5 Feb 2014
'Informulation': Design Principles for Future Formulation brought together 63 scientists from companies and academia working across a wide range of sectors to consider how future formulations may be pre-designed to impart desirable properties to a product.
Dr Paul Clegg, Director of the Edinburgh Complex Fluids Partnership, spoke of new technologies to stabilise emulsions and identified areas of opportunity not already covered by intellectual property protection. Prof Wilson Poon, Head of Experimental Soft Matter Physics at the University of Edinburgh, spoke of the fundamental relevance of the underlying physical principles for improving existing formulations and pre-designing future formulations.
Dr Alex Lips, recently retired from the position of Principal Scientist at Unilever, spoke of the sensory aspects of formulations and the fascinating balance between consumer expectations and the science behind the product.
During lunch, the SCI Scotland Group, chaired by Prof Russell Howe, held its Annual General Meeting and eight attendees were present. Two new members to the committee were proposed, Shona Rhydderch (student member) and Rainer Ebel (Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Aberdeen).
The group discussed ways to enhance SCI engagement across Scotland and find ways to meet the challenge of a population distributed over large distances, possibly through collaboration with industry and professional bodies in Scotland. Future events based in Scotland and potential speakers for the Lister and Tennant lectures were proposed.
During the afternoon, 1:1 meetings provided a chance for deeper conversations between participants regarding innovation and research challenges provided by companies and academics alike.
As Colin Brown, Director of Research and Quality Development at the Mentholatum Company Limited said, 'It was a truly enjoyable day with only positive comments. The venue was excellent, the opportunity to learn from high calibre experts was most welcome, and the chance to interact with others in academia and industry was very worthwhile.'
Dr Tiffany Wood
Scotland Group Committee Member
Visit Blog