The Organic Reaction Mechanisms Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry is involved with promoting british physical organic chemistry throughout the UK and internationally. We aim to be a forum for those physical organic chemists who are applying their expertise to both traditional and new problems, and to those chemists across these diverse areas who identify a physical organic component in their approach to their sphere of research.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Physical Organic Chemists Residential Meeting 2006

24th – 25th July 2006

Organised by the RSC Organic Reaction Mechanisms Group and sponsored by the EPSRC.

Physical organic chemistry (POC) covers a wide field based around understanding and influencing chemistry at the molecular level, especially quantitatively or mechanistically. As a group representing the interests of POC, we are trying to strengthen and encourage younger members of the community by developing a stronger network and ensure a healthy future for the subject.

In May 2004 we held the first “Physical Organic Chemists Residential Meeting” in a location in the Peak District close to Castleton. The meeting was made up of group leaders giving short talks and an accompanying PDRA or PhD student presenting posters, with time set aside for informal discussion (similar to the format used by Gordon conferences). The meeting was judged a success by all in attendance, and the following year we filled the venue to capacity so we are continuing the event on an annual basis.

The third such conference will be on July 24th-25th 2006, at the same location in the Peak District (close to Castleton), and we would like everyone interested in attending to contact AnnMarie O’Donoghue (Conference Secretary of the RSC Organic Reaction Mechanisms Group; e-mail: annmarie.odonoghue@durham.ac.uk). The cost is estimated to be £100 and includes accommodation and meals. The meeting will commence on the morning of Monday 24th July (check-in from the evening of Sunday 23rd July) and the formal programme will finish mid-afternoon of Tuesday 25th July.

We define POC broadly and welcome people from complementary disciplines so that the proposed meetings can foster interdisciplinary research and contacts.

ICPOC18, Warsaw

The 18th international IUPAC conference on Physical Organic Chemistry, ICPOC18, will this year be held in Warsaw on August 20-26th 2006.

POMS - Physical Organic Mini-symposia in Canada

The POMS - Physical Organic Mini-symposiumis an annual conference held in Canada are one of the international highlights of the physical organic chemistry community and have been running since 1973. They provide an excellent forum for relaxed exchange of information and networking.

Autumn Postgraduate Meeting 2005

Was successfully held at AstraZeneca (Loughborough) on Thursday 29th September 2005. The themes were: mechanism, reactivity, structure and binding in organic systems.

Young Physical Organic Chemist's residential meeting Castelton 2005

Subsequent to the success of the first Castelton meeting last year, a return was made to Losehill Hall in the Peak district for the Young Physical Organic Chemists Meeting, June 25-26, 2005. It was again a highly successful meeting, which was strongly supported by both academia and Industry and many future meetings are certainly on the cards. The meeting is of similar format to that used by Gordon Conferences, where all attendees participate in presenting current work and close, informal discussion is strongly encouraged. If you are interested in participating in future meetings, or just want further information, please contact Dr Nick Williams.

Winter Meeting 2005 - Controversies in Biological Catalysis - Different or Just Better?

The traditional winter meeting was this year held at the Chemistry Department, Sheffield University. An exciting line up of speakers, Prof. S. M. Roberts, Prof. C. A. Hunter, Prof. A. J. Kirby, Prof. R. Alleman, Prof. D. H. Williams, Prof. N. S. Scrutton, finishing with Prof. M. Page, gave the audience stimilating debate and lots of food for thought. The meeting certainly lived up to its promotion as the best contemporary understanding of biocatalysis presented by a first class group of speakers. The meeting was finished off with a wine mixer, but it can be certain that the debates were still raging late into the evening.

The Josef Loschmidt Prize for Excellence in Physical Organic Chemistry

The Josef Loschmidt prize winner for 2004 has been announced as Dr Michael R Crampton of Durham University for his work on kinetic and mechanistic studies of reactions in solution. The next prize nomination deadline is 28th February 2006.

Forthcoming Events and Conferences

The Organic Reaction Mechanisms group organises a number of events for its members and is active in promoting international events in physical organic chemistry.

Upcoming Events include:

Previous Meetings and News

Some of our recent events include:
Other items of interest:

ORMG Mailing List

The RSC Organic Reaction Mechanisms group committee runs a mailing list (called ORM) which is used as a way of communicating information to our group members. The information is generally about activities, conferences, vacancies, queries and news relevant to the physical organic chemistry community. The list is moderated and only usually attracts a rather small number of emails, around one a week, circulated to the subscribers.

To join the mailing list, enter your email address in the JISCmail form and select "Join ORM". To post a message to the forum, email to ORM@jiscmail.ac.uk. For those already subscribed to the mailing list who wish to unsubscribe, full instructions are available on the JISCmail website. Complete archives are also available.

Committee

Members of the Committee of the Organic Reaction Mechanisms Group can be contacted as below.
Chairman
Dr Nick Williams, Centre for Chemical Biology, Krebs Institute for Biomolecular Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7HF, Email n.h.williams@sheffield.ac.uk, Website www.shef.ac.uk/chemistry/staff/williamsnh/

Secretary/treasurer
Dr Jim Iley, Chemistry Department, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, Email j.n.iley@open.ac.uk, Website www.open.ac.uk/science/chemistry

Conference organiser
Dr AnnMarie O'Donoghue, Department of Chemistry, University Science Laboratories, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE , Email annmarie.odonoghue@dur.ac.uk, Website www.dur.ac.uk/chemistry/Staff/amod/amod.htm

Webmistress
Dr Anna Croft, Department of Chemistry, University of Wales Bangor, Bangor, LL57 2UW, Email a.k.croft@bangor.ac.uk, Website www.bangor.ac.uk/ch/akc

Ordinary members
Dr Victor Chechik, Department of Chemistry, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, Email vc4@york.ac.uk, Website www.york.ac.uk/depts/chem/staff/vc.html

Dr Andy Davis, Astra Zeneca R & D Charnwood, Email andy.davis@astrazeneca.com, Website www.astrazeneca.co.uk

Dr George Hodges, Unilever Research and Development, Colworth House, Bedford, MK 44 1LQ, Email george.hodges@unilever.com, Website www.unilever.com

Dr Florian Hollfelder, Department of Biochemistry, 80 Tennis Court Road, 3.84 Sanger Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1GA, Email fh111@cus.cam.ac.uk, Website www.bio.cam.ac.uk/dept/biochem/UTOs/Hollfelder.html


Activities of the Organic Reaction Mechanisms Group

Activities are run by the group for its members and are aimed at dissemination of new developments, and promotion of the general subject of physical organic chemistry. Events include:

The Annual Postgraduate One Day Meeting
Generally held around September each year, this is a one day meeting to showcase new developments in physical organic chemistry by PhD and Masters research students. It is generally well attended by the major research groups in physical organic chemistry, and interested industrialists and is an excellent opportunity to network and initiate new scientific ideas and potential collaborations.

The Annual Winter One Day Meeting
This meeting, held usually in early January, gathers key speakers from research and industry to present cutting-edge research in physical organic chemistry, and is usually followed by a sociable wine-mixer.

Young Physical Organic Chemist's Residential Meeting
The first residential meeting was run in May 2004 in the Peak District and, due to its continued success in 2005, it is envisaged this will become an annual event, designed to strengthen and encourage younger members of the physical organic community by developing a stronger network and thus ensuring a healthy future for the subject. The meeting is of similar format to that used by Gordon Conferences, where all attendees participate in presenting current work and close, informal discussion is strongly encouraged. If you are interested in participating in future meetings, or just want further information, please contact Dr Nick Williams.

Conferences
The committee usually organises a major conference in the area of Physical Organic Chemistry every few years. Further, up-to-date details are found on the RSC's website by searching the conferences and events page. Further details on conferences can be obtained from the groups conference organiser, Dr AnnMarie O'Donoghue.

Ideas?
If you have ideas for other activities you'd like to see, then do not hesitate to contact the committee through the secretary, Dr Jim Iley.

Mission Statement of the Organic Reaction Mechanisms Group

The Organic Reaction Mechanisms Group welcomes participation from those chemists interested and active in physical organic chemistry. We define this area of chemistry as the study of mechanism, reactivity, structure and binding in organic systems, especially leading to the quantitative, molecular level understanding of their properties. Examples of areas where this approach has been and is still productively applied include areas such as organic reactivity, conformational analysis and establishing mechanistic pathways, all essential to enhancing the deeper understanding of organic chemistry.

However, modern physical organic chemistry also encompasses a wider range of contexts (such as biology and materials) than ever before, and interactions which extend beyond reaction pathways (such as complexation and QSAR (quantative structure activity relations)). For example, some current topics where the approaches of physical organic chemistry are being fruitfully applied include: supramolecular interactions, aggregation and reactivity; computation of transition states and mechanisms; molecular recognition, reactions and catalysis in biology; materials where molecular structure controls function; structure activity correlations; mechanisms in synthesis and catalysis; and interactions and reactivity in organised assemblies and interfaces.

These shall no doubt continue to expand, and we aim to be a forum for those physical organic chemists who are applying their expertise to both traditional and new problems, and to those chemists across these diverse areas who identify a physical organic component in their approach to their sphere of research.

What is Physical Organic Chemistry and Why Should I Care?

Physical organic chemistry is the quantitative study of the properties of molecules. From this information, we can get a fundamental understanding of how chemical reactions work, and begin to understand the basis of life and the world around us. Applications for these discoveries can include improved drugs for medicine, the development of new materials for novel technologies, and ways to protect the environment, to name but a few. Above all, physical organic chemistry emphasises understanding, and allows us to develop new chemical products and methods safely.

see also:
Mission Statement of the Organic Reaction Mechanisms Group