The IUCr will help a number of students with their travel costs to enable them to attend the 7th Durham Powder Diffraction and Rietveld Refinement School on March 30th - April 3rd 2014. The course will combine lectures, small-group tutorials and hands-on practical computer sessions. Lectures will be given by Jeremy Karl Cockcroft, UCL, Andy Fitch, ESRF, John Evans, Durham University, and Ivana Evans, Durham University.

In the past, participants from all over the world have attended this meeting, including students from Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Slovenia, Thailand, India, Mexico, Brazil, Canada and the USA. The wide spread of countries taking part is a true reflection of the importance of the discipline. As in all years, but even more so during the International Year of Crystallography (IYCr2014), it is important to attract some of the most talented students from around the world to carry the science of crystallography forward in their careers. 

The IYCr was declared by the United Nations in July 2012 to commemorate the centenary of X-ray diffraction by crystals, and to showcase the importance of the technique today and provide a legacy for continued development and training in the field. 

• Data collection strategies for X-ray and neutron diffraction
• Constant wavelength and time of flight diffraction
• Modelling peak shapes
• Indexing powder patterns
• Rietveld, Le Bail and Pawley fitting methods
• X-ray and neutron combined Rietveld refinement
• Extended solids and molecular systems
• Restrained refinements
• Rigid body refinements

A mix of workshops, tutorials, and lectures hosted by some of the best known names in crystallography will make this a school not to be missed. 

Some of the comments received by past students: 

"I had a very educational week and enjoyed my time meeting other researchers in the pleasant city of Durham. Computer sessions were a great way of applying what we learned in lectures. The school was challenging, but just right in difficulty.

"The school was extremely helpful to me and very enjoyable too. I found the tutorial sessions especially useful, and will refer to them again and again."