International Union of Crystallography

From the Retiring President

[Yuji Ohashi]It is my pleasure to welcome you to the new-style web site of the IUCr. It has been launched to coincide with the 21st Congress and General Assembly of the Union, which is taking place in Osaka, Japan, between the 23 and 31 August 2008. It is also my pleasure to welcome those of you who are able to attend the Congress in Japan, and to hope that your stay here will be enjoyable and scientifically valuable.

The International Union has always worked to serve the entire community of scientists who work in the field of crystallography and its related subjects. The opportunity to meet in person at our major international meetings emphasizes that sense of community, and helps to bring us together with strong bonds of respect, friendship and cooperation. Now, for those who are unable to attend the Congress in person, we are able to help you share in that sense of community by reading the informal reports of meeting sessions, and by browsing the photographs and snapshots contributed by those who are able to be here in Japan.

Follow the links below to read the accounts of the meeting contributed by attendees as the days go by, or - if you are attending the meeting - to make your own contribution. In the tradition of IUCr Congresses, formal reports will be contributed by session Chairs and will subsequently be published in the IUCr Newsletter. On this occasion, however, we invite individual scientists and students to post their own appreciations of sessions, posters, workshops, social events, exhibitor booths, software demonstrations and other activities that they have enjoyed. These contributions will be edited and published on this web site by our editorial staff who work in Chester, UK, and some of whom you can meet in person at the Congress. I hope this innovation will help you all to feel involved more closely in this Congress, which among its many other activities will celebrate the 60th Anniversary of our Union.

Yuji Ohashi
IUCr President