Summer of crystallography in Croatia

Bol, Croatia, September 2016
http://cscm24.xyz

The Vidova Gora Peak, view of Bol and neighbouring islands.

Plenary lecturers (l to r): Ž. Skoko, M. Jaskolski, G. Dražić, L. Brammer and M. Zema in the wine cellar in Bol.

Participants in the Klesarska škola (Stone-carving School), Pučišća.

The 24th Croatian-Slovenian Crystallographic Meeting (CSCM24) was held in September of 2016 at Bol on the island of Bra in the Adriatic Sea. Together with the 3rd European Crystallographic School that followed, it was a great summer of crystallography in Croatia.

The meeting was jointly organized by the Croatian Crystallographic Association (CCA) and the Slovenian Crystallographic Society (SCS), under the auspices of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The Chair of the Organizing Committee was Mario Cetina (CCA). The Chairs of the Meeting were Stanko Popović (CCA) and Anton Meden (SCS). Overall, 98 scientists participated in the meeting coming from Croatia (59), Slovenia (12), Austria, Germany, Italy, Korea, Poland, Serbia, South Africa, Switzerland and the UK.

Five plenary and eighty short oral contributions were presented. The plenary lectures included: 'Handling crystal pathologies in macromolecular crystallography' (M. Jaskolski, Poland); 'Flexibility, dynamics and chemical reactions in solids: molecular crystals to framework materials' (L. Brammer, UK); 'Direct imaging and quantification of crystal structures at the atomic level using Cs corrected scanning transmission electron microscope' (G. Dražić, Slovenia); 'Crystallography and Society: outcomes of IYCr2014' (M. Zema, UK); and 'Thermosalient crystals - acrobatics on the nanoscale' (Ž. Skoko, Croatia).

Short oral contributions dealt with modern developments in crystallography and closely related fields and gave students an excellent opportunity to gain experience presenting to a large scientific audience.

As there was no registration fee for this meeting, the Organizing Committee is thankful for the financial support of the sponsors: PANalytical I Renacon (The Netherlands I Croatia), Rigaku (UK), Bruker I Aparatura (Germany, Austria, Croatia), Douglas Instruments (UK), Stoe (Germany), Dectris (Switzerland), PLIVA Croatia Ltd., Croatian National Tourist Board and  Bluesun Hotels (Croatia). All information about the meeting can be found at http://cscm24.xyz.

An excursion to Pučišća included visits to a stone carving school, a wine cellar and Vidova Gora Peak, the highest peak on the island.

The 25th SCCM will be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 15-17 June 2017, http://slocro25.fkkt.uni-lj.si/

Comments from the plenary lecturers

M. Jaskolski: The Island of Bra and Bol have left unforgettable impressions and memories.

L. Brammer: I am impressed with the very nice work being done in Croatia, The meeting format provides excellent opportunities for students to get experience in giving presentations to a larger scientific audience. The meeting certainly had the familiar, welcoming feeling that I find is present at most crystallographic meetings.

G. Drai: I learned many new things and surely I will attend the future meetings.

M. Zema: I enjoyed the atmosphere, the presence of so many young and promising crystallographers and all discussions and conversations. Not to mention the beautiful scenery of Croatia and Bol in particular!