previous top next

SIG #6 Reports



2007-2008

1. Introduction.

SIG#6 meeting on August 25 2007 at Marrakech ECM24, wehave discussed of the popularity of the SIG#6's Microsymposia abstracts submission (135 abstracts), we also encouraged SIG members to (or to continue to) organize workshop and schools on development of instrumentation even if such events are not officially ECA school.

2. Past Activities.

Title: ECM24 Microsymposia

Number of Participants:

SIG#6 made a significant contribution to the Programme for the Marrakech ECM in 2007 and continued to promote Instrumentation and method as an important activity for the development of Crystallography. The IET SIG#6 organized, on its own, seven Microsymposia (92 abstracts) and co-organised with SIG#12 & SIG#5 four other Microsymposia (43 abstracts).

Short Description:

MS 06 : Current trends in protein crystallization (18 contributions)MS 25 : Coupling spectroscopy and diffraction (19 contributions)MS 28 : Micro- and sub-micro diffraction (10 contributions)
MS 32 : 3D crystal imaging (5 contributions)
MS 34 : New synchrotron sources (11 contributions)
MS 36 : Issues in data collection and instrumentation (13 contributions)
MS 37 : X-ray scattering and diffraction for nanodiagnostics (16 contributions)

MS 35 : Industrial process control (11 contributions)with SIG#5
MS 38 : Magnetism by neutrons and Xrays (15 contributions) with SIG#12

MS 44 : Time resolved crystallography(8 contributions) with SIG#12 "

MS 45 : Crystallography in Art and Archeology (9 contributions)with SIG#5

Title: ECM24 Keynote lecture

Short Description:

Our proposition of keynote lecture on "imaging from a single molecule" was accepted, but our choice of speakers Prof. J. Spence and/or Prof J. Hadju could not come to the meeting.


Title: Jacek Grochowski SIG6 prize

Winner: At ECM24 meeting SIG#6 the Jacek Grochowski SIG6 prize for the best "Instrumentation & Experimental Techniques" poster was awarded to Rene V. Martins, GKSS-research Centre Geesthach GmbH, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany. " The status of GKSS' High Energy Materials Science beamline at Petra III"

Sponsors/Organizers: University of Manchester and Daresbury SRS :794 GBP, ie approx 1200 Euros (100 Euros per prize per ECM).

Short Description:

This prize is given in memory of Prof Jacek Grochowski who was greatly involved in SIG6 and in ECA.

Panel members: Jean-Louis Hodeau, Naomi Chayen (UK), John R. Helliwell (UK), Kahn Richard (F), Saridakis Emmanuel (GR), Rodriguez-Carvajal Juan (F), Heger Gernot (D)

3. Future/Programmed Activities.

Title: Input to ECM25

Short Description:

We will organize an open SIG#6 meeting at Osaka IUCr Conference

We will discuss scientific topics for microsymposia based on the idea that having broadly based Microsymposia topics and shared microsymposia with another SIG on a more focussed topic of mutual interest both worked well.

Title: School & Worshops

Short Description:

All member activities to organize workshops and schools in larges facilities was also recalled and encouraged.

4. Other matters.

School & Worshops : In fact during 2007-2008, several SIG members organized (and are continuing) to organize different School & Workshops (even if such events are not officially ECA school, they show the importance of the IET scientific topic), such as :

- HERCULES 2008 & 2009, a school largely dedicated on methods and instrumentations using Synchrotron and Neutrons, Feb 17 to March 2008 - Grenoble

Number of Participants: 83 students,

Sponsors: EEC, Univ Grenoble, ILL ESRF-LLB-SOLEIL,

Organised by Jean-Louis Hodeau and co. and several SIG#6 lecturers Kahn Richard (F), Rodriguez-Carvajal Juan (F), Baumbach Tilo (D), Heger Gernot (D)

-1st ILL Annual School on Advanced Neutron Diffraction Data Treatment using the FullProf Suite , 11-15 February, 2008. Grenoble, France

Number of Participants: 40 students,

Sponsors : ILL

Chair: Rodriguez-Carvajal Juan (F)


- PD2DD, International Workshop on Powder Diffraction with 2-Dimensional Detectors, 26-27 February, 2008, Grenoble, France,

Sponsors : ESRF-ILL

Chairs : Juan Rodriguez-Carvajal ( ), Henry Fischer ( ), Veijo Honkimaki ( )


- Protein Crystallography Europe conference and exhibition, june 18-20 2008, Amsterdam (NL) with Keynote Speakers Naomi Chayen (UK) and Sir Tom Blundell (UK) and Pre-Conference Training Course Tackling the Bottleneck of Protein Crystallization: Practical Techniques with a Difference, 18 June 2008, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Course Organiser and teacher - Naomi Chayen


- X-ray Micro Imaging of Devices, Materials and Organisms, Oct. 22 - 24, 2008 , Dresden (G),

Chair, Baumbach Tilo (D),

….

5. Five year ‘overview’, brief activity report (2004-2008)

In 2004, at ECM22 Budapest, activities included;

1) Pre-Conference Lecture to Hungarian scientists by J RHelliwell onEU Access "I3" funded programmes for Synchrotron Radiation and Neutron Facilities in Europe (on the occasion of Hungary's admission to the EU on May 1st 2004).

2)One lectures and five Microsymposia : There were 39 abstracts the IET SIG was exactly half way in the table of all abstracts submitted as analysed by SIG;

The SIG records with great sadness here the untimely death of its Vice-Chairman Prof Jacek Grochowski in June 2004. Jacek Grochowski was an incredibly energetic scientist and supporter of ECA activities.

In 2005, at Florence,

As the Chairman J. Helliwell had served 5 years in establishing and then running the SIG he proposed the Vice-Chairman J L Hodeau to be the next Chairman. Hodeau became the IET SIG 6 chairman in August 2005 .


In 2006, at ECM2 Leuven, activities included;

1)One lecture and six Microsymposia : There were 44 abstracts the IET SIG

2)SIG6 organises and funds of the Prof Jacek Grochowski Prize for the best "Instrumentation & Experimental Techniques" poster at ECA meetings.

This Prize of 100 Euros is to allow purchase by the winner of an IUCr Book Series book title or towards an IUCr International Tables Volume purchase.

3)SIG#6 contributed to the organization, on May 12, 2006, of a scientific event in memoriam of the late Erwin Felix Lewy Bertautand his scientific achievements which are cornerstones in both crystallography and neutron scattering.

Sponsors/Organisers: CNRS-CEA / J-L Hodeau – J. Schweizer

Number of Participants: 120 scientists.

(see: http://www.ecanews.org/files/Bertaut%20brochure%20BERTAUT%20web.pdf )

4)By a joint SIG#6-ECA-ENSA initiative, SIG6 contributes to the organisation of the attribution of an Erwin Felix Lewy Bertaut Prize of the European Crystallographic and Neutron Scattering Associations (ECA-ENSA).

The prize is awarded to a young European scientist (up to 5-8 years after finishing the PhD-thesis) in recognition of notable experimental theoretical or methodological contributions in the field of investigation of matter using crystallographic or neutron scattering methods. ECA & ENSA award that prize in a regular alternating sequence.

6. Estimated number of active formal members:

It has increased from 5 to about 10

John R. Helliwell (UK), Ake Kvick (S), Garcia Granda S. (SP), Kahn Richard (F), Saridakis Emmanuel (GR), Rodriguez-Carvajal Juan (F), Baumbach Tilo (D), Cernik Robert (UK), Heger Gernot (D) , Naomi Chayen (UK), J-L Hodeau (F)

7. List SIG officers, name and e-mail, and specify their main function in the SIG:

Secretary : Heger Gernot (D)

Vice-Chair : Naomi Chayen (UK),

Chair : J-L Hodeau (F)

Supplementary Materials.

2006-2007

SIG6 members :

John R. Helliwell (UK), Ake Kvick (S), Garcia Granda S. (SP), Kahn Richard (F), Saridakis Emmanuel (GR), Rodriguez-Carvajal Juan (F), Baumbach Tilo (D), Cernik Robert (UK), Heger Gernot (D) , Naomi Chayen (UK), J-L Hodeau (F)

chair : Jean-Louis Hodeau (CNRS-grenoble, F)
co-chair : Naomi Chayen (Imperial college UK)
secretary : Gernot Heger (Aachen D)

1. Our SIG6 contributes to the organisation of the attribution of a Prize for the best "INSTRUMENTATION AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES" poster at ECA meetings:

At ECA meetings there are different poster prizes (from private companies or from scientific groups) to encourage submission of abstract for poster sessions. Following a John R. Helliwell suggestion to have such a prize for the best ECA-SIG6 "INSTRUMENTATION AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES " poster at ECA meetings, we propose to give such a prize in memory of Prof Jacek Grochowski who was largely involved in our SIG6 and in the European Crystallographic Association.

Prof Jacek Grochowski died in June 2004 from a heart attack in Berlin on his way back from a synchrotron radiation run in HASYLAB. Jacek Grochowski was an incredibly energetic scientist and supporter of ECA activities. Notably Jacek was greatly involved in the organisation of ECM20 Krakow, Chair of the Syncrys2001Satellite Conference of the Krakow ECM and of course his work for the IET SIG6 of the ECA.

This Jacek Grochowski Memorial Poster Prize for the best "IET" SIG 6 poster at an ECA-Meetings will be 100 Euros to allow purchase by the winner of an IUCr Book Series book title or towards an IUCr International Tables Volume purchase.

For funding this price John R. Helliwell already obtained supports from his laboratory at the University of Manchester and Daresbury SRS, which have donated to ECA 794 GBP, ie approx 1200 Euros (at 100 Euros per prize per ECM these starting monies would last about 12 ECMs). To have further donations, a call is under way at institutions largely involved in instrumentation and experimental techniques like ESRF and ILL, and announcement will be put on the ECA website.

2. By its members activities, our SIG6 also partly contributes to the organisation of the attribution of an Erwin Felix Lewy Bertaut Prize of the European Crystallographic and Neutron Scattering Associations (ECA-ENSA)

The European Crystallographic Association (ECA) and the European Neutron Scattering Association (ENSA) announce the creation of a prize in honour of the late Erwin Felix Lewy Bertaut, in memory of his scientific achievements which are cornerstones in both crystallography and neutron scattering.

Erwin Felix LEWY-BERTAUT, Crystallographer, CNRS research director and member of the French «Académie des Sciences», deceased in Grenoble on November 2003. He is internationally renowned in crystallography, in neutron diffraction and in magnetism. During his PhD work, he first discriminated the grain size itself from the grain size. He developed the so called Structure factor algebra. He contributed enormously to develop the neutron crystallography and he extended the use of the Group theory in Crystallography and particularly to magnetic structures. He contributed largely to the IUCr committees like the gInternational Tablesh and the gNeutron Diffractionh commissions and he was a Member of the IUCr Executive Committee 1975-1981. He was awarded by several prices and acknowledged as Professor Honoris Causa of various Universities.

The prize is awarded to a young European scientist (up to 5-8 years after finishing the PhD-thesis) in recognition of notable experimental theoretical or methodological contributions in the field of investigation of matter using crystallographic or neutron scattering methods. ECA & ENSA award that prize in a regular alternating sequence.

The first winner of the Lewy-Bertaut prize of European Crystallographic Association and European Neutron Scattering Association was Henrik M. Rønnow. The award ceremony will take place June 28th at the occasion of the European Conference on Neutron Scattering in Lund, Sweden. The winner of the award will give a presentation that will be preceded by a brief account on the life and scientific career of the late Erwin Felix Lewy-Bertaut, given by Prof. Hartmut Fuess, former chairman of the European Crystallographic Association and student of Lewy-Bertaut in the e60s.

3. The "IET" SIG 6 open SIG Meeting took place at the ECM23-LEUVEN meeting.

A review was discussed of the popularity of the IET SIG's Microsymposia abstracts submission; at 44 abstracts the IET SIG was half way in the table of all abstracts submitted as analysed by SIG. Thus, we discuss and propose scientific topics for microsymposia, based on the idea that (a) having broadly based Microsymposia topics (ie thus interesting a large fraction of ECA membership) and (b) shared microsymposia with another SIG on a more focussed topic of mutual interest both worked well.

A preliminary look forward to ECM 24 in Marrakech was made.

All member activities to organize workshops and schools in larges facilities was also recalled and encouraged.

4. The SIG6 contribution to the microsymposium organisation for the ECA24 meeting at Marrakech are :

Our proposition of keynote lecture on "imaging from a single molecule" was accepted, but we do not succeed to have the attendee of Prof. J. Spence or Prof J. Hadju,

We also organized several MICROSYMPOSIA for the ECA24 meeting:

MS 06 : Current trends in protein crystallization
 Chair: Naomi Chayen
Co-chair: Terese Bergfors

MS 25 : Coupling spectroscopy and diffraction
 Chair: R J Cernik
Co-chair: Jean Louis Hodeau

MS 28 : Micro- and sub-micro diffraction
 Chair: Christian Riekel
Co-chair: Phillipe Goudeau

MS 32 : 3D crystal imaging
 Chair: Edward Mitchell
Co-chair: Trevor Forsyth

MS 34 : New synchrotron sources
 co-proposed with SIG 1 "Macromolecular Crystallography" and
co-proposed with SIG11 "Crystallography under extreme conditions"

Chair: Edgart Weckert
Co-chair: Roger Fourme

MS 35 : Industrial process control for mineralogy and material sciences
co-proposed with SIG 5 "Mineralogical crystallography"
Chair: George Christidis
Co-chair: Ian Madsen

MS 36 : Issues in data collection and instrumentation
 Chair: Paul Tucker
Co-chair: Gleb Bourenkov


MS 37 : X-ray scattering and diffraction techniques for nanodiagnostics

Chair: Svetlana Zheludava
Co-chair: Sylvain Ravy


MS 38 : Magnetism by neutrons and Xrays
co-proposed with SIG 12 "Materials Science"
Chair: Thomas Brüeckel
Co-chair: Malcom J. Cooper

MS 44 : Developments and opportunities in time resolved crystallography
co-proposed with SIG 12 "Materials Science"
Chair: Ake Kvick
Co-chair: Maciej Lorenc

MS 45 : Crystallography in Art and Archeology
 co-proposed with SIG 5 "Mineralogical crystallography"
Chair: Georges Tsoucaris
Co-chair: Eric Dooryhee

Report compiled by :

Dr. J.L. Hodeau, July 2007.

2005-2006

Activities of the ECA SIG "Instruments and Experimental Techniques" (IET SIG6) in the year 2005-2006

Report compiled by : J-L Hodeau (France), Chair IET SIG , IET SIG Executive Committee current members:- N E Chayen (UK), A Kvick (France) and J R Helliwell (UK)

IET-SIG 6 has actively supported the organizers of ECM23 with several suggestions and some SIG6 propositions were included in the ECM23 programme :

1 Plenary Lectures

Proposition of :
a - Prof J. Wark (Oxford, UK) on "Femtosecond x-ray diffraction"
Co-proposition of :
b - Prof S. Larsen (ESRF, F) on "Progress in the application of synchrotron radiation in chemistry and biology"
c - Prof G. Van Tendeloo (Antwerp, B) on electron diffraction & microscopy : "Who y afraid of dynamical scattering?"

2 Lectures and Microsymposia

Co-proposition with SIG1 "Macromolecular Crystallography" of :

Co-proposition with SIG5 "Mineralogical Crystallography" of :

Proposition of :

3 The IET SIG 6 open meeting took place at the IUCr 2005 Congress in Florence where final propositions for ECM 23 in Leuven were adjusted. From August 2005, the IET SIG 6 Chair was proposed to be J-L Hodeau and the SIG6 Vice-Chair was proposed to be N Chayen ; this was supported by all members.

IET-SIG6 is heavily involved in the organisation and participation of workshops on new methods and instrumentation like specialized small workshops or long school like "High European Research Courses Using Large Experimental Systems".

The IET SIG 6 Executive Committee would meet within the ECM23 meeting in Leuven.

Dr. J-L Hodeau

July 2006.



2004-2005

Report compiled by: J R Helliwell, Chair IET SIG
IET SIG Executive Committee current members:- N E Chayen (UK) A Kvick (France) and J-L Hodeau (France).

The SIG records with great sadness here the untimely death of its Vice-Chairman Prof Jacek Grochowski in June 2004 who died from a heart attack in Berlin on his way back from a synchrotron radiation run in HASYLAB. Jacek Grochowski was an incredibly energetic scientist and supporter of ECA activities. Notably Jacek was greatly involved in the organisation of ECM20 Krakow, Chair of the Syncrys2001Satellite Conference of the Krakow ECM and of course his work for the IET SIG6 of the ECA these last 5 years. He was also a friend and we miss him.

ECM22 Budapest activities included;

1 Pre-Conference Lecture to Hungarian scientists by J RHelliwell on EU Access "I3" funded programmes for Synchrotron Radiation and Neutron Facilities in Europe (on the occasion of Hungary's admission to the EU on May 1st 2004, obviously a timely lecture!).

2 Lectures and Microsymposia

a - Robotics and e-science in crystallography Plenary Lecture of the ECM22

(speaker C.Nave (UK)).

b - Microsymposium: Robotics in crystallographic experiment (hardware, software) organized by A. Kvick (France) and co-chaired by J. R. Helliwell (UK).

c - Microsymposium on Advances in neutron diffraction Chair T Koetzle (USA), Co-Chair E Svab (Hungary).

d - Microsymposium (shared with SIG 13): Materials difficult to crystallize: new technology versus art organized by N. Chayen (UK) and co-chaired by S. Bourne (RSA).

e - Microsymposium (shared with SIG 12): Novel diffraction methods applied to new charge/orbitally ordered materials (chair J-L. Hodeau (France), co-chair P. Thomas (UK)).

f - Microsymposium (shared with SIG 13): Chirality in solution, liquid and solid crystals (chair (in memorium) J. Grochowski (Poland), co-chair H. Flack (Switzerland)).

3 IET SIG 6 Open SIG Meeting took place immediately after the ECM22 Microsymposium on Robotics.

3.1 A review was discussed of the popularity of the IET SIG's Microsymposia abstracts submission; at 39 abstracts the IET SIG was exactly half way in the table of all abstracts submitted as analysed by SIG (top being SIG1 with over 150 abstracts and the bottom place involved a SIG with 8 abstracts). It was agreed that (a) the method of having broadly based Microsymposia topics (ie thus interesting a large fraction of ECA membership) and (b) shared microsymposia with another SIG on a more focussed topic of mutual interest both worked well.

3.2 A preliminary look forward to ECM 23 in Leuven was made.

3.3 The IET SIG 6 Executive Committee would meet within the IUCr 2005 Congress in Florence.

3.4 The vacancy of Vice-Chairman was agreed to be taken up by J L Hodeau. Moreover as the Chairman had served 5 years in extablishing and then running the SIG he stressed the importance of turnover and so in 2005 at Florence he proposed he would hand over to the Vice-Chairman to be the next Chairman. So, from August 2005 the IET SIG 6 Chair was proposed to be J L Hodeau; this was supported by all members present.

Prof J R Helliwell

April 2005.



2003-2004

  1. Preparations for ECM21 Durban have included;
    • initiative and programme co-ordination (J. R. Helliwell, shared with the IUCr) of The African Neutron Diffraction Meeting - a Satellite Meeting to the ECM21: Modern Neutron Diffraction and Applications, 21-22 August 2003, Broederstroom, Pretoria, South Africa; Conference Chair Prof C C Wilson. Scientific profile covered materials and solid state chemistry, chemical structures, earth and environmental sciences, biological structure and magnetism. Forward look part discussed new oportunities in neutron scattering, Rietveld refinement demonstration session and a tour of the Safari-1 Research Reactor at Pelindaba.
    • proposing topic for plenary lecture of the ECM21 Tools for mineralogical crystallography (Invited speaker Prof. Gilberto Artioli).
    • initiative and organization of Microsymposium: Crystallization technique frontier chaired by N. Chayen and co-chaired by H. Einspahr, speakers: Daniella Stock (GB), Peter Kwong, Peter Nollert, Lawrence DeLucas (USA).
    • Topics covered scientific and technical aspects of protein/nucleic acids crystallization Since the microsymposium was very well attended , - inspired idea of continuation during the ECM22.
    • initiative and organization of Microsymposium: Rooted in nature compounds - chirality, absolute structure, absolute configuration, chaired by J. Grochowski, co-chaired by T. Auf der Heyde. Microsymposium covered topics from chirality and space-time Structure presented by J. Boeyens, through cooperative and complementary aspects of the absolute structure determination viewed by synthetic chemists (D.B.G. Williams) to technical task of the absolute structure determination of light atoms composed small molecules (A. Coetzee) and chiral aspects of ion transport and gating in gramicidin nanotubes - presented by B. Duax.
      Since wide spectrum of chirality aspects appeared interesting to wide public - continuation has been proposed and scheduled during ECM22.
    • Topic of using anomalous scattering and/or neutrons for element selective powder diffraction was presented by J-L. Hodeau on MS: Use of synchrotron and neutron powder diffraction.
  2. Preparations for ECM22 Budapest, have included;
    • selection of topic: robotics in crystallography for the plenary lecture of the ECM22 (Invited speaker C.Nave).
    • initiative and organization of Microsymposium: Robotics in crystallographic experiment (hardware, software) organized by A. Kvick and co-chaired by J. R. Helliwell.
    • initiative and programme co-ordination (J. R. Helliwell, shared with the IUCr and other SIG's) of extra Microsymposium on Neutron crystallography.
    • initiative and organization of Microsymposium (shared with SIG 13): Materials difficult to crystallize: new technology versus art organized by N. Chayen and co-chaired by S. Bourne.
    • initiative and organization of Microsymposium (shared with SIG 12): Novel diffraction methods applied to new charge/orbitally ordered materials (chair J-L. Hodeau, co-chair P. Thomas).
    • initiative and organization of Microsymposium (shared with SIG 13): Chirality in solution, liquid and solid crystals (chair J. Grochowski, co-chair H. Flack).
  3. Preliminary consideration of candidates for the ECA Max Perutz Prize 2005/6 within domain of IET SIG (by email).
  4. Participation in organization of schools and sympozia
    • XIV International School on the Physics and Chemistry of Condensed Matter: Structural aspects of solids (1-10 July 2004, Bialowieza, Poland, school supported by IUCr and ECA, J. Grochowski Intl. Advisory and Programme Committee member).


2002-2003

In 2002/2003 the principal activities of the IET SIG of ECA involved a variety of Microsymposia that members of the SIG designed and organised for ECM 21 in Durban. Since in 2002 the XIX IUCr Congress was organized, no direct need for IET SIG participation appeared. However several members of our SIG have contributed as chairs or co-chairs to the Geneva IUCr meeting .

  1. Preliminary discussion of IET SIG Microsymposia bids for ECM21 took place in Krakow during ECM 20 meeting: proposed topics are listed below (choices reflect current activity and trends in various fields):

As a possible plenary lecture for Durban, IET SIG proposed

Tools for mineralogical crystallography".

2. Second IET SIG meeting took place in Geneva on August 8-th, 2002 at the XIX IUCr Congress site.

During the meeting:

e-mail to all IET SIG members ? was approved.

V- chair of IET SIG, was approved by the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of

ECM 21 and subsequently presented to the Publishers ? Participatants of the XIX IUCr

Congress Book Exhibition.

3. On the ECM 21 Joint Organizing and Programme Committees meeting held in Geneva on August 15-th, 2003 ? IET SIG representatives discussed distribution and harmonization of proposed Microsymposia among ?cientific fields of interest" of

13 active SIG , s. Since several of 45 Microsymposia organized and scheduled on the ECM 21 meeting in Durban were born due to cooperative effort of collaborating SIG,s ? our IET SIG activity report does not attribute their partial list strictly to IET SIG activity.

The present status of the Scientific Programme of the ECM 21 reflects contribution of our IET SIG to the work of the Programme and Organizing Committees, as well as positive results of inter-SIG cooperation.

Other activities included consultation on the organization of Instrumental Exhibition during ECM 22.

Prof John R Helliwell, Chairman ECA IET SIG

Prof Jacek Grochowsk i, Vice-Chairman ECA IET SIG

2001-2002

From John Helliwell    
May 11, 2002  

Report on the activities of the Instrumentation and Experimental Techniques SIG  

In 2001 the principal activities of the IET SIG of ECA involved the variety of Microsymposia that its officers and members of the SIG organised for ECM in Krakow. In addition the SIG presented its report to the ECA Council. It also held its annual general meeting in Krakow into the early evening after one of the Krakow poster sessions. These various activities are reported on in detail below. After the ECM itself the IET SIG Vice-Chairman Prof Jacek Grochowski organised the Krynica Satellite meeting. This timely and very actively attended conference was a real highlight of activity with which the IET SIG was very glad to have been connected with. This is also explained in detail below.

  1. ECA Council: The Chairman Prof J R Helliwell presented the IET SIG6 report for 2001 to ECA Council which was accepted. Additional points had been made by JRH:
    (i) thanking IUCr for travel support for G. Kamau, Kenya, to allow him to present his lecture in one of the SIG? microsymposia
    (ii) he wished the two new SIGs, #10 Diffraction Physics and Optics and #11 High Pressure Techniques, success and whereby occasional joint microsymposia would be of interest to the IET SIG.
  2. Review of ECM20 IET SIG Microsymposia: All 9 of the microsymposia had been completed with good success (attendance numbers in several reaching full lecture theatre capacity of 100 people, on average being 50 but with one as low as 20. The latter occurring in S6.M2: Neutrons Optics and Detectors which clashed with the Neutron Diffraction symposium O.M.2 ("other" category). Two late lecturer cancellations in the Symposium S6M8: Crystallisation and Quality Control of Crystals for Diffraction led to a late rearrangement of actual speakers but was successful.
  3. Preliminary discussion of IET SIG Microsymposia bids for ECM21 took place in Krakow: These are listed below (choices reflect current activity and trends in the various fields):

Possible plenary for Durban: Tools for mineralogical crystallography.

  1. The SYNCRYS 2001 meeting was organized in Krynica (Czarny Potok Conference Centre) from 31 August till 4 September 2001, as a satellite symposium of the European Crystallographic Meeting - ECM 20, Krakow 2001, in close collaboration with IET SIG of ECA. SYNCRYS was designed as a "twin" event - harmonized in space and time with another ECM 20 satellite meeting (Protein Crystallography Beyond 2000: High Throughput and High Quality), thus combining the development of SR crystallographic methods and some most important applications. Participants of both symposia were: 130 crystallographers, physicists, chemists, biologists, and archaeologists from twelve countries - affiliated with eleven operating and constructed SR facilities. They had an opportunity to attend lectures of either one, and to join in informal discussions between the lectures as well as during poster sessions. Scientific programme was enriched by crystallographic books exhibition organized by Oxford University Press and amplified by unique horse riding tutorial in Hucul Horse Farm - sponsored by MAR Research

Post-conference correspondence and chats indicate that SYNCRYS 2001 was very highly appreciated by the participants.  A Conference Proceedings entitled  "Synchrotron Crystallography, from Source to Applications"is now printed in Acta   Physica Polonica, Section A, Vol. 101, (2002), pp. 559-802 - include 27 peer-reviewed  papers, covering most important areas of present-day synchrotron crystallography:

Following the synergystic development of light sources and their applications in  the short history of synchrotron crystallography, the papers cover the recent synchrotron radiation source development, its future vision, as well as frontier applications.

5. www site:  The SIG sees the need for an improved www presence within the ECA website.  The Chairman has approached Yves Epelboin to be the SIG's www Editor, who has agreed to do this.

6. The 2002 IET SIG annual general meeting has been set in Palexpo, Geneva (site of 19th IUCr Congress), for Thursday August 8th at lunchtime. (exact time and room to be announced).



Prof John R Helliwell , Chairman ECA IET SIG.

Prof Jacek Grochowsk i, Vice-Chairman ECA IET SIG.