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Parthé Honored at Crystal Chemistry Symposium

E. Parthé. Photo courtesy of H. D. Flack.

The 1993 annual meeting of the Swiss Society of Crystallography (SGK) took place in Geneva, Switzerland on 6-7 Apr. 1993 on the occasion of the 65th birthday of E. Parthé, professor of structural crystallography at the U. of Geneva. The symposium program was planned to give an intense view of current developments in crystal chemistry in its broadest sense.

The symposium consisted of seven invited lectures, 60 posters, and half-a-dozen computer program demonstrations spread over one-and-a-half days. The following lectures were presented: Structure, Electronic Structure and Properties of Solid Compounds, R. Nesper (Zurich); TYPIX, A Compilation of Inorganic Structure Types and Their Interrelationships, K. Cenzual (Geneva); Crystal Chemistry of Organic Compounds: Structure Forces and Properties, A. Gavezotti (Milan); Euclidean Properties of Crystals Related to Non-Euclidean Crystallographic Symmetries, A. Janner (Nijmegen); Variations on a Valence Rule: The Zintl Compound, B. Eisenmann (Darmstadt); Use and Generation of Infinite Periodic Minimal Surface, S. Lidin (Lund); and Application of the Bond Valence Concept to Tetrahedra Structures, E. Parthé (Geneva).

A blue booklet with a cover illustration of a famous Geneva fountain gushing polyhedra of different shapes and sizes and containing the abstracts of the oral and poster presentations was provided to attendees.

At the musical conservatory in Geneva, K. Maurer (violin), D. Guy (cello), and B. Simoriati (piano) gave sensitive interpretations of the Trio Op. 97 in B flat major, "The Archduke" by Beethoven, and the Trio Op. 49 in D Minor by Mendelssohn. A reception was held in the Château Barillet, a residence surrounded by vineyards in the Geneva countryside.

The symposium was financed by the U. of Geneva, the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences, the IUCr, and the Swiss Soc. of Crystallography. The IUCr supported living expenses in Geneva for scientists from East Europe. We were pleased to welcome three crystallographers from the State U. of L'viv, Ukraine, two from the Lomonsov Moscow State U., Russia, and one from the U. of Cluj, Romania.

H.D. Flack