Analytical Methods Committee

The Analytical Methods Committee (AMC) is a committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Science Community that is made up of Expert Working Groups (EWGs) and designated representatives. Our broad aim is to participate in national and international efforts to establish a comprehensive framework for appropriate quality in chemical measurement.

The AMC:

Coordinates the activities of Expert Working Groups concerned with various aspects of analytical measurement
Assists with the development and establishment of suitable performance criteria for analytical methods and instrumentation
Advises on the use and development of appropriate analytical methods
Works alongside accreditation services and governing bodies, such as DEFRA, the FSA and UKAS, to ensure best analytical practice
Produces reports and Technical Briefs on a wide range of analytical topics. Technical Briefs are published in the RSC journal Analytical Methods
Supports continuing professional development (CPD) through the publication of reports, Technical Briefs and other outputs, which can be used towards CPD certification

Read more about reaching the milestone 100th AMC Technical Brief.

To keep up to date with AMC activities, please follow us on Twitter at @RSC_AMC.

Composition and Terms of Office

Chair (appointed by ASC Council) - appointment is for three years and renewable for a further three years
Secretary (part-time) - appointed by ASC Council and Analytical Methods Trust
Two members appointed by the ASC Council - expected to be one from the Analytical Science Network, and one to be the ASC President or a representative. Expected to serve for three years on rotation
Chairs of AMC Expert Working Groups* (see footnote)
Representatives from other bodies as agreed with ASC Council, currently APA, BEIS, BSI, DEFRA (EA), Eurachem UK, FSA, HSE, LGC, NPL, UKAS and the water and clinical chemistry sectors - invitation to body renewed every three years
Editor of AMC Technical Briefs
Publicity Officer
Not more than three co-opted members - as required by the Chair, normally serving for one year only
Chair of the Analytical Methods Trust

Glossary:

APA - Association of Public Analysts
ASC - Analytical Science Community
BEIS - Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
BSI - British Standards Institute
DEFRA (EA) - Department of Food and Rural Affairs (Environment Agency)
FSA - Food Standards Agency
HSE - Health and Safety Executive
LGC - Laboratory of the Government Chemist
NPL - National Physical Laboratory
UKAS - United Kingdom Accreditation Service

* Currently Animal Feedingstuffs, Essential Oils, Food and Feed Authenticity, Heritage Science, Instrumental Analysis, Sampling Uncertainty and Sampling Quality, and Statistics Expert Working Groups

Membership of the Analytical Methods Committee

The committee comprises representatives from consultants, academia, government, industry and public analysts. Membership as of 5 August 2024:

Dr Christopher Waldron, Chair
Dr Zoë Ayres, Analytical Community Council President
Ms Fran Bilby, UKAS Representative
Dr Richard Brown, NPL Representative
Dr David Bullock, UK NEQAS, representing the Clinical sector
Dr Lucia Burgio, Chair of the Heritage Science Expert Working Group
Mrs Judith Egan-Shuttler, Technical Briefs Editor
Dr Steve Ellison, LGC Representative
Ms Carol Gibbons, Association of Public Analysts Representative
Dr Chris Harrington, RSC Eurachem representative
Dr Anne Horan, RSC staff member for Analytical Community
Mr Chris Hunt, Association of Public Analysts Representative
Dr Zaid Meherali, BEIS Representatives
Professor Jim Miller, Chair of the Analytical Methods Trust
Mr Neil Owen, Chair of the Essential Oils EWG
Mrs Bhavna Parmar, FSA Representative
Mr Ian Pengelly, Health and Safety Laboratory Representative
Professor Mike Ramsey, Chair of the Sampling Uncertainty Expert Working Group
Mr Matthew Rawlinson, Affinity Water, representing the water sector
Dr Mike Sargent, Chair of the Instrumental Analysis Expert Working Group
Dr Michael Walker, Chair of the Food and Feed Authenticity Expert Working Group
Dr Roger Wood OBE, Secretary

Analytical Methods Expert Working Groups

Most of the Expert Working Groups are orientated towards a specific topic area. Much of the financial support for them has been provided by government bodies, particularly the Food Standards Agency and the NMO.

The present Expert Working Groups are:

Animal Feeding Stuffs Expert Working Group

The work of this Expert Working Group involves introducing and validating new methods of analysis and improving existing methods through collaborative testing.

Essential Oils Expert Working Group

The aims of the Expert Working Group are the elaboration and validation of analytical methods to determine the quality and authenticity of traded essential oils.

Food and Feed Authenticity Expert Working Group

This Expert Working Group started as the Nitrogen Factors Sub-Committee which had the aim to investigate the (proximate) composition of meat and fish.

Heritage Science Expert Working Group

The aim of the Heritage Science Expert Working Group is to promote the role and importance of analytical science in the heritage sector.

Instrumental Analysis Expert Working Group

The Instrumental Analysis Expert Working Group is the successor to the earlier AMC Sub-Committees on Instrumental Criteria (IASC) and Mass Spectrometry (MSSC).

Statistical Methods Expert Working Group

Statistics, as the conceptual language of calibration and all aspects of data quality, plays an axial role in analytical science.

Sampling Uncertainty/Sampling Quality Expert Working Group

The aim is to consider the effect of sampling uncertainty, and procedures for its elaboration, and to make recommendations as to best practice in aspects of sampling.

Relevant resources produced by the AMC for the analytical chemistry community.

Published outputs of the AMC come in a variety of forms including reports, Technical Briefs, published papers, software, and datasets.

The outputs of the AMC are provided as a service by the Analytical Science Community of the RSC. All outputs of the AMC are subjected to a thorough process of scrutiny before approval for publication, first by an Expert Working Group of the AMC and then by the full AMC.

The AMC supports continuing professional development through the publication of reports, technical briefs and other outputs, which can be used towards CPD certification.

Relevant Resources

AMC Technical Briefs

AMC Software

AMC Reports

AMC Presentations

AMC Datasets

Submission Process

Unsolicited Submissions

Celebrating excellence in Analytical Science

Closing date for nominations is Friday 25 August 2023

The 'L S Theobald Award' is made in memory of Leslie Stuart Theobald (1898-1979) who was a Lecturer/Reader in Analytical Chemistry at Imperial College from 1925 until his retirement in 1963. A brief biography is available on the Royal Society of Chemistry website. Nominations for the award are invited annually.

The award is made to someone who has demonstrated a significant contribution to the development or application of analytical chemistry/analytical science.

The Analytical Methods Trust (AMT) provides an honorarium of £1000, together with a certificate and covers reasonable expenses incurred in presenting the award lecture.

Eligibility

The award is open to all academic, public service and industrial scientists resident in the UK or the Republic of Ireland. It is not a requirement that the recipient should be a member of the RSC or have contributed directly to the work of the Analytical Methods Committee (AMC) or its Expert Working Groups. Trustees of the AMT are not eligible for nomination.

Examples of contributions to analytical science relevant to the award include (but are not limited to): the development of methods of analysis and/or sampling relevant to ensuring human and environment health, the application of novel or existing analytical methods to new fields, significant improvement to methods in routine use, procedures that validate and evaluate analytical methods, the quality of analytical results and contributions towards international collaborations.

Career breaks will be taken into consideration, and nominations are encouraged for those whose career has spanned a break due to caring responsibilities or personal circumstances e.g. a period of parental/adoption leave, family commitments, illness, or other exceptional circumstances.

When nominating previous RSC prize winners, please remember that a person cannot be awarded twice for substantially the same body of work.

Nomination procedure for the L S Theobald Lectureship

Candidates are not permitted to nominate themselves. Trustees of the Analytical Methods Trust are not eligible for nomination.

Nominations must include:

A one-page CV for the nominee which should include a summary of the nominees education, career publications (including total numbers of publications and patents) and the name of an independent referee.
A one-page supporting statement identifying the nominee’s contribution to analytical chemistry/analytical science.

Nominations should be submitted via email to Ian Lumley, Secretary of the Analytical Methods Trust.

Selection committee

The Analytical Methods Trust (AMT), or a sub-committee appointed by the AMT to make a recommendation, will make the final decision on the award. No person associated with a nomination will be permitted to participate in the consideration or decision-making process for the award.

Presentation of the Theobald Award lecture

The recipient of the LS Theobald Award is normally required to present an award lecture, usually in association with a meeting of the Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Methods Committee or of the RSC Analytical Science Community’s Groups and Regions.