About the Union
The International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) is an International Scientific Union that strives to promote international cooperation in crystallography and to contribute to all aspects of crystallography, to promote international publication of crystallographic research, to facilitate standardization of methods, units, nomenclatures and symbols, and to form a focus for the relations of crystallography to other sciences. IUCr is a member of the International Council for Science (ICSU).
The U.S. National Committee for Crystallography (USNC/Cr) represents U.S. crystallographers in the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) through The National Academies’ National Research Council. The USNC/Cr promotes the advancement of the science of crystallography in the United States and throughout the world. Crystallography is a key tool for a variety of fields in biological and physical sciences. The USNC/Cr brings together crystallographers across these broad spectrums of fields and promotes the intellectual vigor and diversity of the crystallographic community through activities and issues in interdisciplinary research, research resources and facilities, education and travel support, Crystallographic databases, and publication standards and ethics.
By representing the broad U.S. crystallographic community, the USNC/Cr also serves a unique role in bringing together crystallographers with a wide range of perspectives. This role is increasingly important for maintaining a high level of professionalism in a community that spans several disciplines and professional societies and that needs communication and coordination internationally. The USNC/Cr will continue to seek to represent crystallographic leaders in the areas of biochemistry, structural biology, pharmaceuticals, materials research (including both amorphous materials and metals), surface studies, mineralogy, inorganic chemistry, powder diffraction, and crystal growth. Maintaining the vitality of crystallography is important to several university departments advancing science.
The Committee's primary functions are:
- To inform crystallographers in the United States concerning the activities of the IUCr.
- To advise the President of the National Academy of Sciences on matters pertaining to U.S. participation in the IUCr.
- To nominate to the National Research Council persons to represent the crystallographers in the United States as delegates to the General Assemblies of the IUCr and other meetings sponsored by the Union.
- To provide information and guidance for such delegates.
- To plan and sponsor scientific meetings in the United States in consonance with the objectives of the IUCr.
- To perform such other duties as are required of national committees of adhering countries under the statutes of the IUCr.
- To take any other action directed toward the benefit and advancement of the science of crystallography in the United States and throughout the world.
2009 American Crystallographic Association Summer School
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) hosted the 2009 American Crystallographic Association (ACA) Summer School on its campus from June 22-July 1, 2009. This year's ACA Summer School, an intensive ten-day course open to graduate and gifted undergraduate students, covered the principles and practice of single crystal and powder diffraction. A primary goal of the course was to explain the theory behind the science and to demonstrate the types of scientific problems that can be explored. Neutron diffraction methods were also discussed.
During the course, students attended a series of morning lectures, problem-solving hands-on workshops in the afternoon, and computer tutorials in the evenings. Participants have an opportunity to bring their own samples, collect data, and work on data analysis with one-on-one coaching by experts in the field. ACA Summer School students later traveled to the ACA 2009 Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, where they participated in discussions at an education session.
USNC/Cr, CNCC, and IUCr President Joint Meeting at ACA 2009
The USNC/Cr held a joint meeting with the Canadian National Committee for Crystallography (CNCC) and IUCr President Sine Larsen during ACA 2009 in Toronto, Canada.
Educational Session at ACA 2009
USNC/Cr members Cora Lind and Joe Ng helped coordinate an educational session held during ACA 2009. Of this year's summer course students, international students Lorraine Malaspina, Paulo Junior Carvalho, Marcelo Andrade and Chuttree Phurat were in attendance at the ACA meeting in Toronto. Ms. Malaspina, a college student from Brazil, shared her first-hand experience of solving a structure problem in a presentation to those who attended the educational session. She made a compelling case that ACA workshops are very effective in teaching students who have limited access to formal crystallography teaching.
Summer school participants especially benefit from the hands-on exercises with experienced crystallographers. Additionally, many international students were able to explore the possibility to pursue graduate studies at American Universities through crystallographic networking. Paulo Junior Carvalho was awarded the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Undergraduate Research Poster Prize. For additional information about undergraduate poster prize opportunities, visit the ACA 2010 homepage.
Eight high school students, who were mentored by former USNC/Cr member Bill Duax, demonstrated the ability of young students to understand and perform high impact science through a series of talks. Their presentations discussed the possibility of a primordial genetic code in response to the question, "Was there a simpler code?"
Participation in IUCr General Assemblies and Congresses
XXI IUCr Congress & General Assembly
August 24 – 30, 2008, Osaka, Japan
Five members of the USNC/Cr represented the U.S. delegation at the XXI IUCr General Assembly in Osaka, Japan. David Sayre, USNC/Cr member from 1982-83 and vice-chair from 1984-86, was awarded the Ewald Prize at the Congress. The committee proposed 6 changes to the Bylaws of the IUCr for consideration and voting by the adhering bodies at the General Assembly. The proposed changes were meant to ensure maximum diversity in membership of the Executive Committee and to emphasize the role of the General Assembly as the forum at which crystallographers direct the work of the Union. The USNC/Cr also awarded 11 travel fellowships, which enabled graduate students and younger faculty to participate and present their research at the XXI IUCr Congress.
The Chairs of the U.S. (Jim Kaduk, INEOS Technologies) and Mexican (Lauro Bucio Galindo, IFUNAM) delegation convened a working dinner that not only introduced the young crystallographers to USNC/Cr members, but also established a mentoring relationship between them. Lauro shared with the U.S. delegation a report that highlighted crystallographic educational activities hosted in Mexico. The USNC/Cr was very impressed with the large number and variety of activities organized by the Mexican counterpartners, especially at the high school and undergraduate level. This collaboration between the two delegations is in response to the USNC/IUCr support of its 2005 Latin America Initiative.
David Sayre Awarded the Ewald Prize
The Osaka congress commenced with the 60th anniversary ceremony and the presentation of the Ewald Prize to David Sayre from the Department of Physics, State University of New York, Stony Brook. Dr. Sayre was awarded the eighth Ewald Prize for the unique breadth of his contributions to crystallography, which range from seminal contributions to the solving of the phase problem and the complex physics of imaging generic objects by X-ray diffraction and microscopy. Dr. Sayre was member of the USNC/Cr in 1982-83, vice-chair in 1984-86, and a U.S. delegate to the 13th IUCr General Assembly.
Travel Grant Program
The U.S. National Committee for Crystallography, in cooperation with ACA, provides partial travel support for participation in the triennial Congresses of the International Union of Crystallography. Eligibility: Applicants must be graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, or untenured faculty members in any of the Crystallographic, Diffraction, and Imaging Sciences affiliated with the IUCr. Undergraduate students will be considered in exceptional cases. Applicants must be training at a U.S. institution. The XXII IUCr Congress and General Assembly will be held 22-29 August 2011 in Madrid, Spain. The awards are designed to cover the approximate costs of airfare and registration.
Check back for additional information about future travel grant opportunities.
The Committee congratulates the 2008 Travel Fellowship Recipients: |
* Wen Bian
* James Ciston
* Anna Gardberg
* Ronny Hughes
* Medora Huseby
* Pavol Juhas | * Karah Knope
* Jeffrey Lee
* Alexander Smith
* Shiho Tanaka
* Vladimir Zhurov |
Crystallography in the University Curricula
The USNC/IUCr, in collaboration with the American Crystallographic Association (ACA) authored the 2006 white paper Crystallography Education Policies for the Physical and Life Sciences: Sustaining the Science of Molecular Structure in the 21st Century. The policy document explores how crystallography fits into the undergraduate curriculum for different disciplines, and steps that can be taken to engage K-12 students in the field. Presentation posters related to this project were presented at several regional meetings at various scientific societies.
Background: In 2001 and 2003, the USNC/Cr Education Subcommittee conducted two surveys to determine the content and extent of coverage of crystallography in university curricula, as well as the views of the broader crystallographic community on the status of crystallography education and training in the United States, in both the physical and the life sciences. These surveys suggested that perhaps as a result of rapid technological advances in the field of modern crystallography, there appears to be a declining number of master practitioner crystallographers, as well as a lack of sufficient education and training in crystallography for individuals who wish to understand and/or use crystallography as a tool in their hypothesis-driven research. Recognizing the opportunity to communicate to the broader scientific community the research opportunities afforded by crystallography, as well as the value of crystallographic information, the education committees of the American Crystallographic Association (ACA) and USNC/Cr organized an education summit, which took place June 1-2, 2005 at the conclusion of the ACA national meeting in Orlando, FL. Individuals known for their experience and contributions in crystallography education and training participated in this summit.
Latin American Initiative
At the spring 2005 American Chemical Society national meeting in San Diego, current IUCr chair Katherine Kantardjieff addressed an audience on the committee’s Latin American Initiative. The goal of the Latin American Initiative is to promote crystallography in Latin American countries and is a joint effort of the USNC/IUCr and the American Crystallographic Association.
The committee's continued interest in Latin America led to a working dinner at the Twenty-First General Assembly and International Congress of Crystallography in Osaka, Japan convened by U.S. and Mexico delegation chairs Jim Kaduk (INEOS Technologies) and Lauro Bucio Galindo (IFUNAM). Read more about outcomes from the Osaka General Assembly.
- Katherine A. Kantardjieff, Chair
California State University, Fullerton - Brian H. Toby, Vice Chair
Argonne National Laboratory - Douglas Ohlendorf, Secretary-Treasurer
University of Minnesota - Christopher Cahill
George Washington University - Julia Y. Chan
Louisiana State University - Andrzej Joachimiak
Argonne National Laboratory - Cora Lind
University of Toledo - Joseph Ng
University of Alabama, Huntsville - Claudia J. Rawn
University of Tennessee - Miriam Rossi
Vassar College - Bernhard Rupp
Q.E.D. Life Sciences Discoveries, Inc. - Steven Sheriff
Bristol Myers-Squibb - Jennifer Swift
Georgetown University - Angus P. Wilkinson
Georgia Institute of Technology - Victor G. Young, Jr.
University of Minnesota
NRC STAFF Ana Ferreras, Program Officer
Pam Gamble, Administrative Assistant
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EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS - President, American Crystallographic Association
Robert Von Dreele, Argonne National Laboratory - Vice-President, American Crystallographic Association
Judith Kelly, University of Connecticut - Treasurer, American Crystallographic Association
Bernard D. Santarsiero, University of Illinois, Chicago - American Association for Crystal Growth
Peter Vekilov, University of Houston - International Center for Diffraction Data
Scott Misture, Alfred University - Microscopy Society of America
Paul Voyles, University of Wisconsin - Co-Chair, NRC Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
Gary Calabrese, Rohm & Haas Company - Co-Chair, NRC Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
F. Fleming Crim, University of Wisconsin - Foreign Secretary, NAS
Michael Clegg, University of California, Irvine
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RESOURCE LINKS
The USNC/IUCr is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. MPS-0650065.
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ACA Summer School students contributed to an Educational Session at ACA 2009 in Toronto, Canada by highlighting crystallographic research experience gained during the 10-day intensive summer course held at Indiana University of Pennsylvania this summer. 
IUCr Newsletter