CRYSTALLOGRAPHY NEWS 1981

• March 1981 no 1
  1. p3 Joint Publication
  2. p3 Further progress towrds the formation of
     a British Crystallographic Association
  3. p4 World Directory of Crystallographers
  4. p4 Modern methods in neutron Diffraction
• June 1981 no 2
  1. p3 Formation of the British Crystallographic Association

1.     JOINT PUBLICATION

        This is the first newsletter to be published for the 

Crystallography Groups of both the Institute of Physics and 

the Royal Society of Chemistry.     Publication months are March,

June, October and December.      Items for inclusion in the 

Newsletter are welcome, preferably typed with single line 

spacing on A4 paper ready for off-set litho reproduction. 

Copy dates are the 2Oth day of the month preceding publication. 

Please send items either to Dr Moreton Moore, Department of 

Physics, Royal Holloway College, Egham, Surrey, TW20 OEX, 

or to Dr Stephen Wallwork, Department of Chemistry, University 

of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD



2.     Further Progress Towards the Formation of a British Crystallographic 

Association



        A joint meeting of the committees of the IOP Crystallography 

Group and the Chemical Crystallography Group was held on 

November 17 1980 to consider the proposals to form a BCA. 

The principle of forming such a body was warmly accepted 

and a small group of five was set up to work on the proposals 

in detail and to draw up Statutes and Bye-laws. A number 

of principles were agreed on to guide this group in its

task. This Working Party, having met on 19 December 1980 

and 26 January 1981, and having consulted extensively by 

correspondence, recently produced draft Statutes and Bye-laws 

for consideration by the committees of the two crystallography 

groups.



        The committee of the Chemical Crystallography Group 

discussed these documents and their implications at its meeting on

4 March and the committee of the IOP Crystallography Group 

will likewise consider these documents at its meeting on 

April 14. The two Group committees will pass on their 

suggestions for modifications of the Statutes and Bye-laws 

and will also seek the approval of their respective parent 

bodies (the RSC and the IOP). If the two committees and 

their parent bodies agree to the proposals in general and 

to a particular form of words for the governing documents 

in particular, the full proposals will be circulated to the 

members of the two Groups for approval during the summer 

of 1981. If approval is obtained, the Working Party will 

proceed to the establishment of the BCA.



If all this programme can be completed in time, and 

if agreement of all the bodies concerned has been secured,

it is hoped to have an inaugural meeting of the BCA, with

invited papers from a number of leading crystallographers 

and attended by as many members as possible of both Crystallography

Groups, at the University of Durham, from 5 to 7 April 1982. 

(Reserve the dates in your diary now!) Provisional plans 

have already been made by the University of Durham to hold

a crystallography conference at this time and it is hoped

to broaden the scope of this meeting if the proposals for 

the formation of the BCA are approved. It would then take 

the place of the Spring Meeting for each Group. 



                                                S C Wallwork 

1. Important Letter to Group Members concerning the Formation of the British 

Crystallographic Association

	Readers of recent issues of the Newsletter will already be aware of the 

various articles, and the discussions that have taken place, concerning the 

proposals for the formation of a British Crystallographic Association. Favourable 

responses to these proposals were voiced at the conferences held at St.Andrews 

(Easter, 1980) and Glasgow (September, 1980). A joint meeting of the committees

of the IOP Crystallography Group and the Chemical Crystallography Group in 

November 1980 set up a Working Party to consider the proposals in detail and to

draw up Statutes and By-laws. Draft versions of these have been fully discussed

by the committees of the two Groups, who are satisfied that they will put into

effect the intentions that have already been discussed within the Groups, and 

which are outlined below. The parent bodies of the two Groups (the IOP and the 

RSC) see no difficulty, in principle, with the proposals but, before official 

agreement of their Councils is sought, an expression of acceptance by the members

of the groups is needed.



	The aim in formulating the proposals has been to create a basis for an 

independent British Crystallographic Association, able to cater for all aspects

of crystallography, including applied crystallography and biological structure,

which will incorporate the two established crystallographic groups of the 

Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Chemistry, without disturbing 

their activities in any way, These Groups already cater for physical and 

chemical aspects of crystallography, and their memberships include the majority

of, but not all, professional crystallographers in the country.





	The members of these two Groups will automatically become members of the 

BCA (Joint Members), with full membership rights, without paying any additional

subscription. It will be possible for others to become Ordinary Members of the

BCA by paying a subscription (probably of �8 to �lO per year) directly to the

BCA. These people will also be able to join one Group for no additional fee. 

All BCA members (Ordinary and Joint Members) will be able to join further 

Groups (including new Groups which may be formed in the future) for a small 

additional fee.





	By becoming members of the BCA, present Group members, without loss of any 

of their current rights and privileges, will gain the advantages of belonging 

to a specifically crystallographic body with a broad interdisciplinary membership.

This body will be able to speak and act on behalf of crystallography as a whole 

at the national level and it is hoped that it will develop the same authority,

within the British Isles, as the American Crystallographic Association enjoys

across the Atlantic. The standing of members as crystallographers will be 

increased in that they will be part of, and able to influence, a more powerful

crystallographic body than the present organisations can ever become. The status

of crystallography within the British Isles will consequently also be enhanced.



	The most difficult problem has been to devise a way to make the BCA



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     However, it is essential to raise a significant capital sum at the outset. 

This is needed particularly to provide an adequate operating basis for BCA 

activities, and to cushion the organisation against the occasional loss on a meeting. We think that very many crystallographers will recognise the value of 

the new organisation, both for enhancing contacts between crystallographers, and

in allowing them to be represented centrally in matters which affect their interests. 



We shall be inviting established crystallographers, whether or not they are members of the present crystallography groups, to become Founder Members of the BCA for the payment of �lOO. As Founder Members, they will automatically be BCA members for 

10 years without further payment. We consider it desirable to raise at least 

�lO,000 by this means. The Founder membership scheme is intended as a means of 

supporting the BCA through its difficult early years, not as a money-saving option.



     The Groups of the IOP and RSC are financed at present by payments made through

their parent bodies. An equivalent payment will be made by the BCA to Group funds 

for those Group members who are not members of the IOP or the RSC. Thus the 

financing of the Groups will remain exactly as before, and it will make no difference to the Group which of the three parent bodies a member belongs to.



     The draft constitution which has been drawn up will need to be professionally 

checked by experts before application is made for the BCA to have the status 

of an educational charity - essential to avoid income tax liability.Once charitable status is obtained, Founder Memberships and Sponsorships will be solicited, and 

assuming that adequate support is obtained, the BCA will come into active existence at the Durham Crystallography Meeting, 5-7 April 1982, which will in any case, form a joint Spring Meeting of the IOP and RSC Crystallography Groups.



The formation of the BCA is an important matter for the future of the Groups 

and, indeed, for the future of crystallography in the British Isles. The committees of both groups are unanimous in strongly recommending acceptance of the proposals. 

They now wish to receive a firm indication of group members' opinions, which will 

form part of their recommendation to the IOP and the RSC. We therefore urge you 

to complete and return the reply slip below.



C.A. Taylor                                          G A Sim 

Chairman                                             Chairman 

IOP Crystallography Group                            Chemical Crystallography Group



Please return the reply slip as soon as possible and, in any case, before 1 August

1981 to either:



Dr R.H. Fenn                              Dr. S.C. Wallwork 

Secretary, IOP Crystallography Group      Secretary, Chemical Crystallography Group

Portsmouth Polytechnic                    Department of Chemistry

Department of Physics                     University of Nottingham 

King Henry I Street                       University Park

PORTSMOUTH, PO1 2DZ                       NOTTINGHAM, NG7 2RD.



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