Annual Distinguished Guest Lecture
Our main activity is the Distinguished Guest Lecture (DGL) and accompanying symposium, which last year was held on Wednesday 27th March 2019, at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, London.
The topic of the 2019 DGL was ‘21st Century Chemistry: Disposing of Our Nuclear Legacy' and the Distinguished Guest was Professor Melissa Denecke. A full report of this event will appear in the July 2019 edition of the bulletin.
Many eminent scientists have accepted the invitation to be the Distinguished Guest Lecturer. For example: Professor Jane Plant (2005), Professor Mario Molina (1999), and Sir John Houghton (2000 and 1993).
Since 2007, this event has been extended from a half-day to a one-day meeting, giving an opportunity for three to four presentations from other invited speakers in addition to the Distinguished Guest Lecture.
Full reports of the DGL and accompanying symposium appear in the bi-annual ECG Bulletin immediately after the relevant DGL and are available below.
Distinguished Guest Lecturer Medal
At the 2006 Distinguished Guest Lecture, the inaugural award of the ECG’s Distinguished Guest Lecturer Medal took place. The first recipient of this medal was Professor Mike Pilling from the University of Leeds, and the second medal was presented to Dr Eric Wolff from the British Antarctic Survey at the 2007 DGL.
The Distinguished Guest Lecturer Medal is cast from Cornish tin, smelted and refined using traditional methods to around 99.6% purity. The tin was won before the closure in 1998 of South Crofty Mine, West Cornwall (the last working tin mine in the UK), and produced by the South Crofty Collection.
The medal is designed by Patrick Lowry MA who lectures in the Cornwall College Fine Art Department. He chose the water molecule as a motif because of the ubiquity and uniqueness of water and its intimate relationship with environmental issues. A superimposed tetrahedron symbolises the carbon cycles through which life on earth flourishes and declines. The medal is decorated with a gold and black ribbon (the Cornish colours) and is presented in a mahogany box, designed by Phillip Whitfeld MA and made by students from Cornwall College’s Furniture Design Foundation Degree Course.
2019 ECG Distinguished Guest Lecture and Symposium
27 March 2019, London, United Kingdom. '21st Century Chemistry: Disposing of Our Nuclear Legacy' was an event held by the RSC Environmental Chemistry Group.
2018 ECG Distinguished Guest Lecture and Symposium
28 March 2018, London, United Kingdom. 'Biopollution: Antimicrobial resistance in the environment' was an event held by the RSC Environmental Chemistry Group.
2017 ECG Distinguished Guest Lecture and Symposium
The 2017 ECG Distinguished Guest Lecture and symposium was held on 1st March 2017, exploring the chemistry of diesel engine emissions, emissions policy, and how this is affecting human health.
2016 ECG Distinguished Guest Lecture and Symposium
The 2016 Distinguished Guest Lecture and symposium 'Geoengineering the Climate' was held on 22 March 2016 by the RSC Environmental Chemistry Group.
2015 ECG Distinguished Guest Lecture and Symposium
The 2015 Distinguished Guest Lecture and symposium 'Nanomaterials – Environmental Remediants or Toxicants?' was held on 24 June 2015 by the RSC Environmental Chemistry Group.
2014 ECG Distinguished Guest Lecture and Symposium
The 2014 Distinguished Guest Lecture and symposium 'Plastic debris in the ocean – solutions to a global environmental problem' was held on 12 March 2014 by the RSC Environmental Chemistry Group.
2013 ECG Distinguished Guest Lecture and Symposium
The 2013 Distinguished Guest Lecture and symposium 'Rare earths and other scarce metals – technologically vital but usually thrown away' was held on 20 March 2013 by the RSC Environmental Chemistry Group.
Downloadable Files
ECG Distinguished Guest Lecturers 1986 to 2017