Awards for technicians

In September, the West Midlands Chemistry Technician of the Year awards were held at Aston University as part of the British Science Festival.

The RSC's Birmingham and West Midlands section set up the awards in cooperation with Higher Education and Technicians Education and Development (HEaTED), the universities of Warwick and Aston and Advantage West Midlands as a pilot program to recognise chemistry technicians in the area.

The winners of the 2010 award were David Walton from the University of Aston, for technical work in support of research and Susan Izon, Heart of England School, Coventry, for technical work in support of education. The winners each received a trophy and scroll as well as £250 prize money.

RSC President David Phillips presented the awards and spoke on the importance of technicians in supporting the chemical sciences. The RSC are now looking at the results of this pilot project and whether the initiative could be successful on a wider scale.