AsCA’06/CrSJ

Epochal Tukuba, Japan, November 2006

The Joint Conference of the Asian Crystallographic Assn and the Crystallographic Society of Japan (AsCA’06/CrSJ) featured four Keynote lectures, eighteen microsymposia, and 331 poster presentations within a well balanced program covering all areas of crystallography. Keynote lectures: S. Kitagawa (Japan): Crystal and Functional Engineering for Unique Microporous Materials; Zihe Rao (China): Structural insights into SARS coronavirus proteins. S. Iwata (UK): Towards structure determination of human membrane proteins; and C. Howard (Australia): Structures and phase transitions in perovskites - sorting out the subtleties.

Microsymposia covered the following topics: Structural genomics and high-throughput crystallography, Crystal engineering and supramolecular chemistry, Advances in powder diffraction, Macromolecular assemblies: protein/DNA/RNA, Inelastic X-ray scattering, Computational developments - SAD phasing, refinement, model building, validation, Materials science, Advancements in small angle X-ray scattering, Protein crystallization & post-crystal treatments - new tricks & tools, Magnetic structures, Electronic structure and bonding by X-ray diffraction, CBED, EELS, EXAFS, Membrane and membrane-associated proteins, Atomic resolution structure of biological macromolecules, X-ray and neutron scattering of strongly correlated electron systems, Cool structures, Nanotechnology: surface and interface, Disease related proteins, Dynamic aspects of molecular crystals.

Three poster prizes sponsored by the IUCr, the RCSB PDB and CrSJ were awarded to young scientists: There was also a pre-meeting satellite on Theoretical Crystallography and Materials Science organized by The IUCr MaThCryst commission in cooperation with the IUCr Commission on Inorganic and Mineral Structures.

The next AsCA meeting will be held in Taipei in Taiwan R.O.C, November 4-7, 2007 (www.asca2007.tw).

Akiko Sekine