The RSC Separation Science Group committee has demonstrated exceptional leadership, vision and sustained commitment in establishing Solutions in Science (SinS) as a major interdisciplinary conference for the analytical sciences. The group is the largest to serve the separation science community in the UK and Ireland, providing authoritative information, promoting new developments and best practice, organising national and international meetings, supporting students and early career researchers through bursaries and presentation prizes, and recognising outstanding achievement in the field.
Building on an excellent track record of co‑organising smaller scientific meetings within the Royal Society of Chemistry and with other learned societies in the UK and internationally, the committee recognised the need for a more connected and ambitious model. Rather than continuing with multiple siloed events, it created a conference designed to bring communities together across disciplines, sectors and career stages. A key component of this vision was the integration of industry and academia, ensuring that scientific advances, practical applications, innovation needs and real‑world challenges could be discussed in the same forum. The committee also sought innovative venue arrangements that would support networking and exhibitor engagement while allowing the meeting to scale up as demand grew.
A major part of the committee’s success was how it brought interest groups together. The Separation Science Group actively engaged partner communities by inviting representatives to help co‑chair the conference, join the organising structure, and develop embedded scientific sessions within the programme. This gave each partner group a clear role in shaping content, attracting its own audience and connecting delegates with researchers, practitioners and technology providers from other areas. In this way, SinS became not simply a larger meeting, but a deliberately designed platform for cross-disciplinary exchange, collaboration and networking between academia, industry, government and learned societies.
The committee also worked hard to communicate and champion this vision beyond the conference itself. Members wrote and spoke about SinS in leading analytical media outlets and promoted the meeting at national and international conferences, helping to build confidence in the concept and extend its reach. Drawing on its respected standing and track record of excellence in the field, the committee also secured significant sponsorship, supporting strong exhibitor participation and widening opportunities for early career researchers through bursaries and visibility.
The outcomes were impressive. The SSG’s vision and design for SinS were delivered together with International Labmate (ILM) as the professional conference organiser in Cardiff in 2023, attracting 160 delegates and receiving 100% 'good' or 'excellent' feedback from delegates and exhibitors. Around 40% of presentations were delivered by early career scientists. SinS Brighton 2025 grew to 270 delegates, more than 20 exhibitors, and 15 partner organisations, covering topics from climate change and environmental protection to disease, sustainable methods, green energy and data science.
This work reflects the wider aims of the Separation Science Group to advance knowledge, foster best practice, support researchers at all career stages and strengthen the UK analytical community. Such support is critically needed if the UK is to remain competitive in the separation sciences, a field that underpins sectors from healthcare and pharmaceuticals to food safety, advanced manufacturing and environmental protection.