Recently we took advantage of the overlap between the scientific interests of IRPS and the IRRMA group (Industrial Radiation and Radioisotopes Measurement Applications) to hold a Council meeting concurrently with their own conference in Bologna, Italy.

Several of their invited speakers were IRPS council members. The reverse is also true at our triennial ISRP meetings and we are now exploring the possibility of joint workshops on topics of common interest for future symposia.

One of the decisions we took in Bologna was to create a higher level of membership - FELLOW - to acknowledge members who have made internationally leading scientific, educational or administrative contributions to Radiation Physics. Applicants must have been paid up members of the Society for at least five years and will require three nominations, together with a brief curriculum vitae. The applications will be reviewed by an Awards Committee, which it is my task to create and the awards will be made at our triennial symposia. Further details will be announced in a future IRPS Bulletin.

Since I am also involved in the organisation of the Cape Town ISRP-9 (27-31 October 2003) and the preceding workshop on radiation-based analytical techniques (24-26 October 2003), perhaps I can use this column to whet your appetite to attend these events. Dudley Creagh is the other Scientific Organiser and the Local Organiser is Dan Jones.

Together we are planning a meeting featuring all the variety of Radiation Physics, which has traditionally characterised our meetings, through invited talks plus a significant number of oral presentations selected from those who offer contributed papers/posters. We shall also have a special competition for "young" radiation physicists who will be able to make brief oral presentations of the work that they have presented in the poster session in competition for a significant prize.

Further information about the symposium and the workshop can be accessed via our own web site

http:/www.ise.canberra.edu.au/IRPS/notices.html

or directly from

http://www.medrad.tlabs.ac.za/isrp9.htm

This promises to be an exciting meeting and for many of us a wonderful opportunity to visit South Africa.