Blog Spot

The Community of Analytical Science (CAMS), is an industry led network across the UK and Ireland, whose purpose is aimed at promoting world-class analytical measurement science training, research and innovation by bringing together a network of industrial and academic partners with interests in these fields across the UK and Ireland. We are funded by the Analytical Chemistry Trust Fund (ACTF), our industry memberships, academia programme co-funding, (former) BEIS and supported by the Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership (MMIP). As an industry led-network, CAMS works to address specific industry challenges in four priority areas: 1)Point of use sensors and photonics; 2) Complex mixtures, separations and detection; 3) Data analytics; 4) Novel instrumentation or techniques. In our first three years of membership, we co-funded 41 programmes - including 14 academic co-funded positions in UK and Irish Universities, 8 of which are permanent (2 new chairs and 6 new lecturers in analytical science). The remaining funding has been directed towards postdoctoral fellowships and industry:academia PhDs. In our time as a network however, we have been less successful with engaging academic institutions to appoint separation scientists or commission separation science projects, and our industry members continue to report challenges with finding suitably qualified and / or experienced separation scientists. For this reason, CAMS is now co-ordinating a white paper for use with UK and Irish policy makers and funders and has catalysed the project by  bringing together the leading Separation Science expert community groups - the Royal Society of Chemistry Separation Science Group (Chair John Langley) and The Chromatographic Society (Chair Tony Edge) to lead the charge on starting a conversation about the state of the Nation for Separation Science. The project began with a one day meeting in London on June 22nd - with many community experts in the UK and from the Netherlands and Belgium, and industry/instrument company representation. This presentation will summarise the one day meeting output and invite further input from the SinS community on this topic - please come along and have your say - is Separation Science on Life Support?