Earlier this month (4^th – 7^th September), VRS attended the 38^th edition of the British Mass Spectrometry Society in Manchester at the Royal Northern College of Music.

“The British Mass Spectrometry Society is a registered charity founded in 1964. Its aims are to encourage participation in all aspects of mass spectrometry on the widest basis, to promote knowledge and advancement in the field and to provide a forum for the exchange of views and information.”

First things first, a little bit of history – The Hydrocarbon Research Group MS Panel (formed 1949; Chair Jack Blears, Met. Vick.) initiated what later became the International MS Conference. The first meeting happened back in 1965 in London with a meeting of the then ‘Mass Spectrometry Group (MSG)’. It’s only in 1981 that BMSS became the official appellation for this event. Initially alternating every other year with International Mass Spectrometry Conference (IMSC), BMSS became an annual event in 2010.

Attended by academics, industry leaders and instrument vendors, BMSS is a great place to network, share and discuss a variety of subjects linked to Mass Spec and it is with great pleasure that VRS have returned every single year since our first participation in 2002 in Loughborough.

This year, David kicked off proceedings with a careers talk aimed at people looking to secure their dream job. From Master’s students to Post-doc researchers and Scientists working in industry, we believe it is always useful to share our advice and opinions on how to secure your first/next job. Subjects covered included how to write a good CV, the use of a cover letter, interview preparation skills, job offer negotiations and career aspirations. We believe the talk was well received and if you sadly missed it, we are happy to discuss with you so do get in touch!

Let’s face it, after a long day of networking, presenting, talking and discussing the latest trends of the industry, everyone needs a bit of a rest – and what’s better than a drink in a (slightly) more relaxed environment? David and Franck went on to the Dog Bowl where the social event took place, sponsored by Shimadzu.

On Wednesday, Luke was in charge of the VRS booth where he answered questions from many people before he attended the BMSS conference dinner with David and Franck at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) thanks to the sponsorship of Waters.

Once again, VRS very much enjoyed meeting with all of you who either stopped by and said hello or who we met during social events and we are already looking forward to the next event. This will take place in Cambridge between the 10^th and 13^th of September 2018 - don’t miss it and if you haven’t already done so, you can register at: http://www.bmss.org.uk/bmss2018/bmss2018.shtml