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Welcome to the Website of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC), publisher of the scholarly journal Ambix.


Founded in 1935, SHAC has consistently maintained the highest standards of scholarship in all aspects of the history of alchemy and chemistry from early times to the present. The Society has a wide international membership from over thirty countries.

We hold meetings and webinars, offer scholarly prizes and grants, and publish the journal Ambix. The Society’s newsletter, Chemical Intelligence, is published twice a year. We have also established the Graduate Network to bring together postgraduate students in the field.

Keep up to date with the news and events of SHAC by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

You can watch our SHAC Online Seminars on YouTube here.

Please note: For member access to the journal Ambix or to update your contact details please log in via the member area.  If you need a new password, use the “Lost your password?” facility on the Login page, or if that fails, contact info [AT] ambix.org. The only function of the member area is to provide online access to the journal Ambix. You do not need to log in to renew membership subscriptions.

 In case you forgot your login: To change your email address and your postal address for receiving copies of Ambix, please visit the update personal info page by clicking the button below.

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Please note that changes are processed manually and you will receive a confirmation email when our records have been updated. For any queries please contact info[AT]ambix.org.

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Nomination for members of Council and a Trustee for the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry

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Nominations are sought for six elected members to Council which become vacant at the AGM this coming May.

SHAC is a registered charity. In consequence members of Council are also Trustees for the purposes of charity legislation.  Council members serve for a period of three years and are expected to attend each of its two annual meetings as well as the AGM if possible.

The following Council members wish to continue as such and under the constitution are permitted to do so without reappointment at the AGM.

B.T. Moran              Journal Editor (Officer)

C.A. Cobbold          Membership Secretary (Officer)

C.J. Campbell                   Secretary (officer)

D.G. Hedesan

L.M. Principe

V.M. Quirke

J.M. Rampling

T. Taape

The following Members of Council have agreed to stand down, but are willing to be re-elected at the AGM, which will take place (via Zoom) at 2pm, Wednesday 3rd May.

F.A.J.L. James                  Chair (Officer)

R.A. Johnstone                 Treasurer (Officer)

A.E. Simmons                   AMBIX Secretary (Officer)

P.J Forshaw

The current Council have nominated the above four members for re-election, in addition to

Dr. Jennifer Wilson (Officer), as candidates to join Council and to act as Trustees for the Society.

Should you also wish to nominate a member of SHAC to join Council please contact the Frank James (Chair) or Chris Campbell (Secretary) for further details and a nomination form. Nominations must be accompanied by the written consent of the nominee, with the nomination form submitted no later than Friday 14th April.

frank.james@ucl.ac.uk

chris.campbell.12@ucl.ac.uk

Should an election be required it will be held at the AGM to be held on Zoom on Wednesday 3rd May, and details circulated to members in advance. 

Details of the time of the meeting and a link to the Eventbrite registration page will be sent to you next week.

Armel Cornu wins the 2023 Partington Prize

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The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry is delighted to announce that the winner of the 2023 Partington Prize is Dr Armel Cornu of the Science History Institute for her entry “Senses and utility in the New Chemistry.”

Armel Cornu is a postdoctoral researcher at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia. She majored in chemistry and history before graduating with a masters degree in the history of science at Université Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris. She obtained her doctorate at the University of Uppsala in 2022 with a dissertation centring on the market, regulation, and science of mineral waters in eighteenth-century France. Her research is characterised by a social and economic approach to the development of chemistry throughout the Enlightenment. She currently works on the uses of sensorial impressions in the practice and perception of eighteenth-century chemistry.

The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry established the Partington Prize in memory of Professor James Riddick Partington, the Society’s first Chairman. It is awarded every three years for an original and unpublished essay on any aspect of the history of alchemy or chemistry. The prize-winning article will appear in the Society’s journal, Ambix, in due course.

REMINDER – SHAC AWARD SCHEME 2023

Applications are now open for the SHAC Award Scheme 2023, with a closing date of 31 May 2023.

SHAC offers two types of award up to a maximum value of £1000: support for research into the history of chemistry or history of alchemy by both new and independent scholars and support for Subject Development of either history of chemistry or history of alchemy. It is expected that applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application by 31 July 2023. The Awards are most suitable for activities planned to be undertaken during the academic year October 2023–September 2024. To apply please request a form from grants@ambix.org . Applicants must be members of the Society in good standing at the time of making an application, and, if successful, throughout the period of an award.

For further details see: https://www.ambix.org/grants/

With best wishes,

Chris Campbell

Honorary Secretary

SHAC

Next online seminar: British 2nd WW Nerve Agent Research

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The next on-line seminar of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry will be given by Dr Alison McManus (Johns Hopkins University) who will present  

“A Compound of Considerable Interest”: British Nerve Agent Research during the Second World War   


This will be live on Thursday, 23 March 2023, beginning at 5.00pm GMT (6.00pm CET, 1pm ET, 10.00am PT). The format will be a talk of 20-30 minutes, followed by a moderated discussion of half an hour.  

As with recent seminars the Zoom link can be freely accessed by anyone, member of SHAC or not, by booking through the following Eventbrite link: 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shac-on-line-seminar-dr-alison-mcmanus-tickets-570573399397

Alternatively, the seminar can be accessed live on YouTube at https://youtube.com/live/aexu17ziSVA.

Most previous on-line seminars can be found on the SHAC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/SocietyforHistoryofAlchemyandChemistry

“A Compound of Considerable Interest”: British Nerve Agent Research during the Second World War   

Alison McManus  

During the Second World War, British chemists nearly developed organophosphate nerve agents to rival the rumoured German superweapons that we now know as tabun, sarin, and soman. They did so under the aegis of the Chemical Defence Experimental Station (CDES) at Porton Down, which issued research contracts to the Chemistry and Physiological Laboratories at the University of Cambridge. In this talk, I reconstruct the chemical screening programs that took place within these laboratories, highlighting acts of intelligence gathering, the interpretation of evidence, and iterative experimentation (some of which drew from parallel work across the Atlantic). As a result of these extensive surveys, chemists and physiologists identified compounds with striking structural similarities to the German nerve agents but which never approached their degree of toxicity. In conclusion, I offer institutional, economic, and epistemological explanations for this infamous “near miss” in military history. 

Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry Award Scheme 2023

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Opening date: 1 March 2023

Closing date for applications: 31 May 2023

The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry invites applications for its Award Scheme for 2023. SHAC offers two types of award: support for research into the history of chemistry or history of alchemy by both new and independent scholars and support for Subject Development of either history of chemistry or history of alchemy. It is expected that applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application by 31 July 2023. The Awards are most suitable for activities planned to be undertaken during the academic year October 2023–September 2024. However, there will be a two-year window for completion due to ongoing uncertainty over plans for future research projects, conferences, workshops etc.

Research Awards are open to post-graduate students (both masters and doctoral students), those who have obtained a PhD since 1 January 2013 and also to independent scholars. Given that the circumstances of independent scholars differ we are letting members ‘self-define’ and if there are any unclear cases it will be left to the discretion of the Awards Panel.

Awards of up to £1000 will be made to cover research expenses, including travel, accommodation, subsistence (at the discretion of the award panel), the reproduction of documents, and library fees. Applications may also include the costs of reproducing images for publication. The Scheme does not fund the purchase of equipment or course fees. It does not cover the costs of Open Access publication.

In addition, those who have obtained a PhD since 1 January 2013 and independent scholars may apply for the costs of travel to conferences and accommodation, but only in order to give a paper. The Scheme does not pay conference registration fees.

Subject Development Awards of up to £1000 may be made to support activities such as seminars, workshops, colloquia, lecture series, conference sessions, conferences, exhibitions and outreach activities that support either the history of chemistry or history of alchemy as academic subjects. The Awards do not cover the costs of refreshments or catering for these events. The Scheme does not cover the costs of Open Access publication.

Please note that activities covered by the Awards do not have to occur in the UK, and that the Awards are open to members of the Society resident both in the UK and elsewhere. Members who have applied to the Scheme in previous years, whether successfully or not, are entitled to make an application in 2023. Members are only permitted to make one application to each annual Award Scheme (not including the SHAC Special ICHC13 Award Scheme which closed on 28.02.2023).

Applicants must be members of the Society in good standing at the time of making an application, and, if successful, throughout the period of an award. For more information and application forms, please contact grants@ambix.org. Membership enquiries should be made to newjoiner@ambix.org.

An activity report must be submitted at the end of the Award. This will usually be published in SHAC’s Chemical Intelligence newsletter.

Winter 2023 issue of Chemical Intelligence and Awards

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The winter 2023 issue of Chemical Intelligence, edited by Karoliina Pukkinen, is now available online for members to enjoy:

https://www.ambix.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FINAL_ChemicalIntelligence-WINTER2023.pdf

It introduces our new webmaster, Sarah Lang, and new postgraduate representative, Josh Werrett. There are details of the new FOHCS mentoring scheme, obituaries of Trevor Levere, Piyo Rattansi and Peter Spargo, and other SHAC news and reports.

A couple of quick reminders:

28 February 2023 is the closing date for the ICHC Special Award Scheme:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00026980.2022.2134615

1 March 2023 is the opening date for the SHAC 2023 Award Scheme:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00026980.2023.2180223?src=

Application forms for both schemes are available from grants@ambix.org and further details are available in Chemical Intelligence.

History Lab Plus 2023 Event for PhDs: Community and Collaboration

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Are you in the latter stages of your PhD or post PhD?

Does/did that PhD involve historical research?

Then scroll no further!

To mark the relaunch of History Lab Plus you are warmly invited to attend History Lab Plus 2023: Community and Collaboration on 13 January 2023.

History Lab Plus is a national network, affiliated with the Institute of Historical Research (IHR), that supports early-career historians working within and outside of academia. History Lab Plus’s committee works with the IHR, learned societies, academics, and professionals across multiple sectors to provide members with tailored support including training and networking opportunities, resources, and a programme of events showcasing recent historical research and projects.

At ‘Community and Collaboration’, you will…

  • discover more about History Lab Plus and what we have lined up for our members in 2023
  • hear about early-career researchers’ ongoing research and projects
  • receive tips and advice about career development (including publishing and fostering external partnerships)
  • meet with and discuss the opportunities and hurdles faced by fellow early-career historians
  • shape the future of History Lab Plus

Speakers include: Claire Langhamer (Director of IHR), Catherine Clarke (Director of Centre for the History of People, Place and Community, IHR), Clare Stainthorp (Leverhulme Early-Career Fellow, Queen Mary), Elizabeth Howard (Commissioning Editor, Peter Lang), and members of the History Lab Plus Committee.

To find out more and book your place visit History Lab Plus 2023: Community and Collaboration information and booking form to reserve your place today!

To become a member of History Lab Plus, simply drop Sarah Holland (sarah.holland@nottingham.ac.uk) an email. To find out more, follow us on Twitter @historylabplus.

Online Seminar January 19th: A History of the Periodic Table

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the next on-line seminar of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry will be given by Professor Eric Scerri (UCLA) who will present  

A Brief Philosophical History of the Periodic Table 

This will be live on Thursday, 19 January 2023, beginning at 5.00pm GMT (6.00pm CET, 12noon ET, 9.00am PT). The format will be a talk of 20-30 minutes, followed by a moderated discussion of half an hour.  


As with recent seminars the Zoom link can be freely accessed by anyone, member of SHAC or not, via the following Eventbrite link: 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shac-online-seminar-professor-eric-scerri-tickets-499088044777

Alternatively, the seminar can be accessed live on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Fjln_vAqvSQ


Most previous on-line seminars can be found on the SHAC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/SocietyforHistoryofAlchemyandChemistry

 

A Brief Philosophical History of the Periodic Table 

Eric Scerri

My talk will begin with a brief history of the origins of the periodic table, starting with the contributions of Dalton, Döbereiner and others. I will proceed to the independent discovery of the periodic table by as many as six individuals, culminating with Mendeleev’s table just over 150 years ago. The emphasis will be on philosophical aspects of these developments such as the debate concerning the relative merits of predictions and accommodations.  

I will discuss the challenges that the periodic table faced, such as the existence of pair reversals and the discovery of the noble gases. Next came several discoveries in physics, including X-rays, radioactivity and the electron, all of which had a profound effect on the understanding of the periodic table. Research in atomic structure beginning at the turn of the 20th century prompted some physicists such as J.J. Thomson and Niels Bohr to begin to seek a fundamental explanation for the periodic table in terms of electronic structure.  

The later developed quantum mechanics of Heisenberg, Schrödinger, Pauli and others led to a more rigorous explanation, although some open questions remain up to present times. For example, there is yet no fundamental explanation for the empirical rule that the occupation of atomic orbitals proceeds via the simple n + 1 rule.  

In addition, relativistic effects are being increasingly considered in attempts to understand the heavier elements in particular. Finally, several other remaining open questions will be mentioned, such as the membership of group 3 of the periodic table, alternative representations such as the 32-column format, the left-step periodic table and whether there may exist an ‘optimal form’ of the periodic table.