Crystallography matters ... more!

Many initiatives have been and are being organized to involve schoolchildren at Mudaliarpet, Pondicherry (India) into crystallography on the occasion of IYCr2014.

1. At first, the students were given a brief introduction on various crystals, which made them think about how crystals are formed.

2. Following this, a team of students were selected for a project on Crystal Growth - investigating the size, shape and number of crystals formed, taking various substances such as table salt, sugar, epsom salt, borax, potassium nitrate and alum. 

3. A Radio Talk was given by the teacher and the students on the "International Year of Crystallography".

4. A lecture was given on the topic to the school students, following which a demonstration -cum- exhibition, along with a poster presentation by the teacher is to be arranged for view for the public around the school locale. 

5. A next attempt to telecast the above in the television is made.

6. Students of our school are participating in the IYCr2014 Crystal Growing Competition. 

From gigantic and exotic cave formations to everyday ingredients such as salt and sugar, crystals are all around us. In our latest special exhibition – Crystals: Beauty, Science, Structure – we look at the history of the study of crystals, an endeavour which has prized their mysterious and natural beauty, as well as probed their fundamental atomic structures.

In the middle ages, natural minerals were thought to carry occult properties, perhaps suggested by their startling array of colours and geometric forms. These regular forms promised a special insight into nature and from the 17th century onwards they were exactly measured and their symmetries exhaustively classified.

At the turn of the 20th century even deeper secrets were illuminated by the ground-breaking technique of x-ray crystallography. Today, crystallography is the hidden science behind many aspects of our lives.

This year, 2013, celebrates the centenary of the pioneering work of father and son William and Lawrence Bragg, which laid the foundations for the science of x-ray crystallography. The International Year of Crystallography takes place during 2014.

Following the great success obtained in Reggio Emilia, the exhibition “L’ENIGMA ESCHER- PARADOSSI GRAFICI TRA ARTE E GEOMETRIA”, a major retrospective exhibition of the work of Maurits Cornelis Escher, will be on display at "Il Filatoio di Caraglio" (Cuneo, Italy) from 29 March to 29 June 2014.

The exhibition presents the work of the Dutch graphic artist from his debut on the scene to his latest years, bringing together 130 works, including lithographs, etchings and drawings, on loan from museums, libraries and national institutes – among which the Galleria d’Arte Moderna of Rome and the Fondazione Wolfsoniana of Genoa – as well as from some important, private collections.

A special section is dedicated to tilings, with a panel illustrating the 17 crystallographic planar groups and some original examples of Escher's plane-filling drawings.

The exhibition is included in the events for IYCr2014 celebrations in Italy. 

Read the press release on the Reggio Emilia exhibition mentioning the connection with IYCr2014 (in Italian)

The exhibition "Living with crystal" (original title in Slovenian: Živeti s kristali), organized on the occasion of the International Year of Crystallography, will be open from 13 February 2014 to 11 January 2015 at the Slovenian Museum of Natural History, Ljubljana. 

On display: Photographs of minerals, Crystal drawings, Mineral and crystal collections, Jewellery, Fluorescent minerals, Interactive presentation of minerals and rocks on Biedermeier tables, Interactive play "Umek the Mineralogist", Microscopic world of crystals.

Authors: Miha Jeršek, Mirjan Žorž, Breda Činč Juhant, Katarina Fuchs

The National Seminar on Crystallography (43A) will be held at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali during 28-30 March, 2014.

The year 2014 is being celebrated as the International Year of Crystallography (IYCr2014) to mark 100 years since the award of Nobel Prize to Max von Laue for the discovery of X-ray diffractionby by crystals. This national seminar at IISER Mohali will be the first of the three national seminars to be held in India in 2014. The National Programme Committee and the Local Organizing Committee are in the process of organizing this conference with the help of various funding agencies. The scientists, post-docs and the students working in the different areas of crystallography in the country will be able to present their exciting results and will be able to exchange their idea to enrich their view and knowledge. The conference will have equally balanced oral and poster presentations in the areas of macromolecular and small molecule crystallography and the application of crystallography in materials science. The seminar is supported by the Indian Crystallographic Association.

Download the conference flyer 

This year's exhibition at Carolina Rediviva, Platonic Solids and Quasicrystals, is all about crystallography and shows how this science has been perceived over time. By collaborating with the Museum of Evolution at Uppsala University, we can exhibit books side by side with real crystals, models of crystals and instruments that have been used to measure the angles of these strange formations that seem to have been cut and polished by human hand whereas in fact they have been shaped by uniform atomic structures.

Welcome on a beautiful journey through this collection of historical scientific books and artifacts.

The National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) organizes NSTDA Annual Conference (NAC) to present the research and development (R&D) progress of NSTDA's and its partnership organizations' researchers every year. NAC2014 also celebrates IYCr2014 by including the work of Thai researchers relating to crystallography. The IYCr2014 booklet "Crystallography Matters" translated into Thai will be given to HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on her presiding over the opening ceremony of NAC2014 on March 31, 2014 at Thailand Science Park, Pathumtani  

The workshops are addressed to the pupils of secondary and grammar schools and will be held as a part of the campaign: “University Always Open.”

Professor Claude Lecomte (Vice-President of IUCr) "International Year of Crystallography: The IUCr-UNESCO projects"

Professor Maria Ondina Figueiredo (CENIMAT-FCT-NOVA, Portugal) "CRYSTALS: form, metrics, symmetry, atomistic in the perspective of materials"

Professor Maria Arménia Carrondo (ITQB-NOVA, Portugal) "Structural Biology Contribution to New Advances in Science. The Portuguese Case"

The lectures were followed by a small gathering (click here to see the IYCr commemorative cake prepared for this occasion).

See the complete photo gallery of the event at http://xtal.dq.fct.unl.pt/iycr2014/Photo_Gallery.html#grid

Lecture by Urszula Rychlewska for Geology Students' Association at Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland

entitled: Need to understand crystals' behaviour? - get to know their structure

Lectures on Crystals on behalf of the IYCr at the "Lange Nacht der Forschung" ("Long Night of Research") in Austria.

Lange Nacht der Forschung, Wien:

Eine Präsentation vor dem Hintergrund des "International Year of Crystallography" (UNESCO). Der Wissenschaftskommunikator und promovierte Mineraloge und Kristallograph Dr. Robert Krickl führt in die Welt des Winzigkleinen, spricht über Relevanz von Mineralen und Kristallen in unserem Alltag und veranschaulicht welche große Auswirkung die unterschiedliche Anordnung von winzigen Atomen in unserer Welt hat. Der Vortrag gibt einen Vorgeschmack auf die Wanderausstellung, die durch Österreich touren wird.

Die UNO hat das Jahr 2014 zum "Internationalen Jahr der Kristallographie" erklärt, denn Kristalle sind aus unserem täglichen Leben nicht wegzudenken. Wir mögen uns dessen oft nicht bewusst sein, aber wir sind immer und überall von Kristallen umgeben. Wissen Sie eigentlich, was genau man unter einem Kristall versteht? Prüfen Sie selbst, wo kristalline Stoffe in Natur und Technik eine Rolle spielen und warum z.B. ein Mobiltelefon ohne kristalline Stoffe undenkbar wäre! Erleben Sie den ästhetischen Reiz von Kristallen und basteln Sie sich Ihr eigenes Kristallmodell! Erfahren Sie, wie Kristalle mit polarisiertem Licht faszinierenden Effekte und Farbenspiele hervorzaubern! Informieren Sie sich aus erster Hand über das Mineral Innsbruckit, das man erst kürzlich in Tirol entdeckt hat! Lassen Sie sich erklären, wie man den Kristallen Ihren Aufbau entlockt und warum es dafür einen Nobelpreis gab! Begleiten Sie uns auf einer Exkursion in die Wunderwelt der Kristalle!

Röntgenstrahlen können viel mehr als Knochen abbilden. Mit Röntgentechnik kann man die Struktur von Materialen untersuchen um dadurch wichtige Materialeigenschaften zu verstehen. Werfen Sie einen Blick in das Röntgenlabor der TU Wien – bei einer Laborführung lernen Sie unterschiedliche Untersuchungsmethoden und Geräte kennen.

Die regelmäßige Anordnung von Atomen in einem Kristall bestimmt wesentlich die physikalischen und chemischen Eigenschaften. Deswegen erfordert die Entwicklung von neuen oder die Verbesserung von bereits bekannten Materialien zuverlässige Daten über deren Strukturen und Eigenschaften. Mit unserem Beitrag wollen wir Ihnen anhand von Beispielen aus dem Alltag die Welt der Kristalle und die Untersuchungsmethoden mittels Beugungsexperimenten zur Untersuchung dieser Eigenschaften näher bringen. Neben einer Laborführung erwarten Sie verschiedene Versuchsaufbauten wie Beugungsexperimente mittels Laserstrahlen an optischen Gittern, Vorführungen von Beugungsexperimenten an den Geräten des Röntgenzentrums und eine Rätselecke mit Objekten zur Symmetrieerkennung.

Bedeutung der Kristallografie in alltäglichen Beispielen

Neben mineralogischen Objekten werden zoologische Unikate, aber auch Schmuckstücke, prähistorische Objekte, Kunstgegenstände u. v. m. untersucht.

Die Elektronenstrahlmikrosonde Jeol JXA 8530-F liefert auf Basis der Rasterelektronenmikroskopie eine präzise chemische Analytik der Objekte. Es handelt sich um das modernste Gerät seiner Art in ganz Österreich. Am NHM wird die Elektronenstrahlmikrosonde vorwiegend im Bereich der Meteoriten und Impaktforschung, Mineralogie und Petrologie eingesetzt.

Die Führungen finden auch im Rahmen des IYCr2014 http://www.iycr2014.org statt.

Dr. Dan Topa: „Sulfosalze – auf der Suche nach neuen Kristallstrukturen“

Christian Steinwender: „Rasterelektronenmikroskopie – Der Blick aufs Detail“

Treffpunkt: NHM Wien (Seiteneingang, Portier) Burgring 7, 1010 Wien

Beginnzeiten: 20 Uhr, 21 Uhr | Durchschnittliche Verweildauer: 45 Minuten

Max. Teilnehmer: 20 Personen pro Führung | Art der Station: Führung

Anmeldung per E-Mail: anmeldung@nhm-wien.ac.at

Ansprechperson: Gloria Lekaj +43 1 521 77-335

The location will be at the National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF).

The course will provide training on creating a roadmap towards determining the 3D structure of a macromolecular target including troubleshooting and rational decision-making. Emphasis will be given on Bio SAXS as a method of choice to characterize the structure of a single protein and protein complexes in solution coupled with X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, and electron microscopy (EM). An overview of mainstream methods will also be presented and attention will be drawn to techniques developed the last years like X-ray imaging. In addition, the participants will have a chance to get informed about the options they have for career development. Overall, the course will enable the attendees to adopt a broader way of thinking and get acquainted with state-of-the-art approaches currently employed in structural biology. This will increase researchers’ awareness on the facilities and services provided and capitalize on the investment that has already been made by Europe with the aim to promote innovative research.

Target Group & Selection process: The course targets mainly PhD students and post-doctoral scientists who are currently working in the structural biology field and have already some experience in working with macromolecules. Experienced researchers will also be considered but priority will be given to younger scientists. A total of 25 participants will be accepted in the course. The applicants will be expected to send a CV (max. 2 pages), a motivation letter (max. 1 page) explaining why they wish to participate and what they expect from the course and a reference letter. The Biostruct-X and local organizers will be responsible for the selection process to ensure that equivalent criteria will be applied.

Benefits:

Participants that have been accepted to the course are offered to send protein samples for characterization and crystallization to the Sample Preparation and Characterization (SPC) facility at the EMBL in Hamburg. The samples must be relatively pure (>90 % according to SDS-PAGE). The SPC will offer a preliminary sparse matrix screen that can be customized to the particular sample, as well as complementary characterization by thermal shift assay, dynamic light scattering and mass spectrometry. The preliminary results of this characterization will be discussed during the course. For more information, please visit the SPC website: https://htx.embl-hamburg.de/htxlab/

A limited number of fellowships will be awarded to participants coming from INSTRUCT member countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom) awarded by INSTRUCT (http://www.structuralbiology.com).

Host: The event will be hosted by NHRF, coordinator of Instruct-EL, the national distributed research infrastructure that functions as a hub for structural biology in South East European area and Cyprus.

The course is organized in conjunction with the International Conference on Research Infrastructures (ICRI-2014) that will also be held in Athens April 2^nd  – April 4^th, http://www.icri2014.eu

Registration fees: €50 for academic participants and €1000 for participants coming from industry.

Confirmed speakers in alphabetical order include:

T. Bergfors, M. Graewert, P. Konarev, R. Meijers, G. Nounesis, E. Pereiro, M. Petoukhov, S. Pispas, E. Saridakis, S. Savvides, Th. Schneider, Ef. Stratikos, D. Stuart, G. Spyroulias, D. Svergun, C.E. Vorgias, M. Weiss, M. Wilmanns

Organizing committee:

Local organizers :

National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF, host)

E.D. Chrysina, V. Papadimitriou, A. Xenakis, M. Zervou, P. Zoumpoulakis

Hellenic Crystallographic Association

I.M. Mavridis, S.E. Zographos

ICRI-2014 organizers:

• European Commission, Directorate General for Research & Innovation

Octavi Quintana Trias, Director of ERA policy

• “Athena”- Research and Innovation Center (on behalf of the Greek presidency/GSRT)

Yannis Ioannidis, President and General Director