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IUCr 1993 Triennial Report - Commission on Crystal Growth and Characterization of Materials

During the triennium, the Commission reconsidered its objectives. While confirming its commitments in continuing the successful series of international Schools for the benefit of young scientists of developing countries, a series that dates back more than 10 years, it was felt that a better definition of the interaction area between the crystallographic and the crystal growth communities was needed. It is now evident that, for a real expansion of the crystallographic activities in the field of crystal growth and related materials science, the new developments and trends in this field have to be carefully taken into consideration. Crystallographers must be aware that the tendency is towards ever more structurally complex materials (semiconductor multi-layer structures, superconductors, organic crystals, biomaterials and proteins etc.) and hence very sophisticated technologies (ultra high vacuum molecular beam epitaxy, metal-organic chemical vapour deposition, microgravity growth etc.), which more and more require the support of advanced characterization tools and skills, to which crystallography can largely contribute. In order to move towards a better definition of the interdisciplinary area that both crystallographers and crystal growers share, it stressed the need of a stronger interaction with the IOCG and the national associations of crystal growth. Along these lines, the Commission undertook the following activities during the triennium.

The Commission helped organize the Third European Conference on Crystal Growth (ECCG-3), which was held in Budapest in the period 5-11 May 1991 with the sponsorship of the IUCr and the approval of the IOCG. The Commission organized a Microsymposium on crystal growth during the European Crystallographic Meeting (ECM-13, 1991), first planned in Ljubljana and later moved to Trieste because of the war in Yugoslavia. This Microsymposium, aimed at discussing various aspects of crystal growth and characterization of materials, was mainly focused on organic crystals, materials of increasing interest for their potential application in many fields.

As to the International School Programme for developing countries, the main activity of the Commission was the organization, jointly with the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and the International Centre for Science and High Technology (ICS) of Trieste, of the School of Materials for Electronics: Growth, Properties and Applications. The School, sponsored by the IUCr, the IAEA and UNESCO, was held in Miramare, Trieste, 18 November-6 December 1991 and was attended by 67 participants from 28 countries, selected from more than 400 applicants. During the triennium, the proceedings of the International School on Crystal Growth and Crystallographic Assessment of Industrial Materials, organized by the Commission in 1990 at Sitges, Barcelona, Spain, have been published under the title Crystalline Materials: Growth and Characterization (1991), edited by R. Rodriguez-Clemente & C. Paorici (Zürich: Trans Tech Publications).

15 April 1993                                C. PAORICI, Chairman
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