A workshop dedicated to the centenary of the publication of P. Debye’s paper on «Zerstreuung von Röntgenstrahlen» (Feb. 25th, 1915), which first provided an expression for the diffraction from a randomly oriented powder of scatterers.Â

Over the past twenty years, the rising interest in nanomaterials, and the ever growing power and availability of computers has revived interest in the Debye Scattering Equation (DSE), which is now a paradigm in the analysis of the matter at the nanoscale. Besides and beyond the DSE, stemming from the same root, Total Scattering methods have grown steadily, gaining increasingly popularity with the Pair Distribution Function (PDF) approach. The common root is in the description of scattering based on atomic distances in clusters of atoms/molecules and nanoparticles, as an alternative to the concept of unit cell and translational symmetry of the traditional crystallography for ideal bulk crystals.

This workshop is dedicated to DSE history, methodology, new ideas and representative applications, with further interest in PDF and Total Scattering methods to study matter at the atomic scale independently of its degree of order, be it amorphous, nanocrystalline or simply a disordered crystal.

As a focused and intensive workshop DSE2015 is limited to 50 participants. Besides a restricted number of invited speakers, admission to the workshop is conditioned by the acceptance of an abstract; as an alternative to an abstract, a motivation letter can also be presented. Admission is decided (no appeal) by the Scientific Committee (Billinge-Cervellino-Neder-Scardi). Title and abstract submitted at this stage can then be modified if/when necessary before the workshop.

The program, distributed over four days, provides for a single session with extended time for discussion after keynote and contributed talks. A half-day session is dedicated to Poster presentations.

The choice of a limited and selected participation and the location in a comfortable resort nearby a small town of the Dolomitic mountain area of Italy, are intended to promote free discussions and to foster the beginning of collaborations and projects.

Written contributions of accepted talks/posters will be considered for publication â€" after the workshop â€" in special issues of peer-reviewed (ISI-Scopus) Journals. More details to be provided soon.

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As a part of the commemoration of the International Year of Crystallography, the Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CNSNT), Sathyabama University, is conducting this workshop.

Topics to be covered

• Crystallography and powder diffraction
• Characterization of nanomaterials using XRD
• Thin films (polycrystalline and epitaxial) and their characterization using XRD
  
• High temperature and high pressure XRS in materials science and metallurgy
  
• Applications of X-ray synchrotron radiation
  
• Grazing incidence X-ray reflectivity (XRR)
• Small molecule crystal structures
• Recent advancements in XRD
• XRD software for data analysis

The 3rd School on Crystal Structure Determination from Diffraction Data Application on Powder samples is organised by The “Association tunisienne des matériaux et de l’environnement” and the “Unité de recherche de Chimie des Materiaux et de l’Environment”, Université de Tunis El Manar -Tunisia in collaboration with The Department of Structure Analysis, Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, The « Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes » (UMR 6226, CNRS - Université Rennes 1) and The DICAM Department at the University of Trento.

The number of participants will be limited to about 60 to ensure a convivial atmosphere, and the possibility to share dinners between all participants. The school will bring together specialists from the various sub-fields of crystallography and materials sciences with the aim to raise mutual interest and to teach under- and postgraduate students, young post-docs as well as senior scientists interested to be introduced to determination of crystal structure from powder diffraction data.

This school introduces the theory of powder diffraction and the methods available for crystal structure determination and for microstructure analysis from powder diffraction data (indexing, space group determination, structural and microstructural refinement techniques).

One unique aspect of this school will be the extensive use of computer programs during hands-on sessions dedicated to educational exercises.

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The Scientific advisory committee of the CS3D school is composed of: Prof. R. BEN HASSEN (Tunisia), Prof. V. PETRICEK (Czech Rep.), Prof. A. BEN SALAH (Tunisia), Prof. A. KABADOU, Dr T. ROISNEL (France), Dr. M. AMAMI, Dr M. PASTUREL (France), Prof. M. LEONI (Italy), Dr. Jan ROHLICEK (Czech Rep.).

The Organizers: Prof. R. BEN HASSEN, Prof. T. BEN AYED, Dr S. CHERIF, Dr M. AMAMI, Dr G. LASSOUAD, Dr H. CHAKER, Dr B. BELGACEM, Dr S. OUNI, Dr A. GHOUILI, Dr. L. BEN FARHAT.

The continuously growing interest in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (inducing the European Commission to consider them Key Enabling Technologie) well merges the new challenges they are able to foster, through the design of novel engineered nanomaterials, their structural aspects and multifunctional applications at a multiple scale, and the need for the development of highly focused, advanced physico-chemical characterization tools. The complexity of state-of-art nano-objects requires the synergistic collaborations of all actors differently contributing to the appealing Nanoworld.
To.Sca.Lake aims at stimulating such a synergy by inviting chemists, physicists, material scientists, biologists, mineralogists and all the interested scientists, from the Academia and the Industry, to join in the fascinating context of Villa del Grumello, a superb location overlooking the Como Lake. This workshop is mainly intended to draw the attention of the “nano” community towards the potentiality of Scattering Methods, spanning from Small and Wide Angle X-ray (SAXS and WAXS) to Low and Wide Angle Light Scattering (LALS and WALS) Techniques. Particular emphasis will be given to innovative Wide Angle X-ray Total Scattering (WAXTS) methods, in the form of the Debye Function Analysis of nanomaterials proposed in the DebUsSy Suite of Program. Theoretical lessons will be dedicated to fundamentals, experimental and computational aspects of the methods, and will illustrate advanced cases of application in strategic fields. Demos and hands-on sessions will constituite a relevant portion of the whole program.
Participation will be limited to a maximum number of 40 attendees on the basis on “first come first served” criterion.

Monday Afternoon:
* Hans-Beat Bürgi (University of Bern, Switzerland)
    The Origin of Diffuse Scattering, Single Crystal Approaches (1.5 h)
* Norberto Masciocchi (University of Insubria, Como, Italy):
    Basics of Powder Diffraction and Non-Bragg Scattering (1 h)
* Antonio Cervellino (Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, CH ):
    Physics of X-ray Scattering and the Debye Equation (1 h)
Tuesday Morning:
* Ruggero Frison (ETH Zurich, Switzerland):
    Data Collection Procedures, Instrumental Requirements, Data Reduction Analysis (1 h)
* Antonietta Guagliardi (IC-CNR, Como, Italy):
    The Debussy Approach (Debye Function Analysis) (1 h)
* Maksym Kovalenko (ETH Zurich, Switzerland):
    Inorganic Nanomaterials, Synthesis, Characterization and Applications (1.5 h)
Tuesday Afternoon:
* Hands-on Session on Data Reduction and Database Generation (3 h)
Wednesday Morning:
* Nora Ventosa (CSIC-ICMAB Barcelona, Spain):
    Nanovesicle-based materials: synthesis, characterization and applications (1.5 h)
* Antonietta Guagliardi (IC-CNR, Como, Italy):
    Applications of the Debye Function Analysis (1 h)
* Jan Skov Pedersen (University of Aarhus, Denmark):
    Basics of Small Angle X-ray Scattering, SAXS (1 h)
Wednesday Afternoon:
* Hands-on Session on Model Simulation and Refinement by Debussy 2.0 (3 h)
Thursday Morning:
* Fabio Ferri (University of Insubria, Como, Italy):
    Basics of Light Scattering and Applications (1.5 h)
* Jan Skov Pedersen (University of Aarhus, Denmark):
    Applications and Demo on SAXS Data Analysis (2 h)

Course of specialization for learning the Pair Distribution Analysis method, a very useful tool for studying glasses, liquids and amorphous materials, as well as crystalline or partly crystalline materials.

Addressed to scientists working in the structural characterization of materials. The course is aimed at present and future users of the Materials Science and Powder Diffraction beamline (MSPD) at ALBA who are interested in getting experience with the Pair Distribution Function method:from sample preparation to analysis of the experimental Pair Distribution Function. The hands-on course will also present the possibilities of the data taken at laboratory sources.

Participants are expected to bring their own laptops. The following programs will be used: pfgetx3 and pdfgui. Attendees are encouraged to install the software in advance (please contact Inma Peral to solve any technical issues with the installation)

The International Conference on Data Sharing and Integration for Global Sustainability (SciDataCon) is motivated by the conviction that the most significant research challenges â€" and in particular the pressing issues relating to global sustainability â€" cannot be properly addressed without due attention to various issues relating to data.  SciDataCon aims to make explicit the connection between concrete and specific challenges to ensure environmental protection, economic prosperity and social well being along with the research questions that arise from these challenges and the necessary role of data policy, management and analysis in addressing these research questions. The effectiveness and credibility of research findings rely on the widest possible availability of quality-assessed and interoperable datasets.

Research data are essential to all scientific endeavours. The emerging cultures of data sharing and publication, open access to, and reuse of data are the positive signs of an evolving research environment. Nevertheless, several cultural and technological challenges are still preventing the research community from realizing the full benefits of these tendencies.

The Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and the World Data System (WDS), interdisciplinary committees of the International Council for Science (ICSU) are together advancing this agenda by actively promoting effective data policies and good data management practices in the research community, to produce better science, which ultimately benefits society. Â As a major contribution to this effort, the two organizations are co-sponsoring and organizing a high profile international biennial conference, which will examine, in an integrated way, the data issues at the heart of the global research questions and in a manner that will have tangible benefit for research and society.

Confirmed Speakers include:

Dr Serin Dabb (Royal Society of Chemistry)

Dr Peter Hoare (University of Newcastle)

Dr Guy Jones (Royal Society of Chemistry)

Brian McMahon (International Union of Crystallography)

David Sait (Royal Society of Chemistry)

Dr Anna Warren (Diamond Light Source)

Prof Chick Wilson (University of Bath)

We are very pleased to announce the first joint CCP4 & Diamond Light Source workshop on practical macromolecular crystallography, to take place at Diamond this December.

The workshop will consist of presentations and tutorials delivered by experts in the field, plus two days of data collection time at Diamond's excellent MX beamlines. Students will be able to work alongside experts on their own projects, tackling all aspects of structure solution, from data collection through to phasing, refinement and validation.

The course is intended mainly for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and early career scientists in the area of structural biology. Some experience of crystallography and the use of CCP4 software is expected, and applications from students who can bring an interesting project with them (crystals and possibly previously collected datasets) will be favoured. Students will have access to Diamond's computing facilities for the duration of the course, with access to most major MX software packages.

The BioXFEL National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center will be hosting its second annual international conference in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Primary areas of discovery will include femtosecond nanocrystallography; time-resolved imaging & spectroscopy; single particles; and instrumentation & algorithms.

Topics covered

Time-resolved Methods I: David Stuart

Nanocrystallography I: Henry Chapman + John Spence

Single Particle Imaging + Solution Scattering I: Michael Rossman

Nanocrystallography II: Ilme Schlichting + Elspeth Garman

Time Resolved Methods II: Keith Moffat

Spectroscopy + Solution Scattering II : Majed Chergui

The 2nd MLF School is targeted at postgraduate students and early-career researchers from anywhere in the world who are interested in using neutron or muon beams in their research but who have limited or no experience with these techniques. The program will include introductory-level lectures and hands-on practical sessions on the neutron and muon instruments at the MLF.

Analysing and interpreting rich biological datasets require more expertise than just knowledge of the biological system at hand. Extracting reliable insights from complex bodies of data calls for suitable mathematical solutions. This workshop lets biologists and mathematicians join forces to address key areas in biology that face demanding mathematical challenges. Discussing existing cases to identify gaps or to share existing solutions should help these disciplines in successfully linking up. BMTL Workshop will be hosted in the ancient city of Naples, and will provide a timely and pertinent occasion for international researchers that wish to engage in cutting edge science at the interface of mathematics and biology.

Topics

• Spectra analysis: peak identification pattern recognition
  
• Genetic variability and differential expression: sequence data analysis
• Molecular dynamics and modelling of protein structure and function via high performance computing simulations
  
• Deciphering complex relationships: networks and interactions
  
• Zoom inside the cell: microscopy images processing

Molecular simulation techniques have never been as accessible and as valuable to biologists as to-day. The EMBO practical course will give an overview of state of the art molecular simulation methods used for analysis and prediction of bio-molecular structure, dynamics, and function.

The focus will be on methods providing atomic detail, such as quantum mechanics, molecular mechanics/dynamics and Brownian dynamics, permitting simulations on different temporal and spatial scales. In addition, the course will provide an introduction to protein homology modeling, macromolecular electrostatics, protein-ligand docking, structure-based drug design, data fitting to obtain macromolecular structures, as well as programming techniques.

2014 SMB Imaging Summer School

The 1st SSRL SXRMI (Synchrotron X-ray MicroXAS Imaging) School will provide a practical users' guide to planning and conducting microXAS imaging experiments at SSRL beam lines. Students will participate in hands-on sessions at the beam lines, including on the following facilities: hard x-ray microXAS imaging (BL2-3), hard X-ray mesoprobe XAS imaging (BL10-2), and the newest microXAS imaging "tender" energy beam line (BL14-3). The hands-on sessions will be paired with several sessions of data analysis and data mining of imaging data. The School will also cover new instrumentation and techniques at SSRL microXAS imaging beam lines and will include topics that can only be learned by direct access and experience at the facility through on-the-experiment training.

This school will provide a practical users' guide to planning and conducting microscale imaging and spectroscopy measurements at SSRL beam lines, and will cover important techniques including X-ray fluorescence imaging, microscale and mesoscale X-ray absorption spectroscopy, as well as hard and tender X-ray experimental ranges. The school will address topics that are not commonly included in text books or class lectures, and typically obtained only through on-the-experiment training. There will be:

• Introductory session to SSRL imaging beam lines
• Sessions of sample preparation tips, tricks and experimental planning
• Hands-on sessions at SSRL beam lines
• Sessions of data processing and analysis
• Sessions of spectroscopy theory

The school will also cover new instrumentation at SSRL imaging beam lines.

This school has been made possible with support from the DOE-BES.

Brief Description:

The last decade has seen an exponential growth in the results obtained by macromolecular crystallography, both in terms of number of structures and their complexity. This growth is having a significant impact on molecular and cellular biology, as more and more macromolecular structures have been instrumental in elucidating biological functions.Â

The objective of this introductory workshop is to expose the participants to the methodologies used to solve macromolecular structures, using single crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. Structural biology is an interdisciplinary research area, requiring expertises from both the life sciences and the physical sciences: the school aims to bridge the gap between physics and biology by providing a comprehensive overview of the field, starting from the gene to obtain the atomic structure. A short overview of other structural biology techniques will also be presented. The educational program will be based both on lectures and practical sessions.Â

Main Topics:

• Bioinformatics analysis to identify structural targets and optimise constructs design
• Molecular biology and cloning techniques
• Protein expression and purification
• Crystallisation
• Data collection & reduction
• Structure determination
• Model building, refinement and model validation
• Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)
• An overview of other structural biology techniques