International Workshop on Phase Retrieval and Coherent Scattering

The International Workshop on Phase Retrieval and Coherent Scattering is a (mostly) biennial meeting series devoted to coherent X-ray physics. Four topics in particular will be covered:

• Imaging with coherent X-rays and electrons
• Structure and dynamics via photon correlation
• Opportunities with new sources
• Theoretical and computational methods

Previous conferences in the series have been at Lawrence Berkeley Lab, USA, May 2001; Palm Cove, Australia, June 2003; Porquerolles, France, June 2005; Asilomar, California, USA, June 2007; Warnemünde, Germany, June 2010; and Fukuoka, Japan, June 2012. In keeping with the tradition of waterside locations for most of these meetings, the conference will be held at Norris Center on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan.

Invited Speakers

• Henry Chapman (keynote)
• Christian Schroer
• Stephan Hruszkewycz
• Yukio Takahashi
• Felisa Berenguer
• Mark Sutton (keynote)
• Jesse Clark
• Sujoy Roy
• Beatrice Ruta
• Massimo Altarelli
• Christoph Quitmann
• Gabriella Carini

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The premier conference for the latest developments in optical design and engineering, as well as space optical systems, X-ray / EUV optics, information processing, photonic devices, remote sensing, and astronomical instrumentation.

• NanoScience + Engineering
• Solar Energy + Technology
• Organic Photonics + Electronics
• Optical Engineering + Applications
• SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications

As part of the events to celebrate the International Year of Crystallography, the one-day symposium "University of Malaya Pharmaceutical Co-Crystal Symposium 2014" will focus on co-crystal technology, especially as it relates to the pharmaceutical industry.

Prof. Mike Zaworokto (University of Limerick and UM Academic Icon) is the plenary lecturer for the event.

The meeting celebrates the International Year of Crystallography (IYCr2014) by introducing and discussing the intriguing chances offered by the new frontiers of crystallography. Some talks will introduce new radiation sources suitable for diffraction studies, as well as modern strategies for data collection from nanocrystals, and experimental and computational studies of  the behaviour of crystalline phases under extreme conditions. Other talks will focus on the impact of future crystallography-based studies on different research branches, such as molecular biology, Earth and environmental sciences, and materials sciences. Outstanding speakers have confirmed their participation: Immanuel Bloch (Max Planck Institut of Quantum Optics), Henry N. Chapman (Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY), Emil Makovicky (University of Copenhagen), Enrico Mugnaioli (University of Mainz), Fabrizio Nestola (University of Padua), Artem Oganov (Stony Brook University), Joao Rocha (University of Aveiro), Maria Selmer (University of Uppsala), Ilme Schlichting (Max Planck Institute for Medical Research).

The organising committee (S. Merlino, chair, G. Allegra, M. Bolognesi, M. Brunori, S. Califano, G. Ferraris, C. Giacovazzo, M. Inguscio and R. Oberti) acknowledges sponsorship by the following institutions: Associazione Italiana di Cristallografia (AIC), Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRiM), Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia (SIMP), Società Toscana di Scienze Naturali (STSN).

2014 annual meeting and general assembly of the Swiss Crystallographic Association (SGK/SSCr). Two invited speakers from academia, nine selected oral presentations and a poster session will show recent developments in the field. A visit of the new Center for X-ray Analytics at Empa will be organized.

The University of the Free State will host the 2nd School on Fundamental Crystallography, BloemCrystSchool2 (BCS2), from 25th to 29th August 2014. In addition to this initiative, a Pre-Workshop will be held on the 23rd and 24th of August on the Introduction to Crystallography. BCS2 covers a number of basic and the mathematical aspects of crystallography. It is presented by The MathCryst Commission of the International Union of Crystallography and forms part of the celebrations of 2014, the International Year of Crystallography. Lectures for BCS2 will be presented primarily by Prof. Massimo Nespolo (Nancy, France) and Prof. Mois Aroyo (Bilbao, Spain); both internationally renowned scientists.
BloemCrystSchool2 will cover the following topics:

• Introduction to group theory
• Crystallographic point groups
• Stereographic projection and the morphology of crystals
• Space groups
• Exercises on the space group diagrams from Volume A of the International Tables
• Fourier transforms and convolutions
• Scattering from an electron, an atom, a unit cell, a crystal
• Diffraction symmetry: Laue classes, Friedel's law, resonant scattering
• General, zonal and serial reflection conditions and their use to determine the space-group type
• Group-subgroup relations and their application to phase transitions
• Twins and modular structures
• Use of the Bilbao Crystallographic Server in the study of the structure and properties of crystals

Links: IUCr MathCryst Website: http://www.crystallography.fr/mathcryst/SouthAfrica2014.php

Local UFS Website: http://conferences.ufs.ac.za/default.aspx?DCode=724 Â

In addition to BloemCrystSchool2, a Pre-Workshop is scheduled on the 23rd and 24th of August on the Introduction to Crystallography. The pre-workshop will cover the following topics and will be presented by lecturers from the University of Cape Town, University of Stellenbosch and the University of the Free State:Â

• Data collection and general introductory concepts of Crystallography (Afternoon: 13.00: Saturday 23 August).
• Refinement strategies of small molecules and hands-on session (Afternoon: 15.00: Saturday 23 August).
• Use of Cambridge Structural Database (Morning: Sunday: 24 August).
• Matrix Algebra (Afternoon: Sunday 24 August):

Introduction for BloemCrystSchool2 which starts 25 August and highly recommended for all attending BCS2)Â

Website for Pre-Workshop (23-24 Aug 2014): http://conferences.ufs.ac.za/content.aspx?id=306

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.

48th Crystallographic Course at Ettore Majorana Centre, Erice, Italy

X-ray crystallography is the pre-eminent technique for obtaining the three dimensional structures of organic materials. Understanding the translation of molecules to crystals and thought functional assembles is key if we want to be able to predict and control the assembly of matter with sufficient certainty and precision to allow preparation of materials and assemblies with far more sophisticated properties and functions than are accessible in materials synthesized using current methods. Great advances continue to be made in determining crystal structures, allowing the pace of structural understanding to increase and making it possible to respond rapidly to emerging opportunities in crystal and particle engineering. This course will help to equip the next generation of scientists with a deep understanding of the tools they need to prototype and engineer crystals to design materials with increasingly sophisticated properties.

The course has two core objectives. Firstly, it will provide a review of the fundamentals and the application of crystallography to molecule to crystal to functional form design together with an evaluation of the technology at the present state. Secondly, it will review the progress in this field and summarize the application and results to other fields of interest across speciality chemicals and other fields

Topics to be discussed include:
• Molecular Structure, Chirality, Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry
• Solution Supersaturation, Nucleation and Crystal Growth Fundamentals
• Defects, Reactivity and Mechanical Properties
• Molecular to Crystal Science Modelling Route Map
• Molecular and Solid-State Data Informatics
• Nano Particle Production and Dispersion
• Advanced Multi-scale Modelling
• Process Analytics and Crystal Characterisation
• Orientational Disordered Crystals and Liquid Crystals
• Reverse Engineering: Learning from Practice
• Forward Perspective: Grand Challenges in Directed Assembly

The total fee, inclusive of registration, boarding and lodging during the course, is 1,200 Euro for European Community residents and the equivalent in hard currency for the remaining ones.

In order to reflect the multi-disciplinary nature of the Course, attendants will be selected on the basis of the scientific discipline, publication record and the connection between their current research and the listed topics. The application date might also become a priority element. Financial support for young applicants (under 35 of age) is conditional to the success of the several applications submitted by the organizing committee to international and national sources.

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Minerals at Focal Point

The conference aims at bringing together researchers from all fields of our multifaceted discipline mineralogy. The meeting program advertises thus a wide range of topics in or at the crossroads of the fields crystallography, applied mineralogy, petrology, and geocosmochemistry.
The organization of the 2014 DMG meeting coincides with the 100th anniversary of the journal "Chemie der Erde/Geochemistry", which was originally founded in Jena. On the occasion of this event a special volume is under preparation that will be handed out to the attendees of the conference.
The meeting offers also a half-day excursion to the close-by former Uranium mining district at Ronneburg.

Probing the Biology: Chemistry Interface from Molecules to Ecosystems

One carbon (C1) metabolism plays a central role in microbial metabolism and global biogeochemical cycles. Key molecules of C1 metabolism include methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methanol, coenzyme-bound one-carbon moieties (e.g., methyl-corrinoids), as well as organic compounds without carbon-carbon bonds such as dimethyl sulfide. Many of them (e.g., methane) are important energy sources, some (e.g., carbon dioxide and methane) are potent greenhouse gases, and others (e.g., dichloromethane) are toxic chemicals used industrially in large quantities. The conference spans natural and synthetic systems under oxic and anoxic conditions at scales from molecules to ecosystems. There is an emphasis on the molecular aspects of autotrophic microbes, methanogens, methylotrophs, methanotrophs, and acetogens. Participants will hear the latest cutting-edge research on microbial C1 metabolism, the role of these reactions in biogeochemical cycles, and current approaches to engineer microbes and biochemical pathways for societal applications. These applications include the production of biofuels and the remediation of environmental contamination.

The conference program will feature talks from a mix of junior and senior investigators. Complementary perspectives will be provided by leaders in biochemistry, general microbiology, molecular biology, structural biology, microbial ecology, and systems and synthetic biology. The meeting will also feature dynamic and interactive poster sessions. Selected poster presenters will be invited to give short talks in appropriate sessions. The GRC format, with extensive discussion sessions and informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, and the collegial nature of this long running meeting provides an ideal setting for researchers from different fields and generations to exchange ideas, brainstorm and discuss cross-disciplinary collaboration.

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Understanding and Manipulating Electron and Energy Transfer Processes

For over three decades the Gordon Research Conference on Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions (GRC - EDAI) has maintained its prominence as a key international forum for the presentation and discussion of cutting-edge ideas and experimental results related to electron and energy transfer reactions. The ever increasing concerns over anthropogenic effects on climate and the sharply increasing demand for energy, has made the study and understanding of these fundamental processes even more important scientific goals than they have been historically. The upcoming 2014 GRC - EDAI will continue a tradition of encompassing a variety of topical areas of current theoretical and experimental importance, ranging from fundamental studies on small molecules to electron and energy transfer in materials. Because of the centrality of electron-transfer processes across biology, chemistry, physics and materials and energy science, the GRC - EDAI attracts conferees with a diversity of the backgrounds representing all of the traditional sub-disciplines of chemistry as well as materials science, biochemistry, and physics. This diversity makes for a stimulating intellectual environment where science at the interface of these areas can be explored.

The 2014 GRC - EDAI will include topical sessions on coupled electron transfer, dye-sensitized solar cells, electron transfer in protein and biological systems, spin and chirality effects, light harvesting, electron transfers in nanostructured systems, as well as emerging ideas on energy conversion. World leaders in all of these areas will be featured as speakers and discussion leaders, making the conference an excellent forum for scientists from different disciplines to meet and initiate new directions; for scientists from different countries to make contacts; and for young scientists to network and establish personal contacts with other members of this scientific community. The meeting also features an interactive atmosphere with lively poster sessions (several of which will be selected for oral presentations). The 2012 conference featured the first Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions Gordon Research Seminar (EDAI-GRS) which was highly successful. The 2014 GRC-EDAI will again be accompanied by the EDAI-GRS which is to be held immediately prior to the main meeting.

New Developments in Polymer Dynamics, Crystallization, Self-Assembly, and Interface/Confinement Effects

The 2014 Gordon Research Conference on Polymer Physics will feature outstanding lectures and discussions in this interdisciplinary field that impacts diverse industrial sectors, including electronics, transportation, medicine, textiles, and energy. The focus of this international meeting is on new experimental, simulation, and theoretical developments in polymer physics, with particular emphasis on the following areas:

• Dynamics of Polymer Melts and Glasses
• Crystallization and Self-Assembly
• Interfacial, Surface, and Nanoconfinement Effects
• Biomacromolecular Physics
• Polymers for Energy and Electronic Applications

The conference will feature nineteen lectures by senior researchers, whose talks will include a ten-minute introduction designed for a general polymer audience, as well as one session highlighting new work by six young scientists. Poster sessions and informal activities will provide ample opportunity to share and discuss the latest advances in polymer physics.

The Molecular Basis of Excitability and Disease

The 2014 Gordon Research Conference on Ion Channels will continue the long tradition of bring together leading researchers to share unpublished, cutting-edge biomedical research focused on the proteins responsible for ion transport. The 2014 scientific program will cover all aspects of ion channel biology and biophysics, including the structure and regulation of ion channels, protein biogenesis and trafficking and integrated aspects of ion channels in physiological function. Invited Speakers have been selected to ensure a diverse set of topics, channels and presenters. All participants are asked to submit an abstract for presentation in the poster session and approximately ten short talks will be chosen from the abstracts. We strongly encourage graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to apply to both the 2014 Ion channels GRC and to the GRS held immediately before the meeting. Selected abstracts from these early-career investigators will be chosen for presentation in a short 2 minute "Data Blitz", a very popular feature at the 2012 GRC.Â

Understanding Intrinsically Disordered Regions (IDRs) at Different Scales: From Single Molecules to Complex Systems

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The 2014 Gordon Conference on Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (IDPs) will present cutting-edge research aimed at understanding the role of disordered regions: from studies on single molecules to complex systems and from research that investigates changes that happen at the millisecond time-scale to the evolutionary time-scale.

The conference will feature a wide range of topics involving Intrinsically Disordered Regions (IDRs) that will be of interest to biophysicists, biochemists, computational, evolutionary and structural biologists, molecular geneticists, and cell biologists. The session topics have been carefully chosen to highlight exciting new science in the last couple of years including (a) breakthroughs in peptide motif biology, (b) emerging views on how disordered regions mediate the formation of functional and non-functional aggregates, reversible assemblies and phase transitions, (c) state-of-the-art experimental approaches to investigate the structure, function and dynamics of IDRs, (d) emerging methods to exploit IDRs for therapeutic applications and synthetic biology, (d) new concepts in evolutionary, molecular, and systems biology that describe how IDRs rewire interaction networks, and are able to link genotype to phenotype through their highly dynamic structural ensembles and (e) the future directions of the "unstructural" biology field. The conference also has an underlying theme that will highlight how IDRs are involved in human diseases.

The conference will bring together a collection of investigators who are at the forefront of their respective field, and will provide ample opportunities for interdisciplinary interaction that will catalyze the cross-fertilization of ideas, and provide a chance for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work. The session chairs promise to orchestrate lively discussions. The collegial atmosphere of this conference, with programmed discussion sessions as well as opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides an avenue for scientists from different disciplines to brainstorm and promotes cross-disciplinary collaborations in the various research areas represented. There will be a poster competition judged by a committee of experts. Two awards will be given to graduate students whose posters are deemed to be the best by the committee. The new location for this conference is scenic, convenient, and promises to be an excellent setting for numerous informal interactions.

For the first time in the meeting series, a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) will precede the conference. The Intrinsically Disordered Proteins GRS is designed to further facilitate the participation of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Planned by and for the trainees, it will provide an opportunity for our junior researchers to present seminars and posters in a supportive, interactive environment. It will act as an important springboard for the development of the future thought leaders in the field.

This conference will highlight the pervasiveness of IDPs in biology and enhance our understanding of their dynamic structure and function. We therefore warmly welcome you to participate, experience and enjoy the IDP GRC 2014.

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Channel Structure, Function, Disease and Drugs

The Gordon Research Seminar on Ion Channels is a unique forum for graduate students, post-docs, and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education to present and exchange new data and cutting edge ideas.

The 2014 Ion Channels GRS will bring together post-docs, graduate students, and undergraduates from diverse backgrounds to present recent data and discuss the quantitative analysis of ion channels and ion transporters. Scientific sessions will focus on classical and emerging concepts related to structure, function, regulation, and dynamics of diverse channel types, with an eye on how these complex molecular characteristics integrate to generate cellular excitability and control cellular and organ physiology. Special attention will be given to the use of emerging analytical tools and the next generation of ion channel drugs. In addition to presenting, discussing their data, and sharing research experiences with their peers "in the trenches", young researchers will have the opportunity to discuss the next leap in their career with mentors in the field - whether that’s choosing a postdoc, becoming an independent investigator, or transitioning to industry and other fields.

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