Crystallography News British Crystallographic Association Issue No. 119 December 2011 ISSN 1467-2790 22nd Congress of the IUCr in Madrid p6 BCA Meeting 2012 p12 National Facilities News p16 SAXS Course Leeds 2012 p24 ThreeThree Whishes Whishes Granted...Granted... TheThe new new D8 D8 VENTURE VENTURE withwith PHOTON PHOTON 100 100 zzHighzzHigh Performance Performance zzLowzz LowMaintenance Maintenance zzBrightestzzBrightest Microfocus Microfocus The D8The VENTURE D8 VENTURE is the is perfect the perfect answer answer to all to your all yourquestions questions in single in single crystal crystal X-ray X-ray structurestructure determination. determination. The D8The VENTURE D8 VENTURE features features excellent excellent sample sample access access and and visibility.visibility. The patentedThe patented doors doors either either can becan opened be opened in a sliding-door-modein a sliding-door-mode or as or swinging as swinging doors.doors. 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The Analytical X-ray Company PN7305.indd 1 19-02-2010 07:35:08 International Centre for Diffraction Data Celebrating 70th Anniversary Servicing the Scientific Community e were established in 1941 as a th Wnonprofit scientific organization 60 Anniversary dedicated to collecting, editing, publishing of the and distributing powder diffraction data Denver for the identification of crystalline materials. As we celebrate our 70th anniversary, we X-ray Conference will continue to be the world center for quality diffraction and related data. We will continue to promote the application of materials characterization methods in th 25 Anniversary science and technology by providing forums of for the exchange of ideas and information. Powder Diffraction International Centre for Diffraction Data 12 Campus Boulevard Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073-3273 U.S.A. Phone: 610.325.9814 • Toll-free: 866.378.9331 (U.S. & Canada) ICDD, the ICDD logo, PDF and the Denver X-ray Conference and Design are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Fax: 610.325.9823 Denver X-ray Conference is a trademark of the JCPDS—International Centre for Diffraction Data. www.icdd.com • www.dxcicdd.com Crystallography News December 2011 Contents From the Editor ............................. 2 Council Members ............................ 3 BCA Administrative From the President ........................... 4 Office, Jennifer Kirkcaldy Northern Networking Puzzle Corner. 5 Events Ltd. Glenfinnan Suite, Braeview House Madrid Report .............................. 6 9/11 Braeview Place East Kilbride G74 3XH BCA Meeting 2012. 12 Tel: +44 (0)1355 244 966 Fax: +44 (0)1355 249 959 National Facilities News ...................... 16 e-mail: [email protected] CRYSTALLOGRAPHY NEWS is Former IUCr President’s Win .................. 20 published quarterly (March, June, September and December) by the British Crystallographic Association, IUCr General Assembly Madrid ................ 21 and printed by William Anderson and Sons Ltd, Glasgow. Text should preferably be sent electronically as MSword documents (any version - George Kakabadse ......................... 22 .doc, .rtf or .txt files) or else on a PC disk. Diagrams and figures are most welcome, but please send them separately from text as .jpg, .gif, .tif, or The Future of CRYSTALS ..................... 23 .bmp files. Items may include technical articles, news about people (e.g. awards, honours, retirements etc.), Puzzle Corner Answers ...................... 23 reports on past meetings of interest to crystallographers, notices of future meetings, historical reminiscences, letters to the editor, book, hardware or SAXS Course Leeds. 24 software reviews. Please ensure that items for inclusion in the March 2012 issue are sent to the Editor to arrive before 25 January 2012. Spectroscopy & X-ray Methods ................ 25 Carl Schwalbe 15 St. Augustine Dr., ECA Individual Membership ................... 26 Droitwich, Worcs WR9 8QR Tel: 01905 775257 e-mail: [email protected] Meetings of interest ......................... 27 The British Crystallographic Association is a Registered Charity (#284718) As required by the DATA PROTECTION ACT, the BCA is notifying members that we store your contact information on a computer This month’s cover: database to simplify our administration. These details are not divulged to any others without your permission. You may inspect Scenes from 22nd your entry during the Annual Meeting, or otherwise by application to the BCA Administrative Office. We will be happy to Congress of the IUCr amend entries at any time. in Madrid Designed & printed by Wm. Anderson & Sons Ltd. 34 Loanbank Quadrant, Glasgow. Tel: 0141 440 2881 e-mail: [email protected] Crystallography News December 2011 1 From the Editor THE RECENT Congress society as a whole, but little about the effect on Greek of the International Union science. More information is available in specialist media. of Crystallography (IUCr) in According to a blog posted in January 2011 by Anastasia Madrid proved that our Spanish Pappa on www.euroscience.org Greek people love colleagues are not just brilliant science but the government does not fund it sufficiently. crystallographers, they are Expenditure on science had decreased to less than 0.6% brilliant meteorologists as well. of GDP. The budget for universities was abruptly cut by Those of us who came a few 30%, and no fixed-term contracts for academic staff can days earlier had to contend with be extended. A Guardian blog stated that an additional temperatures around 40° C. austerity package, passed in June 2011, cut public sector Madrid was thronged with banner-waving young people salaries by 15%. However, there is one (X-?) ray of hope. taking part in a worldwide Catholic youth festival (JMJ) According to a Nature News item posted by Alison Abbott which included a papal visit. As I sweltered in my T-shirt in May 2010, Greece had received an allocation of €1.5 and shorts, I felt sympathy for the poor Pope, who could billion in European Union structural funding to support hardly strip down to that extent. However, during the night research during the period 2007-2013 which had until before the Congress, a cold front came through with a then remained unspent. Any funds remaining at the end of brisk thunderstorm followed by a breeze that was no longer 2013 would have to be returned to the EU. The then new hot, just pleasantly warm. The cooling trend persisted and general secretary for research and technology, Achilleas intensified throughout the Congress. The conference dinner Mitsos, promised to spend the entire amount in roughly was held outdoors in the lovely surroundings of the Botanical equal portions over the years to 2013, and to award these Garden of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. The funds in response to peer-reviewed grant applications. We photo on page 10 of our President together with Brazilian wish our Greek colleagues well as they confront the severe friends conveys the happy atmosphere that prevailed, but problems facing them. one had to be tough to withstand temperatures that reached a low of 10° C. Though unprepared for such conditions, The exciting international activity should not obscure the I managed to stay just about warm enough by putting fact that an important SAXS workshop took place in the on several layers of short-sleeved clothing topped with a UK this summer. Reminding us that worthwhile structural summer-weight jacket. Unfortunately, hypothermia compelled information can be obtained from non-crystalline material, it several of the more skimpily clad ladies to leave this very deepened participants’ knowledge of small-angle scattering. pleasant event early. As for