  Welcome |
XVIIIth International Union of Crystallography Congress and General Assembly, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K., | |||||||
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Ted Baker President, International Union of Crystallography |
Every IUCr Congress has presented new and exciting advances - spectacular macromolecular structures, intriguing microstructures and above all a constant pushing forward of crystallographic methods. It is the diversity that I believe is of utmost importance. Every 3 years we have a chance to see not just the latest in our own specialist areas, but also the full breadth of current crystallography and glimpses of what is to come. It is an opportunity for cross-fertilisation that should not be missed.
The Scots have a deserved reputation for hospitality, and many of us look romantically to Scotland for its passion and its poetry, its history and culture. This will be a meeting to have fun, to enjoy a wonderful scientific programme, to see all your friends from round the world again and make new ones, and to see out the 20th century in a most exciting way. Come to Glasgow!
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Judith Howard Chair, IUCr 1999 Programme Committee |
On behalf of the International Programme Committee, I extend a welcome to the core of our Congress - the scientific sessions. You will see from the published timetable that we have a complex and varied programme and certainly something to attract large numbers of crystallographers to Glasgow, whatever your particular speciality within our inherently broad discipline. You will also see that the range of keynote lectures is very wide and sometimes even fringe to what we might regard as basic crystallography. This I believe will be an exciting opportunity for us to listen to some new ideas and to form valuable collaborations through the cross-fertilisations Ted Baker referred to in his message.
If, by any chance, the 96 Microsymposia should seem to have missed the title you most wanted to see there, look again at the 'Call for Papers' and if you still don't see an exact fit for your special subject area, please submit the paper anyway and I would be very surprised if you are alone in a category by the time the Congress opens next August. The topic titles as shown are by necessity terse, but as you watch the program grow on these web pages, you will be able to see how interestingly these titles have been interpreted by the Chairs and Co-chairs of the various sessions and you will be able to follow the programme's development, as the invited speakers and their talks are advertised. We shall also select further oral presentations from the submitted abstracts to fit into the 96 microsymposia. There will be space to present in excess of 2500 posters during the Congress and we hope that the ground layout which mixes the posters, the commercial exhibition, the refreshments and the internet cafÈ, will prove to be the success it has been at our BCA meetings in the past; namely a lively intermingling of social conversation, scientific discourse and commercial discussion. No need to feel alone in these surroundings and enthusiasm thrives. We look forward to your full participation in the Congress and to offering you a host of excellent scientific reasons to be there. Please do join us as speakers, presenters and keen audiences alike.
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Mike Glazer President, British Crystallographic Association |
On behalf of the British Crystallographic Association (BCA) and as a member of the organising committee, I would like to invite you to attend the next IUCr Congress in Glasgow.
It is well known that the field of crystallography has been a major scientific endeavour in the United Kingdom from the very beginning of the subject, involving many illustrious and crystallographic household names. Today the BCA boasts in excess of 800 members, making it the second largest national body for crystallography in the world. As a result, you will have an opportunity in attending the Congress, not only to meet with crystallographers from around the world, but also to appreciate the large range of crystallographic topics studied here. The BCA is divided into 4 well-established member groups: Biological Structures, Chemical Crystallography, Industrial and Physical Crystallography and this diversity will be immediately apparent from the large range of topics to be covered in this Congress. I believe therefore that this meeting will contain something for everyone, whether a student just starting out in crystallography or a senior scientist in academia or industry. I know too from personal experience that large international meetings such as this are a fertile ground for making contacts between crystallographers from different countries and this has often resulted in new and important collaborations being set up.
The Glasgow Congress promises to be one of the largest scientific meetings in Europe during 1999, and I urge you therefore to make your arrangements to attend at the earliest opportunity. We look forward to having such a large number of visitors in 1999 and we shall do our best to make sure that your stay in the UK will be a memorable one.