Articles from this issue explore different facets of nineteenth-century chemistry – from Robert Bunsen’s British students, to Benjamin Brodie’s attempt at constructing a ‘chemical calculus’, and the journal’s first excursus into crystallochemistry.
[Archived] “Strange Ice”: A Very Special Demonstration and Lecture (July 23, 4pm)
At the 24th International Congress of History of Science, Technology and Medicine (University of Manchester, July 21-28, 2013), Andrea Sella—professor of chemistry at UCL—will demonstrate some of the strange properties of plain, everyday water ice.
To learn more about this SHAC-sponsored event, download the flyer here. For further information, do not hesitate to contact Dr Anna Marie Roos, Honorary Secretary of SHAC.
[Archived] Chemical Intelligence no. 9 is Out
The May issue of our Newsletter Chemical Intelligence is now out! Download it here or go to our Chemical Intelligence page. Now under the new editorship of Dr Jo Hedesan, with the assistance of Ignacio Suay Matallana, it features a new layout style and plenty of detail on the upcoming summer meetings in the field. Highlights include:
- Call for Papers for the 4th SHAC Postgraduate Workshop ‘Alchemy and Chemistry in Context’
- ‘Chemistry and Their Books’ SHAC Autumn Meeting Line-up
- James Crawford Tercentenary Conference at the University of Edinburgh
- New Ambix Special Issue on Sites of Chemistry in the Eighteenth Century
- SHAC-Sponsored ICHSTM Symposium Programme
- Sites of 20th Century Chemistry Details and International Conference on the History of Chemistry Programme
- New President and CEO of CHF, Carsten Reinhardt, member of SHAC and of the editorial board of Ambix
The Editor welcomes any comments or suggestions for upcoming issues at georgianahedesan@yahoo.com.
[Archived] Call for Papers: ‘Alchemy and Chemistry in Context’, 4th SHAC Postgraduate Workshop
Every year, the SHAC Graduate Network organises an international workshop to provide training on research skills and methodology for graduate students and early career researchers. This year the theme of our workshop will be ‘Alchemy and Chemistry in Context’ and will explore the extent to which chemical knowledge has been shaped by its social, economic, religious and cultural contexts, across a range of historical periods – from medieval alchemy to the chemical industry. The meeting will take place on the 26 October 2013 at the Keynes Library, Birkbeck, London. Our keynote speakers will be Dr Stephen Clucas, Reader in Early Modern Intellectual History, Birkbeck College, University of London, and Prof John Christie, University of Oxford and Leeds.
We would now like to invite 15-20 minute presentations on topics related to the theme in any historical period. To present, please submit an abstract of about 200 words by e-mail to the lead organiser, Jo Hedesan, georgianahedesan@yahoo.com by 30 June 2013. Presenters should be current postgraduate students or junior researchers (within 3 years of completion of the PhD).
Topics might include:
- Alchemy and chemistry in society
- Patronage and support
- Impact of alchemy and chemistry on culture or society
- Social, cultural and economic influence on alchemical and chemical theory and practice
- Alchemy and chemistry’s interaction with other disciplines
The Workshop is free of charge. Bursaries are available towards the cost of travel and/or accommodation for accepted presenters in the first instance. For further details and other queries, please contact the lead organiser, Jo Hedesan at georgianahedesan@yahoo.com.
[Archived] Ambix Journal of the Month at Maney Publishing
The new issue of Ambix is up on the Maney site. It features a gorgeous new cover style, a new editor (Dr Jennifer Rampling) and tantalising articles by Prof Lawrence Principe on Sir Kenelm Digby, Dr Didier Kahn on Joseph Du Chesne, Dr Christopher Baxfield on Stephen Hales and Dr Melanie Keene on early Victorian British ‘familiar chemistry’.
In March 2013, Maney Publishing is featuring Ambix as its Journal of the Month. To celebrate the occasion, Maney has created a special page that offers a number of attractive features and discounts, including:
• FREE content: Access to 3 years’ worth of Ambix content along with the Editor’s top picks!
• Video interview with the Editor, Jennifer Rampling
• Partington Prize winners discuss their articles
• More about past and forthcoming special issues
• 20% off all subscriptions
[Archived] SHAC Award Scheme 2013
The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry invites applications for its award scheme for 2013. Two types of award are available: support for research into the history of chemistry or history of alchemy by New Scholars and support for Subject Development of either history of chemistry or history of alchemy.
The New Scholars Award is open to post-graduate students (both masters and doctoral students) and those who have obtained a PhD within five years of 1 January of the year in which the application is made. Awards of up to £1000 will be made to cover research expenses, including travel, accommodation, subsistence, the reproduction of documents, and library fees. Applications may also include the costs of reproducing images for publication. The scheme will not fund the purchase of equipment or course fees.
[Archived] SHAC Spring Meeting: In the Beginning: Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry
This year, the Society launches Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry, a new series of supplements to Ambix. These will offer critical editions and English translations of important works in the history of chemistry, including works composed in Greek, Syriac, Arabic, Hebrew and Latin. These editions will showcase the best and most up-to-date scholarship on early chemical writings, offering new insight into the origins of alchemy, chemistry and chemical technology. To mark the occasion, the SHAC Spring Meeting explored new work in these fields, using sources that are not yet available in modern editions.
The Meeting took place on the 16 March between 12.30 and 17.30 at Richard Eden Room, Gillian Beer House, Clare Hall (West Court site), Cambridge. The programme is outlined below: