Colloid and Interface Science is central to our understanding and control of an incredible array of materials, products and processes. Colloidal materials are essentially finely divided dispersions of one material in another. They include a variety of complex materials, eg liquids in liquids (emulsions), solids in liquids (dispersions), liquids in gases (aerosols or foams), solid dispersions and biosystems. The key defining feature is the large interfacial surface area.

Recently, the basic science of this area has been critical in our understanding and exploitation of many aspects of nanotechnology. The formulation of colloidal materials is a critical capability in industrial design and manufacture of just about any chemical and many bioindustry “finished” products, eg: medicines and biocides; foods; personal care and household care products; ceramics and composites; paints and coatings to name just a few. Once again, it is the control of the interfacial properties for these materials that determines their end product behaviour.

The Group organises a range of technical meetings each year for the benefit of our members. In recent years, to present a more coherent front for colloid science in the UK, the relevant SCI and RSC committees have met as a joint committee, and all meetings of either group are now co-sponsored and co-organised.

Professor Simon Biggs

 - Colloids Committee Chair

NEW! The Joint Colloids Group newsletter

Can be downloaded from this link.

The Sir Eric Rideal Lecturer for 2013 will be Professor Jeffery Penfold of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Professor Penfold has made three major scientific contributions to surfactant, colloid and interface science. The first is that he and Hayter were the first people to formulate a strategy and the necessary analytical methods for the quantitative interpretation of neutron small angle scattering data from micellar solutions (these methods are still the main ones used). Second, with colleagues at Unilever, he pioneered the development of shear methods in conjunction with small angle scattering. Thirdly, he played a major pioneering role in both the instrumental and methodological development of neutron reflectometry, now widely used for studying interfaces of all kinds. Professor Penfold is much in demand as an invited contributor to scientific conferences around the world.

Prof. Penfold will give his Rideal Lecture at a symposium concentrating on scattering techniques and their applications to be held in March 2013, or thereabouts. Further details will follow in due course.

2012 McBain Medal winner and lecturer will be Dr V Khutoryanskiy MRSC.

The 2012 McBain Medal will be awarded to Dr Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy MRSC, Reader in Pharmacetical Materials in the University of Reading. Dr Khutoryanskiy, an active member of the UK polymer colloids community, has quickly gained an international reputation for his imaginative use of colloid, polymer and interface science in the development of novel materials: for his work on muco-adhesion and materials for drug delivery, for example. His wide-ranging work demonstrates strategic vision, technical facility and ambition, and his publications metrics and record of invited talks show that his work receives widespread attention. A summary of his research interest can be found at http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/FILES/pharmacy/Current_research_activities.pdf

The McBain medal will be presented to Dr Khutoryanskiy at a one-day symposium on the theme of “Self-assembled materials for biomedical applications “, to be held in London on Thursday 10 January 2013, further details to follow in due course. The highlight of the symposium will be Dr Khutoryanskiy’s medal lecture of course, but expect a stellar supporting cast too.

Polymeric and Self-Assembled Hydrogels (4 - 5 September 2012, King's College, London, UK)

This 2-day conference aims to bring together academics as well as industrialists with interest in hydrogels research, including their structure, properties and applications, either in polymeric networks - of synthetic or biological origin - or self-assembled surfactants or peptides.

Confirmed speakers

• Alan Rowan, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
• Mitsuhiro Shibayama, University of Tokyo, Japan
• Molly Shoichet, University of Toronto, Canada
• Madeleine Djabourov, ESPCI, France
• John Mitchell, University of Nottingham, UK
• Rein Ulijn, University of Strathclyde, UK

Organising committee

• Cecile Dreiss, King's College, London
• Oren Scherman, University of Cambridge
• Dave Adams, University of Liverpool
• Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy, University of Reading
• Claire Pizzey, Diamond Light Source

A flier for the conference can be downloaded from this link.