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IUCr 1993 Triennial Report - Commission on Crystallographic Teaching

During the last three years, the Commission has concentrated on facilitating the IUCr Visiting Professorship Programme and reinitiating the Pamphlet Project.

Visiting Professorships

The Visiting Professorship Programme was initiated by C. H. L. Kennard of the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, who gave a course at the Department of Chemistry, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 8-20 January 1991. 31 students took the basic course and nine graduate students took the advanced course on X-ray diffraction.

The second Visiting Professor was W. T. Robinson of the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, who gave a course in December 1992 at the Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, People's Republic of China.

The third Visiting Professorship, also held by C. H. L. Kennard, was at the Technical University of Hanoi, Vietnam, 9-19 December 1992. This course had been delayed by visa problems that were finally resolved. The visit was successful and the organizers hope to arrange another such visit. Ten 90-minute lectures and five two-hour tutorials, together with detailed tutorial notes, were presented. Dr Kennard reports that there is a big gap in crystallography teaching in Hanoi, and hoped that books and computer software (for personal computers) would become available so that conditions could be improved. No diffraction equipment was in working order.

As a result of these three Professorships some further guidelines for future visits are being prepared.

A School on the Rietveld Method was held in conjunction with the XVI National Meeting of the Brazilian Association of Crystallography at the University of São Paulo, San Carlos, Brazil, 14-16 December 1992, and the Rietveld Summer School at the National University of La Plata, Argentina, 8-10 December 1992, immediately before the Brazil meeting. The IUCr sponsored and underwrote these Schools at which R. A. Young, A. K. Cheetham and R. B. Von Dreele were the Visiting Professors.

A 15-hour course was given as a Visiting Professorship by D. K. Smith on Geometrical Crystallography, 27 January-7 February 1993 at Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. This course was given immediately after the Fourth International Workshop of Crystallography: Computational Methods in X-ray Powder Diffraction Analysis, Aswan, Egypt, 16-26 January 1993, co-organized by the IUCr Commission on Powder Diffraction. In his role as Visiting Professor, Dr Smith also visited students and crystallographers at Asyut University (Aswan Branch), the Egyptian Geological Survey in Cairo, Cairo University, Military Technical College, Suez Canal University, Helwan University and the Egyptian Antiquities Museum. In each case he discussed techniques in powder diffraction.

Pamphlet Project

The Pamphlet Project has been reinstated and an arrangement has been made for Polycrystal Book Service to print and distribute the pamphlets. A set of Notes for Authors for pamphlets has been prepared and the IUCr technical editing staff will assist with technical editing when requested. The previous set of 19 pamphlets is still available from Polycrystal Book Service (PO Box 3439, Dayton, OH 4501, USA). Future pamphlets include:

20.Crystals: a Handbook for School Teachers. E. A. Wood. Permission has been obtained from the copyright owner for a reissue of this booklet as a pamphlet.

21.Radiation Measurement and Protection in X-ray Laboratories. H. von Philipsborn. Under review.

22.Crystal Packing. A. Gavezzotti. Under review.

23.Gamma-ray Diffraction Study of Single Crystals. A. Kurbakov. In preparation.

Several letters of invitation have been sent out, and several crystallographers have promised to write a new pamphlet.

International Schools

An Asian-Region Seminar on Crystallography in Molecular Biology is being planned for 9-14 December 1993 with S. Parthasarathy as the Convener and some members of this Commission on the Organizing Committee. This meeting has been sponsored by the IUCr, which has also provided funds for young scientists to attend. Invitations to possible lecturers have been sent out and additional funds are being sought to support this meeting.

Programmes at IUCr meetings

A Microsymposium on Crystallographic Teaching: Practical Hints and New Concepts is planned for the Beijing Congress. At this time, the IUCr Visiting Professorship Programme and the Commission on Crystallographic Teaching Pamphlet Project will be described.

8 April 1993                                J. P. GLUSKER, Chairman

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