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. 

Eine neue Kluft im Steinbruch Eibenstein lieferte beachtliche Kalzitkristalle, z.T. Phantombildungen und Kalzite in Chalcedon.

Aus Motlas O.Ö. wurden herrliche Quarz-Stufen, Andalusit, Beryll, Schörl und Orthoklas angekauft.

In der Mittelvitrine werden aus der Studiensammlung des Museum besondere Stufen ausgestellt: Einzel-Quarzkristalle und Stufen (auch Amethyst), sowie seltene Mineralien wie Amstallit, bzw. aus dem Fundort Kottaun; ferner Beryll, Chalcedon, Schörl u.a.

Ebenso wurde der größte Feldspatkristall Österreichs aus Wanzenau bei Rosenburg dem Krahuletz-Museum übergeben und ist dort im Rahmen der Mineralien-Dauerausstellung zu sehen.

Crystals - known to everybody as gems, snow crystals, or salt grains - are widespread in the nature around us. The investigation of their structure and properties means looking inside the intimate of atom geometries - a look contributing to the scientific development of chemistry, solid state physics, Earth sciences, and even, surprisingly, biology and medicine. A century has passed since the crystals first revealed their secrets. In the meantime crystallography has become the pillar of the atomic and molecular sciences, showing us the structure of DNA, allowing the comprehension and the development of computer memories, visualizing the formation of proteins within cells, and yielding ever new materials and drugs.

The exhibition organized at the University of Parma in collaboration with IMEM-CNR wishes to celebrate the theoretical and applied aspects of crystallography. A special section of original artworks related to crystallography is organized in collaboration with the Archive of Modern Art of the University of Parma.

Sections:

• Crystals around us: all the faces of cheese, ham, sugar, icecream and medicines
• Crystals underground and from the space: minerals and meteorites
• Journey inside a crystal: from structure to properties
• Functional crystals
• The crystals in life
• The life of crystals
• Crystals and symmetry, Escher and beyond
• Crystals and modern arts
• A closer look to crystals: instruments and experiments
• Home made crystals: hands on section with experiments for kids

• growth and characterization of single crystal semiconductor materials under terrestrial and space conditions
• simulation of material and heat transport in metal and semiconductor melts
• synthesis, structure analysis and chrystal chemistry of new ternary and multinary compounds
• defect characterisation and detector development at synchrotron light sources
• teaching of crystallography and materials sciences

Invited speakers

Cette exposition du Muséum d'Histoire naturelle de La Rochelle est labellisée « Année internationale de la cristallographie 2014 » sous le haut patronage de Madame Geneviève Fioraso, Secrétaire d'état à l'Enseignement Supérieur et à la Recherche.

La partie centrale de l’exposition est réservée à la vie, au voyage géologique et aux travaux scientifiques de Louis-Benjamin Fleuriau de Bellevue (1761-1852). Il a reçu une formation de physicien naturaliste à Genève, une des académies les plus influentes de l’Europe continentale où ses professeurs participent à l’essor des nouvelles disciplines que sont la géologie et la minéralogie. L’élève Fleuriau devient à son tour un acteur de la cristallographie naissante, de la nouvelle minéralogie qui en découle et de la géologie moderne fondée sur l’observation de terrain. L’exposition propose des objets historiques ayant appartenu à Fleuriau et aux deux pères français de la cristallographie, Romé de L’Isle et Haüy.

Autour de Fleuriau, une approche ludique et didactique du monde minéral permet à tous de découvrir ce qu’est un cristal et un minéral. L’exposition de minéraux et d’instruments de mesures est associée à des jeux, des manipulations, des observations macro et microscopiques. Les visiteurs s’initient à la minéralogie, l’exposition les guide à identifier des formes géométriques simples, des caractéristiques évidentes (couleur, poids, forme évocatrices) afin de caractériser et d’identifier quelques minéraux essentiels.

A game for schoolchildren is organized over the Halloween weekend at the CRISTALLI! exhibit in Parma. Kids will have to answer questions about crystals and they will have to look for the answers around the exhibit. They will win a Diploma of Expert Crystallographer, a mineral, and the IUCr/IYCr gadgets.

See  the photo gallery

This exhibition 'Kristallen verhelderd' aims at giving an overview of the history of crystallography (including a selected exhibit of minerals), introduce the work of Laue and the Braggs, present the pionieering work performed at Ghent University and show some recent applications of crystallography in solid state physics. 

The exhibition is aimed at both secondary schools, researchers and the general public. It is organized by the Museum of the History of Sciences at Ghent University, in collaboration with the Department of  Solid State Sciences and the Department of Geology and Soil Sciences.

The opening is scheduled on June 23rd, with the presence of Professor Robert Huber, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. The results of the Photo Contest will be announced.

The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History proudly announces its upcoming exhibition: CRYSTALLOGRAPHY: Where Art & Science Collide, on display from September 18, 2014 –January 17, 2015.

On Thursday, September 18th, at 6 PM, a free public lecture featuring David Gardner, Master Jeweler and Gemologist, was followed by an open reception with refreshments and gallery viewing.

This year marks the centenary of the birth of modern crystallography, a science studying the composition and structure of crystals. Crystallographers provide fundamental knowledge and technology essential for the development of new materials.

Crystallography has become the very core of structural science, revealing the structure of DNA, allowing us to understand and fabricate computer memories, showing us how proteins are created in cells, and helping scientists to design powerful new materials and drugs. It permeates our daily lives and is essential in agro-food, aeronautics, automobiles, cosmetics, and computers, as well as the electro-mechanical, pharmaceutical and mining industries. Because of the beauty and symmetry of crystals, they also figure prominently in architecture, art forms, and jewelry.

This exhibition will offer visitors an overview of the many applications of the science of crystallography. Materials on display will include stunning specimens from the Museum’s extensive mineral collection and will showcase examples of crystals used in art and jewelry.

This exhibit was made possible in part through Hotel Tax Revenue funded from the City of College Station through the Arts Council of Brazos Valley and through David Gardner’s Jewelers. The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History is committed to promoting science, and cultural and natural history with the integration of art in exhibits and educational programs.

The Museum is open to visitors Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am-5 pm. For more information about this adult program, exhibits and other displays, events, programs and activities, please contact the Museum at 979-776-2195, visit us on the web at www.brazosvalleymuseum.org, or follow us on Facebook.

El Museo de Historia Natural "Dr. Carlos A. Torres de la Llosa" de Montevideo, Uruguay ha realizado una exhibición especial de Cristales y Estructuras Cristalinas aprovechando su colección de minerales para celebrar el Año Internacional de la Cristalografía 2014. En la exposición se agregan a los minerales algunas figuras con las estructuras atómicas correspondientes.

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The Natural History Museum "Dr. Carlos A. Torres de la Llosa" of Montevideo, Uruguay has created a special exhibit of Crystals and Crystal structures using its own minerals collection to celebrate the International Year of Crystallography 2014. The exposition contains some figures with the atomic structures of the selected minerals.

This exhibition presents 29 paintings inspired by crystallographic concepts, selected among the 80 participants of the Art Contest "cristalizARTE. Cuando el arte se encuentra con la ciencia". Artists from all over Argentina were divided into two categories according to their age: adults and teenagers under 18 y.o.

You can also visit our website to see the participating artworks, as well as the Winners of the contest.

Photos of the opening day
 

To celebrate the UN International Year of Crystallography 2014, the association AMMS-InterESST Strasbourg (Association for Museology and Scientific Mediation - Strasbourg's Alumni network of the European Studies of Society Science, and Technology), with various collaborators, principally the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), have the honor to present the multi-axial project “La Cristallographie et nous - Crystallography in our life”.

The project discusses mainly about human health and proposes to discover the vast field of crystallography. Our goal: to celebrate the crystallography year as charted by the IYCr2014 program but also as a "traditional" science in the Strasbourg University and as a significant contribution to the scientific reputation of the city of Strasbourg and the region of Alsace. Our wish is to make this event a prelude to the International Year of Light in 2015.

The project includes: 

1. A travelling exhibition in Alsace called "La Cristallographie et Nous" (Crystallography in our life) during 2014 and 2015. The exhibition will first move on three of Strasbourg’s University campus: “Central Campus”, "Illkirch Campus", "Medicine Campus" and then will continue to travel in other Alsatian towns. It will start on the 2nd October 2014 at the Le Bel Institute, and will end in May 2015. The project focuses on three features: crystallography in our daily life, crystallography as a central tool for biology, medicine and pharmacology and crystallography and arts.
2. Labs tours in the new “Integrative Biology Center” located in Illkirch during the month of November 2014. Especially for this occasion, there will be a mini-exhibition in the building.
3. Tasting and prevention workshops called "Crystals in our dinner plates" focused on discovering crystals in our daily food will be proposed during the french national science festival, "Fete de la Science2014" on the 17, 18 and 19 October 2014. Elaborated in collaboration with the University Service of Medicine and Health Promotion (SUMPS) and the IGBMC, those workshops will present different crystals in our food and try to answer to these questions: Are they good for our health? What are the purpose of vitamins and minerals in our diet? How the researchers study these vitamins and their effects on our health? 
4. A publication about the project and the exhibition.

Dans le cadre de l’Année Internationale de la Cristallographie 2014 de l’ONU (IYCr2014), l’AMMS - InterESST Strasbourg (Association de Muséologie et Médiation Scientifique - Réseau Alumini du programme European Studies of Society, Science, and Technology de Strasbourg) en collaboration principale avec le Docteur Dino Moras de l’IGBMC (Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire) présentera le projet multiaxial sur la thématique de l’Homme et sa santé qui s’intitule « La cristallographie et nous » pour célébrer la cristallographie ainsi que son lien fort avec l’Université de Strasbourg et sa contribution au rayonnement scientifique de Strasbourg et de l’Alsace durant l’année universitaire 2014-2015 principalement sur le campus Central, le campus d’Illkirch et le campus de Médecine. L’accent sera mis sur le rôle de la cristallographie dans notre quotidien tout en appuyant sur son utilité en biologie, médecine et pharmacologie et en mettant en évidence ses liens vers d’autres domaines tels que l’art, les mathématiques, l’alimentation, ...

Ce projet comportera une exposition itinérante sur toute l’Alsace durant l’année 2014–2015, des visites de laboratoires de recherche du nouveau Centre de Biologie Intégrative à Illkirch et des ateliers de dégustation et de prévention axés sur la découverte pendant la Fête de la Science 2014. 

L’exposition « La cristallographie et nous ». Elle va itinérer dans un premier temps sur les campus strasbourgeois (central, médecine, Illkirch) et ensuite se déplacera dans les agglomérations alsaciennes. Elle commencera à partir du 2 octobre 2014 à l'Institut Le Bel, et prendra fin en mai 2015. Notre volonté est qu’elle soit aussi une introduction à l’Année Internationale de la Lumière en 2015.

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 4th Tunisian Crystallographic Meeting (TMC) will be held on 2-5 November 2014 at El Mouradi Djerba Menzel in the nice Lotophage island of Djerba, in the South of Tunisia.

It will bring a good opportunity to researchers to exchange ideas and discuss hot topics with colleagues in a multidisciplinary field. It is a good chance for students and young researchers to meet and have discussion with scientists recognized world-wide and to start cooperation at national, regional or international levels.

The communications will be in the form of plenary and invited lectures from well-known scientists, as well as oral and poster presentations. This meeting provides an opportunity for young researchers to present their work, discuss about crystallography, physics, chemistry, biology and geology.

To celebrate the International Year of Crystallography 2014, the conference will be opened by a plenary lecture on "The International Year of Crystallography 2014: its achievements and legacy", given by Dr. Michele Zema, Project Manager for IYCr2014 at the IUCr.

The full programme of the conference is available here. 

For those who have never been in Tunisia, we would like to stress it is a charming country with a very long history of 20 centuries heritage from Phoenician, Roman, Christian, Berber and Islamic civilizations.

The 59th Magnetism and Magnetic Materials Conference, sponsored jointly by AIP Publishing and the Magnetics Society of the IEEE, in cooperation with the American Physical Society, will be held November 3-7, 2014 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort in Honolulu, Hawaii. Members of the international scientific and engineering communities interested in recent developments in fundamental and applied magnetism are invited to attend the Conference and contribute to its technical sessions. Sessions will include invited and contributed papers, oral and poster presentations, and invited symposia. This Conference provides an outstanding opportunity for world-wide participants to meet their colleagues and collaborators and discuss developments in all areas of magnetism research. In terms of the number of presentations, this will be one of the largest MMM in the history of the Conference, with over 1900 oral and poster presentations.

Each Fall the CCCE (Committee on Computers in Chemical Education) of the American Chemical Society hosts online discussions of recent work of relevance to the use of computers in chemical education. The authors of each paper are available to discuss their work with the community on the days assigned to their papers, and both the papers and discussion are archived on our site. You do not need to be a member of ACS, CHED or the CCCE to participate in these discussion, but need to set up a free account by contacting the site moderator, Bob Belford at rebelford@ualr.edu.

This year, the schedule features a contribution on the International Year of Crystallography 2014 by Brian McMahon and Michele Zema from the IUCr. The full article entitled "IYCr2014: Spreading the Word About Crystallography in an International Year" is available here and will be discussed online on 24-26 November.

Discussion Schedule

Nov. 3-5 OrganicERs a Growing Online Community, Justin Houseknecht and Jennifer Muzyka

Nov. 6-8 Transforming the Chemistry Lab Notebook with ElementsTM, Layne Morsch

Nov. 10-12 ChemEd X: An Interactive Hub for Chemistry Teachers, Deanna Cullen

Nov. 13-15 CheMarkup Slides and Notes: A Presentation Container for the Virtual Molecular Model Kit, Otis Rothenberg & Thomas Newton

Nov. 17-19 From Demonstrations & Clicker Questions to Guided-Inquiry Activities: Resources for Integrating PhET Chemistry Simulations into Your Course, Emily Moore

Nov. 20-22 Organizing Chemical Safety Information to Support Lab Safety, Ralph Stuart

Nov. 24-26 IYCr2014: Spreading the Word About Crystallography in an International Year, Brian McMahon & Michele Zema

Dec. 1-3 The Advantages of Electronic Laboratory Notebook Use in Research Laboratories and Best Practices in Implementation, Jeremy Miller & Earl Beutler

Dec. 4-6 Proteopedia: A Powerful Tool for Biomolecular Communication and a 3D Web Encyclopedia of Biomolecules, Jaime Prilusky & Joel Sussman

The 3CG will not only be a time to enjoy the company of fellow researchers in the field, but also a time to have fun with friends and family! The 3CG2014 will be held in Phuket, Thailand. Thailand’s dreamy island province of Phuket Island (Ko Phuket) in the Andaman sea is the Pearl of the South and entices numerous vistors time and time again, being world renowned as a tourist paradise.We encourage you to give yourself some time for recreational pursuits!

A special 3CG session is under planning to celebrate IYCr2014

The exhibition tours through all of the federal states of Austria. This tour stop takes place at Klagenfurt, the capital city of Carinthia.

Hourly, there will be guided tours and seminars for school classes and general public. On the 8th of November, the exhibition is presented in the framework program of the annual meeting of the Carinthian Society of Natural Sciences.

Furthermore, at this occasion, it will also be possible to get the Austrian commemorative postage stamp celebrating IYCr (which is shown at http://www.iycr2014.org/events/postage_stamps/austrian-stamp). It was produced to honour the famous Austrian mineralogist and crystallographer Felix Machatschki. There will be a limited emission of the special envelope with special postmarks adapted to time and place of the event.

Lecture from Professor David L. Bish (Indiana University) in the 2014 Science and Society Lecture Series at Liverpool University.

Tuesday 4 November 2014
5.30pm (followed by a networking reception at 6.30pm)

Click on the image to download the invite in PDF format

The Opening Ceremony will be held at Aula Magna of the University of Piemonte Orientale, Piazza S. Eusebio 5, Vercelli on 5 November 2014, 4.30 pm at the presence of: Cesare Emanuel, Rector of the University of Piemonte Orientale Maura Forte, Mayor of the City of Vercelli Carlo Riva Vercellotti, President of Province of Vercelli Fernando Lombardi, President of Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Vercelli Mons. Marco Arnolfo, Archbishop of Vercelli Andrea Corsaro, former Mayor of the City of Vercelli and will feature short speeches by: Marco Milanesio, Researcher at U. Piemonte Orientale, IYCr activities in Piedmont, Italy Michele Zema, Project Manager for IYCr2014, Global activities, achievements and legacy of IYCr2014 Davide Viterbo, U. Piemonte Orientale, We can see the atoms: from Lucretius to Sir W.H. Bragg and Primo Levi

Read the news on the University newsletter "Ateneo tra di noi"

The exhibition is organized with the support of the Portuguese National Commission for UNESCO and of the International Basic Sciences Programme (IBSP) of UNESCO. The exhibition will be associated with a demonstration of the crystal-growth experiment conducted by students of the school ES Abilio Duarte. The most beautiful crystals will participate in the World crystal-growth organized by IUCr and UNESCO.

Venue:  Parliament of Cape Verde, Ach. António Stº, Praia PBX Geral

Contact: Ms M. Gloria Rendall Ribeiro, Secretary General, National Commission for UNESCO of Cape Verde

The topic chosen for these Scientific Days is "Crystallography at the service of humanity: Issues and Challenges for the Future" and the objectives are:

• share the results of scientific research among researchers from all backgrounds and disciplines;
• educate the scientific community and policy-makers about the role of crystallography in the service of humanity.

Four disciplines will be covered:

• Agronomy and natural sciences
• Medicine and pharmacology
• Science and technology
• Energy and environment

El material hace parte de la exposición «Cristalli», realizada por G. Artioli y L. Secco, Universitá degli Studi di Padova (Italy)

Download the poster 

As part of the lecture series to celebrate the International Year of Crystallography at FCT-NOVA, on November 12, Dr Sakura Pascarelli (ESRF, France) will give a talk entitled "Investigating Extreme States of Matter by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy".

Here's a summary of her lecture: The last decades have witnessed an unprecedented surge in the study of matter and materials at extreme values of pressure, temperature, and magnetic field. The fundamental importance of this research stems from the fact that such extreme conditions can deeply modify chemical bonds and induce myriad changes in materials. Many breakthroughs have been achieved at synchrotrons worldwide, in fields ranging from Earth and planetary sciences to fundamental physics, chemistry and materials research, and even in the life sciences where questions on life and biological function under extreme conditions have been studied. The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility is presently undergoing an important upgrade program with eight new beamlines becoming operational by 2016. One of the first upgrade beamlines, UPBL11, is designed to provide state-of-the-art conditions to perform time resolved and extreme conditions x-ray absorption spectroscopy. In this talk I will illustrate a few examples of ongoing research on UPBL11. Examples cover studies of chemical reactions that occur in the interior of planets, the investigation of pressure induced collapse of ferromagnetism, and the structure and magnetism of antiferromagnets under high magnetic fields. Target experiments for the future include kinetic studies of chemical reactions at high pressure and temperature, and investigation of extreme states of matter that can be maintained only over very short periods of time. Preliminary data will be shown from the first attempts to probe the electronic and local structure in melts at high pressures and in laser-shocked matter.

Read the short biographies of all speakers of the FCT-NOVA lecture series at http://xtal.dq.fct.unl.pt/iycr2014/Speakers.html

On the occasion of the UN International Year of Crystallography, there will be a special event at the Vienna Zoo located on the grounds of the famous Schönbrunn Palace: in the course of the renown lecture series organised at this oldest zoological garden in the world, Dr. Robert Krickl will give a talk on the interconnection between the worlds of crystallography and biology.

The exhibition "Crystals and Men" for the general public and schoolchildren is organized by the association "Au pays de Cernès" and "CAP-Terre", with various collaborations.

Starting with an exhibition of remarkable minerals, the aim is to show the evolution of techniques that allowed to define the crystal structure: from the crystal shape to the atomic arrangement going through the structures detected by modern instruments used in extreme conditions of pressure and temperature or in the fields of biology and artificial materials.

The program includes workshops for schools, an exhibition of minerals, instruments and posters, demonstrations, booths and conferences.

The exhibition tours through all of the federal states of Austria. This tour stop takes place at the city of Neumarkt located at the beautiful Wallersee in Salzburg.

After the official opening on the 14th of November, there will be hourly guided tours for school classes and general public through the exhibition during opening times until the 17th of November.

Furthermore, at this occasion, it will also be possible to get the Austrian commemorative postage stamp celebrating IYCr (which is shown at http://www.iycr2014.org/events/postage_stamps/austrian-stamp). It was produced to honour the famous Austrian mineralogist and crystallographer Felix Machatschki. There will be a limited emission of the special envelope with special postmarks adapted to time and place of the event.

Objectives

In celebrating the International Year of Crystallography (IYCr2014), the workshop organized by the Egyptian National Committee for Crystallography (ENCC) aims to provide a forum for exchange of knowledge in order to get the latest developments in structure determination and characterization of nanomaterials. The main objective is to highlight the powerful capabilities of synchrotron radiation (SR) in nanomaterials research aspects. During this occasion, Nanomaterials fabrication methods will be demonstrated and combined with the advanced SR applications covering different techniques such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Small Angle Scattering (SAXS) and Extended Xray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS). Hands-on computer training on some programs in the field will be also arranged.

The workshop is organised under the auspices of

• Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Sakr, President of Academy of Scientific Research and Technology
• Prof. Dr. Tarek Hussein, Honorary Chairmanship, Former president of Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Vice President of SESAME Council
• Prof. Dr. Karimat El-Sayed, Chairman, President of ENCC and ESCA
• Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Farag, Co-Chairman, Vice-President of ESCA

About 100 traffic cones were arranged in a parking lot similar to the basal plane of a hexagonal crystal. Therefore, each traffic cone represented an atom. Then, 10 artifacts (clues) were randomly placed under the cones. These artifacts are related to some basic materials science knowledge. As an example, the first artifact was three different metal powders, Al, Ni and Zn, that are placed in plastic containers and students were instructed to identify and distinguish the metal powders. After providing the correct answer, students were directed to the second artifact. Students used a 2D coordinate system similar to the crystallographic directions. Coordinate system and crystallographic directions and arrangements were introduced to the students at the beginning of the competition. For example, they were instructed to find the second artifact by going 7 traffic cones along [-11] direction, where first artifact was the origin. If the students could not find the artifact or get lost in the crystal, they would be eliminated from the competition.

Questions and directions got harder and complicated after each clue. Overall, 70 students participated in the competition individually or in groups. Only 1 group of students answered all 10 clues correctly and they are awarded by an Apple Ipad Air. They decided to receive a gift card equal to the price of Ipad and shared the gift card equally. All of the students, however, successfully found their way in the crystal without making any mistakes. At the end of the day, they all knew why atoms in solids arrange themselves in a crystallographic manner, the purpose of the crystal and crystallographic directions and common materials science knowledge.

A minisymposium on “Designer Molecular Crystals: Mechanical and Functional Properties” was held in the Solid State and Structural Unit of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India on 14th November, 2014 as a part of the IYCr celebrations in India, and was chaired by Prof. Gautam R. Desiraju, immediate past president of IUCr.
Considerable progress has been made in recent times in understanding the relationships between crystal structure and mechanical properties of molecular materials. The purpose of the symposium was to discuss recent advances in this sub-field of crystal engineering and to identify future directions for research in this area. Five scientists drawn from various institutions in India and Abu Dhabi and working actively in this area made presentations and more than 40 delegates from different places of India participated. The topics that they covered in this half day minisymposium ranged from structure-property correlations in photosalient, thermosalient, bending, brittle, elastic, mechanochromic, and bio-inspired crystals, as well as the ubiquitous use of the nanoindentation technique to characterize the solids used in these studies.

From left to right: Pance Naumov (NYU, Abu Dhabi), U. Ramamurty (IISc, Bangalore), C. Malla Reddy (IISER, Kolkata), T. Govindaraju (JNCASR, Bangalore), Sunil Varughese (NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram) and Gautam R. Desiraju (IISc, Bangalore).

Programme

P. Naumov, Exotic mechanical properties of materials: A chemist perspective
U. Ramamurty, Nanoindentation for identifying intergrowth polymorphism
C. Malla Reddy, Understanding the mechanical flexibility of organic single crystals on the basis of their structural chemistry
T. Govindaraju, Engineering peptide assemblies for functional and mechanical properties
S. Varughese, Stress-induced long range molecular migration in organic crystals

Click here to download the leaflet

The workshop "Ice: Recent Developments on the Quasi Liquid Layer and the Anti-Freezing Phenomenon" at the Fundamental Electronics Research Institute, Osaka Electro-Communication University is concentrated on the recent experimental and theoretical results on (1) the quasi-liquid layer and (2) the anti-freezing phenomena. New findings on the structure of ice and water near freezing temperature will be reported. The connections between these phenomena and the structure of ice and water will be discussed.

The conference will be open to the "Grand Public" with the aim to show the great impact crystallography has on many aspects of our lives nowadays:

- crystallography, its background and outputs

- crystals in Nature

- crystals in the civilization of silicon

- crystals in lasers and laser reading

- molecular engineering and crystallography

- crystals in bio-engineering

- defects in crystals and structure materials

- aperiodic crystals.

To this end, few among the best European experts have confirmed their contribution: C. Lecomte, P. Cordier, A. Schuhl, D. Lupinsky, C. Sanchez, D. Moras, Y. Brechet and T. Janssen will give and overview of their respective fields that will be understandable to the layman with a minimum scientific background.

The conference is organized by Académie Lorraine des Sciences (www.als.uhp-nancy.fr) and will take place on Nov 15, 2014 in the magnificent City Hall of Nancy, France from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Access is free. The final program will soon be released on the web site of the Academy. 

T

To celebrate the International Year of Crystallography, Illuminating Atoms presents a selection of photographs by Max Alexander portraying the inspirational work of crystallographers. Through portrait and documentary photography, Max shows us the life of scientists at the cutting edge of discovery, including some of the world class facilities they use.

Crystallography reveals the atomic structure of materials from minerals to viruses, and it underpins many of the biggest scientific discoveries of the past 100 years, including the chemical structures of antibiotics and DNA. This is Max Alexander's second exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall, the first being Explorers of the Universe in 2009.

As part of the exhibition we are also presenting a talk and Q&A, How Crystallography Changed the World on Sunday 9 November.

The exhibition can be viewed when attending performances or on the following free open days:

• Saturday 15 November 10am - 4pm
• Sunday 16 November 10am - 4pm
• Sunday 29 November 10am - 4pm

More

Free entry

Ground Floor Corridor. Enter through Door 12

THE MYSTERY OF THE GIANT CRYSTALS is a fascinating adventure in scientific research. A journey into the depths of the Earth in search of the most beautiful treasures of the mineral world, to explain one of its great mysteries: the formation of giant gypsum crystals. From the Roman mines of Segóbrica described by Pliny the Elder to Europe’s biggest geode, found in Almería, Spain; from the volcanic depths of the Andes to the grandiose “Cueva de los Cristales de Naica”, an authentic crystal palace hidden beneath the Mexican desert of Chihuahua. We shall discover the wonderful world of crystals, their science and their beauty, through the guiding hand of Prof Juan Manuel García-Ruiz.

The screening of the movie will be preceded by a lecture entitled "El Maravilloso Mundo de los Cristales".

The programme includes:

- growing of blue vitriol crystals
- destroying of calc-spar rhombohedra into small ones
- crystals under the microscope
- minimal facets from soapsuds
- building of paperboard crystal polyhedra
- closest packing of ping pong balls competition

A SEMINAR ON CRYSTALLOGRAPHY

CONDUCTED FOR STATE LEVEL CONGRESS 2014, AS A PART OF NATIONAL CHILDREN'S SCIENCE CONGRESS, DEPT. OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY , GOVT. OF INDIA.

EVENT HOST: STATE TRAINING CENTRE, DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION, PUDUCHERRY.

ORGANISED BY: PONDICHERRY SCIENCE FORUM, PUDUCHERRY.

A GLIMPSE OF THE EVENT:

The seminar was held by Mr. D. Aravindaraja, invited teacher from Artchouna Soupraya Naikar Govt. Middle School, Mudaliarpet, Puducherry. The lecturer started with a brief introduction on crystals and their uses, then explained the timeline of crystallography and demonstrated different types of crystals and explained how they were made. After that, he explained how shapes and sizes of crystals are measured using the Standard Measurement Guide given by the Royal Society of Chemistry and showed the attendees various rocks and minerals. A Q&A session was then held during which the students and the teachers present in the seminar came up with various questions, doubts, etc., which were answered and clarified. 

Participants: More than 200 students & 50 teachers from Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe & Yanam Regions participated in this seminar.

The exhibition tours through all of the federal states of Austria. This tour stop takes place at the city of Frauenkirchen in Burgenland, a famous place of pilgrimage.

After the official opening on the 20th of November, there will be hourly guided tours for school classes and general public through the exhibition during opening times until the 23th of November.

Furthermore, at this occasion, it will also be possible to get the Austrian commemorative postage stamp celebrating IYCr (which is shown at http://www.iycr2014.org/events/postage_stamps/austrian-stamp). It was produced to honour the famous Austrian mineralogist and crystallographer Felix Machatschki. There will be a limited emission of the special envelope with special postmarks adapted to time and place of the event.

A special lecture is arranged to celebrate the International Year of Crystallography [IYCr2014] on 21-11-2014 at the Dept. of Physics of Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya [SCSVMV UNIVERSITY], Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu state, India.

Prof. Dr. M.N. Ponnusamy, CSIR-Emeritus Scientist from Centre for Advanced Studies in Crystallography, University of Madras, Chennai will be the resource person to deliver a talk on "Cyrstallography and its Applications".

Prof. Dr.K. Venkatramanan, Head of the Department of Physics, SCSVMV University will be the Convener of the programme.

A poster exhibition about the timeline and uses of crystals in everyday life was started on 22.11.2014 at 10 a.m. and will remain open until 27.11.2014 4 p.m. at Artchouna Soupraya Naikar Government Middle School Mudaliarpet, Puducherry, India. The exhibition was presided by Mr. M. Mannadane, Headmaster and this poster exhibition was organised and conducted by Guide teacher Mr. D. Aravindaraja. Team Members who participated in the IYCr Crystal Competition for school children explained the topic mentioned above to the students of class 1 to 8. More than 400 students, public nearly 100, 50 teachers and 50 members from other organizations participated.

 

In order to increase an interest in exploring crystallography, a stamp show was conducted in our Artchouna Soupraya Naikar Government Middle School Mudaliarpet, Puducherry , India on 22.11.2014 at 4.00 p.m in the school venue. The Programme Co-ordinator Mr. D. Aravindaraja  enlarged the stamps from the website to post card size and printed it. Then he showed it to the Scouters of Chatrapathi Scout Troop and to the cub Pack which is for ages 9 - 10 level kids. He explained briefly the countries’ stamps which were released by several countries in memory of IYCr2014. The Scouters and cubs enjoyed the show and discussed and asked questions about it. The teacher - Scoutmaster D.  Aravindaraja clarified their doubts.

 

Program Host: Yoshiyuki AMEMIYA, Director of Kashiwa Library/Prof. GSFS, UTokyo

Seats: 25 (first-come, first-served basis/ No reservations required)

Fee: Free of charge

The Days on Crystallography and Bioactive Substances will be held from 25 to 26 November 2014 in POSL Laboratory as part of the celebrations for the International Year of Crystallography (IYCr2014) and to commemorate the centennial of X-ray diffraction. After the opening ceremony, general lectures will be given during the two working days on:

1.     Topics in crystallography of bioactive substances

2.     Crystals in Nature a World to Discover

3.     X-ray Crystallography, Chirality and Stereochemistry

This exhibition will take the visitors on an exciting journey through the wonderful world of minerals. A collection of 40 mineral samples from Chile and the rest of the world will be shown to the public to illustrate that their different colors and crystalline forms are the consequence of their chemical compositions and atomic structures. "Geocrystals: A Journey to the World of Minerals" will be opened to the general public in the city of Valdivia, southern Chile, from 26th to 29th November. This initiative is organized by the School of Geology of the Universidad Austral de Chile to celebrate the International Year of Crystallography in our country.

 Download the poster

As part of the lecture series to celebrate the International Year of Crystallography at FCT-NOVA, on November 26, Professor João Rocha (University of Aveiro, Portugal) will give a talk entitled "Materials and Crystallography: a personal travel guide".

Read the short biographies and abstracts of all speakers of the FCT-NOVA lecture series at http://xtal.dq.fct.unl.pt/iycr2014/Speakers.html

The program of activities planned are focused on the overall development of Crystallography at the regional, national and international level. Emphasis will be given to existing partnerships and collaborations. The program will include lectures on the applications of crystallography to the study and development of advanced materials.

Registration is now open for the participants. Financial support will be offered to graduate students and young researchers.

A demonstration with explanation of Crystals, Rocks and Minerals given by Project IYCr2014 schoolteam Members along with Organiser cum Guide Teacher Mr. D. Aravindaraja. Team Leader Dhanya, Team Members Kavidhan, Gejalakshmi,Gnanasoundari and Umadevi demonstrated the crystal making process to school students from I to VIII Std in the morning assemble. Then they explained the procedures and results of their project.

Guide Teacher Mr. D. Aravindaraja for the IYCr2014 project explained the formation of earths crust, rocks and minerals. Here he showed the Minerals and rocks like hematite, magnetite, quartz, fluorite, pyrite, bornite, calcite and granite, basalt, pumice and limestone, and explained the formation with interesting facts.

Then the students took the rocks and minerals each and every class and asked the students to touch and feel it. The teachers also came voluntarily and experienced it. Overall it became a wonderful opportunity for the students to gain a real life experience and attained a great success. Nearly 400 students and 50 teachers and school staffs participated in the programme.

The exhibition tours through all of the federal states of Austria. This tour stop takes place at the city of Rum in Tyrol, a beautiful town in the Alps.

After the official opening on the 28th of November, there will be hourly guided tours for school classes and general public through the exhibition during opening times until the 30th of November.

Furthermore, at this occasion, it will also be possible to get the Austrian commemorative postage stamp celebrating IYCr (which is shown at http://www.iycr2014.org/events/postage_stamps/austrian-stamp). It was produced to honour the famous Austrian mineralogist and crystallographer Felix Machatschki. There will be a limited emission of the special envelope with special postmarks adapted to time and place of the event.

The workshop is scheduled for 2 days with lectures from eminent scientists drawn from IITM, IGCAR and demonstration on both conventional as well as high temperature XRD.

Topics to be covered in this Workshop

Ø  Crystallography & Powder Diffraction   

Ø  Nano-Materials & their Characterizations using XRD

Ø  Thin Films (Polycrystalline & Epitaxial) & their Characterization using XRD

Ø  High temperature and high pressure XRD in Materials Science & Metallurgy

Ø  Recent Advancements in XRD

Ø  XRD Software for data analysis

TALLERES Y SEMINARIOS CON MOTIVO DE LA EXPOSICIÓN DE LA ETSIME - UPM POR EL AÑO INTERNACIONAL DE LA CRISTALOGRAFÍA

Lugar: Escuela Técnica Superior de Minas y Energía, UPM. C / Ríos Rosas, 21. 28003. Madrid. Patio interior (M-1)

Fecha: 29 de noviembre de 2014

Horario: 10:00 h - 20:00 h.

La ETS Ingenieros de Minas y Energía - UPM ofrecera ONU ciclo de Conferencias y Varios talleres de cristalografía párr Todas Las Edades A lo largo de todo un el sábado 29 de Noviembre de 2014.

La web oficial del evento: http://www.minas.upm.es/museo-fbg.html

Sorteo de la ONU ejemplar del volumen IV de Minas y Minerales de España   Pincha Aquí y participa

DESCARGAR CARTEL  AQUÍ

DESCARGAR PROGRAMA DE ACTIVIDADES  AQUÍ 

Este evento esta organizado por las siguientes entidades:

• Escuela Técnica Superior de Minas y Energía (UPM)
• Instituto Geominero de España
• Fundación Gómez Pardo
• Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
• Instituto Gemológico Español
• Organización de las Nacionales Unidas Para La Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura
• Confederación Española de Clubes y Centros UNESCO

Since 2009, International Year of Astronomy, several scientific and educational institutions in Mexico carry out a one-day journey with activities for all audiences: conferences, workshops, etc. in order to promote the scientific culture in our country.

This year marks the International Year of Crystallography and the Noche de las Estrellas 2014 will be dedicated to this topic, with the title: Crystals in Universe, Earth and Life.