XX Congress IUCr and General Assembly Update

At the end of March 2003, the Italian organizers of the XX IUCr Congress (Florence 2005) invited the President of IUCr (William L. Duax) and the Chair of the subsequent Nagoya Congress (Yasuhiko Fujii) for a short visit. All of the practical and scientific aspects of the organization were jointly discussed with the Scientific and Local Chairs (Carlo Mealli and Paola Paoli) and other Italian representatives who have responsibilities in the international crystallographic community, Paola Spadon (President of AIC), Davide Viterbo (IUCr Executive Committee Member), and Giuseppe Filippini (Secretary of ECA). The work done up to date regarding the nomination of the Scientific Program Committee and many other organizational issues was presented to the guests. The group subsequently visited the Conference venue and looked around the conference areas which Duax agreed were excellent. Having previous experience as Program Chair of the XXVII IUCr in Seattle he offered a lot of useful advice and warnings on how to best use all the facilities.

Seated from the left, Yasuhiko Fujii, Carlo Mealli, Billl Duax, Davide Viterbo and Leonardo Sorelli. In the mirror from the left, Giuseppe Filipppini, Lorenzo Mori and Paola Paoli.

During their stay in Florence, the guests visited the new Campus of the U. of Florence and in particular the X-ray facilities of the crystallographic center (CRIST). Prof. Duax was also invited to the Magnetic Resonance Lab, CERM, directed by Ivano Bertini, where he presented a seminar about his recent research on the Evolution of the Genetic Code.

The two guests also found a little time to enjoy some of the more renowned tourist attractions of Florence (a guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery, for instance). Moreover, they agreed that Italian food and wines will certainly be an extra bonus in attracting a large number of crystallographers to Florence in the year 2005.

Please note the new address for Carlo Mealli
ICCOM - CNR
Via Madonna del Piano s.n.c.
50019 Sest o Fiorentino (Firenze), Italy
Tel. 0039 055 5225884 FAX 0039 055 5225203 e-mail: Carlo.Mealli@iccom.cnr.it