H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*
1980	Emeritus Professor A.J. Birch	Leighton Memorial Medal, RACI*
1980	Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson	Award for Inorganic Chemistry, American Chemical Society
1980	Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson	Bailar Medal, U Illinois
1981	Emeritus Professor D.P. Craig	Order of Australia: AO
1981	Emeritus Professor L.N. Mander	H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*
1982	Emeritus Professor R.W. Rickards	H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*
1983	Professor D.J. Evans	Rennie Medal for Chemistry, RACI*
1983	Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson	Nyholm Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry, London
1985	Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson	Dwyer Medal, U New South Wales
1986	Professor M.G. Banwell	Rennie Medal for Chemistry, RACI*
1988	Professor D.J. Evans	Distinguished Young Chemist Award, Federation of Asian Chemical Societies
1988	Professor D.J. Evans	Bronze Medallion, Australian Rheological Society
1988	Professor L. Radom	H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*
1989	Professor N.E. Dixon	Boehringer-Mannheim Medal, ASBMB
1990	Professor D.J. Evans	Frederick White Prize, Australian Academy of Science
1990	Professor L.N. Mander	Flintoff Medal and Prize, Royal Society of Chemistry, London
1991	Emeritus Professor D.P. Craig	Leighton Memorial Medal, RACI*
1992	Professor M.G. Banwell	Grimwade Prize in Industrial Chemistry, Melbourne U
1992	Emeritus Professor R.W. Rickards	Adrien Albert Award, Medicinal and Agricultural Chemistry Division, RACI*
1992	Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson	Centenary Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK
1993	Professor L.N. Mander	Jeffery Medal, U New South Wales
1993	Professor L.N. Mander	Birch Medal, Division of Organic Chemistry, RACI*
1993	Professor L.N. Mander	CIBA Award in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Royal Society of Chemistry, London
1994	Professor L. Radom	Schrödinger Medal, WATOC
1995	Professor L. N. Mander	Archibald Ollé Prize, NSW Branch, RACI*
1995	Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson	Rolf Sammet Award, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität, Frankfurt am Main
1997	Dr D.J. Brown	Olle Prize for Chemical Literature, RACI*
1997	Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson	International Izatt-Christensen Award in Macrocyclic Chemistry
1997	Professor J.W. White	H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*
1998	Professor C.J. Easton	DSc, U Adelaide
1999	Professor P.M.W. Gill	Dirac Medal, WATOC
2000	Dr M.L. Coote	Cornforth Medal, RACI*
2000	Professor M.G. Banwell	Humboldt Research Award, AvHF, Germany
2000	Professor C.J. Easton	Archibald Ollé Prize, RACI* for Chemical Literature
2000	Professor C.J. Easton	Birch Medal, RACI* for Research in Organic Chemistry
2000	Professor D.J. Evans	H.G. Smith Memorial Medal, RACI*
2000-1	Professor D.J. Evans	S.F. Boys-A. Rahman Lectureship, Royal Society of Chemistry, London
2000	Professor L. N. Mander	Centenary Medal, Australian Government
2000	Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson	Leighton Medal, RACI*
2001	Dr M.L. Coote	Young Scientist Prize, IUPAC
2001	Emeritus Professor D.P. Craig	Centenary Medal, Australian Government
2001	Professor C.J. Easton	Weston Visiting Professorship, Weizmann Institute, Israel
2001	Emeritus Professor A.M. Sargeson	Mathew Flinders Medal, Australian Academy of Science
2002	Professor C.J. Easton	Erskine Fellowship, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
2002	Professor L. N. Mander	David Craig Medal, Australian Academy of Science
2003	Professor M.G. Banwell	Award in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK
2003	Professor Michael Collins	Physical Chemistry Division Medal, RACI*
2003	Professor D.J. Evans	Centenary Medal, Australian Government
2003	Emeritus Professor R.W. Rickards	Australian Centenary Medal, Australian Government
2004	Professor M.G. Banwell	Boehringer-Ingelheim Lecturer, Ohio State U
2004-5	Professor M.G. Banwell	Novartis Chemistry Lecturer
2004	Professor M.G. Banwell	Birch Medal, RACI*
2004	Professor C.J. Easton	Tasmanian Alkaloids Lectureship
2004	Professor D.J. Evans	Moyal Medal, Macquarie U
2005	Professor M.G. Banwell	Merck Lecturer, UK
2005	Professor P.M.W. Gill	Pople Medal APATCC
2005	Professor J.W. White	Craig Medal, Australian Academy of Science
2005	Professor J.W. White	Leighton Medal, RACI^*