National Chemistry Week is off with a bang when it kicked off last weekend.
The University of Aberdeen and The Robert Gordon University have joined forces to make this year's theme of Chemistry Week 2007, Travel: Fuelling the Future as interesting and widely available to the North-east public as possible.
Chemistry Week is a national event organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). Held every two years, the specific aim is to promote a positive image of chemistry and increase public understanding of the importance of chemical science in our everyday lives.
This year's theme his has been chosen to support the RSC's energy and transport campaign of Fuelling the Future, with a particular emphasis on how chemistry offers positive solutions to the energy challenges that travel (and transport) are facing today.
One of the organisers of this year's Chemistry Week 2007 is Professor Jim Anderson, of the University of Aberdeen. He said: "Chemistry plays a pivotal role in today's society. The aim of the programme of events is to raise the profile of science, and chemistry in particular, and is designed to help people understand that chemistry is fundamental to everyday life. I hope that the various events being organised will raise awareness of the influence of chemistry
Tomorrow, on Friday, November 9, a lunchtime lecture is being staged between 12 noon and 1.00pm at King's College Centre, at the University of Aberdeen. James Smith, Chairman of Shell UK, will deliver his presentation, Energy and Climate Change, to guests.
Mr Smith graduated from the University in 1973 with a First Class Honours degree in Physics. He subsequently qualified as a chartered accountant while working with Ernst and Young in Edinburgh and, before joining Shell in 1983, worked in the energy division of Andersen Consulting in London.
Mr Smith is currently Chairman of Shell UK and has worked in all the group's major businesses. With 25 years' experience in the oil and gas sector, James Smith is a business leader of substance. As Chairman of Shell UK, he is responsible for around 8,000 people directly in the UK; indirectly around 80,000 jobs are dependent on his company's activities.
Professor C Duncan Rice, Principal and Vice Chancellor at the University, will welcome guests before introducing Mr Smith as the guest speaker. Professor Rice will host a Q&A session with the audience before bringing the event to a close. A sandwich lunch will be provided and there will be an opportunity to meet with Mr Smith following the lecture. Everyone is welcome to attend. To book your place at the free-of-charge lecture, please contact Dr Richard Wells on: (01224) 272920 or email: href="outbind://156/r.wells@abdn.ac.uk" title="outbind://156/r.wells@abdn.ac.uk">r.wells@abdn.ac.uk</a></p>
Dr Richard Wells, from the University of Aberdeen's Department of Chemistry, and Secretary of the Aberdeen and Northern Scotland local section of the RSC is looking forward to a fascinating week of events. He said: "Chemistry is often portrayed as a dirty science and many people have little or no idea how much chemistry impacts on their every day lives. The aim of Chemistry Week is to help show the contribution that chemistry and chemical science has brought to our lives today through a broad range of topics."