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International Center for Diffraction Data

The International Center for Diffraction Data (ICDD) is a nonprofit scientific organization which collects, edits, publishes, and distributes powder diffraction data for the identification of crystalline materials. The organization was founded in 1941 under the name of Joint Committee on Chemical Analysis by X-ray Diffraction Methods. In 1969, the organization formed a nonprofit corporation under the title of The Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards (JCPDS). In 1978, the current name International Center for Diffraction Data was adopted. The ICDD is committed to providing the scientific community with quality powder diffraction databases and to promoting the advancement of materials characterization methods, primarily X-ray powder diffraction, in science and technology through the support of educational programs, the Grants-in-Aid program, and the Scholarship fund. The Powder Diffraction File and the scholarship program are described below. Grant-in-Aid awards are made to a limited number of researchers for the preparation of high quality powder diffraction data or to develop search techniques for the identification of materials by powder diffraction methods.

The Powder Diffraction File

The Powder Diffraction File (PDF) is a collection of single-phase X-ray powder diffraction patterns in the form of tables of characteristic interplanar spacings and corresponding relative intensities, along with other pertinent physical and crystallographic properties. The PDF is published annually by the International Centre for Diffraction Data. There are 56,526 entries in the Powder Diffraction File, Sets 1-42 (1992). Annual supplements to the PDF contain approximately 2,000 patterns.

The PDF has various subfiles of data which include:

 
Cement Materials 351 entries
Common Phases 3,205 entries
Educational 1,068 entries
Explosive and Related Materials 115 entries
Forensic Materials 3,552 entries
Metals and Alloys 11,052 entries
Minerals 4,077 entries
NBS 1,962 entries
Superconducting Materials 116 entries
Zeolites and Molecular Sieves 491 entries

The PDF is available in book, microfiche, magnetic media, and CD-ROM forms. Two forms of the PDF database (PDF-1 and PDF-2) are available in a machine readable format. The PDF-1 database is available on magnetic tape and contains all entries in the PDF in the form of interplanar spaces, relative intensities, chemical name and formula, mineral name (if available), and PDF number. The PDF-1 currently requires 31 MB of storage. The PDF-2 database includes all information found in the PDF-1 database plus the Miller indices, cell data, and physical properties. PDF-2 contains all the information found in the PDF except the graphical traces for clay minerals. PDF-2 is available on CD-ROM and magnetic tape and requires 188 MB of storage.

Crystallography Scholarships

The science of crystallography has played a key role in the development of X-ray diffraction, electron diffraction, and neutron diffraction for the elucidation of the atomic structure of matter. Crystallography is an interdisciplinary branch of science taught in departments of physics, chemistry, geology, molecular biology, metallurgy, and materials science. To encourage promising graduate students to pursue crystallographically oriented research, the International Center has established a Crystallography Scholarship Fund. Convinced of the beneficial, scientific impact of the proposed scholarships for crystallographically oriented research, the ICDD Chairman has solicited funds from private and industrial sectors to reach the goal of $250,000. The ICDD has awarded two scholarships for the calendar year 1992 and intends to award two additional scholarships in 1993.

Qualifications for the applicants: A graduate student with major interest in crystallography (crystal structure analysis, crystal morphology, modulated structures, correlation of atomic structure with physical properties, systematic classification of crystal structures, phase identification, and materials characterization). There are no restrictions on country, race, age, or sex. The term of the scholarship is one year with one renewal if applied for by the recipient and if approved by the ICDD at the end of the first year on the basis of the student's progress.

Submit:

a. A one-page proposal by the graduate student describing the project to be supported.

b. A supportive letter from the sponsoring professor.

Restrictions on the scholarship fund:

a. The stipend of $2,000 is to be used by the graduate student to help defray tuition and laboratory fees and registration fees to scientific meetings related to crystallography.

b. No more than one scholarship will be awarded to any one accredited institution per year.

c. The funds of the scholarship are not to be used for travel.

Additional information regarding the products, Grant-in-Aid proposals, the Crystallography Scholarship Fund or your interests in powder diffraction may be directed to:

Secretary, International Center for Diffraction Data
1601 Park Lane
Swarthmore, PA 19081, USA
Tel.: 215-328-9403
FAX: 215-328-2503