Thermal Methods Group
TMG Meetings
The TMG initially held two or three meetings a year, frequently in conjunction with other Groups of the Society of Analytical Chemistry or Royal Institute of Chemistry. The meetings covered a wide range of topics ranging from “Protection of the Environment” to “Controlling Explosives” and were sometimes held in the afternoon or evening. A particular effort was made to meet in different parts of the UK in order to reach as many of the membership as possible. By the 1980’s the group had developed a pattern of holding a 2 day meeting in April and a one day meeting in November.
In general the meetings were on specific subject areas and, as a result TMG members might not attend a meeting for several years if their own field was not featured. In 1995 it was decided that a National Thermal Analysis Conference (TAC) would be held in place of the normal two day April meeting. This would be open to all areas of thermal analysis and calorimetry and would help promote a regular attendance by Group members. The first TAC was held in Leeds in 1996 and proved a considerable success with over 100 delegates. The pattern was thus established for regular TAC meetings and a list of those organised to date are given in Table 4. In addition to the TAC conferences the Group still holds a one day meeting in November devoted to a specific topic.
The TMG has also ventured outside the UK on two occasions holding a joint meeting with the Association Française de Calorimétrie (AFCAT) and the Groupe de Thermodynamique Expérimentale in Rennes in 1974 and with the Nordic Society for Thermal Analysis in Bergen in 1986. Both meetings were memorable for the warmth of the welcome that the TMG delegates received and the TMG were delighted to be able to reciprocate by hosting a joint meeting with AFCAT in 1977 at Plymouth Polytechnic. The meeting in Rennes was also notable for a very lively discussion on kinetics which was in no way hampered by the two main protagonists being unable to speak each other’s language.
TMG has also organised four international conferences, two in conjunction with the International Confederation for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (ICTAC) and two with the European Symposium for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (ESTAC). In 2005, the TMG became the first National Group to hold a meeting with a Specialist Committee of ICTAC. The topic was sample controlled thermal analysis (SCTA) and the meeting was held at the University of Huddersfield with presentations by the SCTA Committee of ICTAC.