The
Royal Society of Chemistry (
RSC) is a
learned society (
professional association) in the
United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the
chemical sciences." It was formed in 1980 from the merger of the
Chemical Society, the
Royal Institute of Chemistry, the
Faraday Society and the
Society for Analytical Chemistry with a new Royal Charter and the dual role of learned society and professional body. At its inception the Society had a combined membership of 34,000 in the UK and a further 8,000 abroad. The headquarters of the Society are at
Burlington House,
Piccadilly,
London. It also has offices in Thomas Graham House in
Cambridge (named for
Thomas Graham, the first president of the
Chemical Society) where
RSC Publishing is based. The Society has offices in the
United States at the
University City Science Center,
Philadelphia, in both
Beijing and
Shanghai,
China and
Bangalore,
India. The organisation carries out research, publishes
journals, books and databases, as well as hosting conferences, seminars and workshops. It is the professional body for chemistry in the UK, with the ability to award the status of
Chartered Chemist (CChem) and, through the Science Council the awards of Chartered Scientist (CSci), Registered Scientist (RSci) and Registered Science Technician (RScTech) to suitably qualified candidates. The designation FRSC is given to a group of elected
Fellows of the society who have made major contributions to chemistry and other interface disciplines such as biological chemistry. The names of Fellows are published each year in
The Times (London).
Honorary Fellowship of the Society ("HonFRSC") is awarded for distinguished service in the field of chemistry.