Crystallography in Switzerland

The Swiss Society of Crystallography (http://www-sphys.unil.ch/sgk/index.html) has issued an illustrated brochure presenting a complete description of crystallographic activities in Switzerland. The aim of the brochure is to show the importance, relevance and diversity of the field of crystallography for the scientific community and to attract undergraduate or graduate students to the field.

The 10 chapters of the brochure cover:

• Structures of macromolecules in the pharmaceutical industries and universities;
• Aperiodic crystalline structures – Quasicrystals, incommensurate and composite materials and their properties;
• Zeolites, semiconductors or metal hydrides of practical industrial importance;
• Services for structural analysis - Recent developments in area detector technology and powerful new sources of radiation have created new horizons for crystallography;
• Dynamical properties of structures;
• Neutron and synchrotron sources;
• Crystal synthesis – Designing new materials with specific properties;
• Crystallography in earth sciences - the formation of the earth and the study of minerals;
• Crystal physics – Relations between structures and physical properties and the development of new technologies.

Each topic includes a list of Swiss groups working in the field including their web site addresses. For the moment, only a German version of this brochure is available. A French version is currently planned.

(Editor's Note: It is a beautifully illustrated brochure that could be a model for other countries and crystallographic societies)

To request a copy, contact: Prof. Volker Gramlich, Lab. of Crystallography, ETH Zentrum, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland; Fax: 41 1 632 1133, e-mail: v.gramlich@kristall.erdw.ethz.ch