The United Nations has designated 2014 as the International Year of Crystallography (IYCr) to celebrate approximately 100 years since the fundamental discoveries of Professor Max von Laue and father and son Nobel Laureates, Professor Sir William Bragg OM KBE PRS and Professor Sir Lawrence Bragg CH OBE MC FRS, gave rise to the modern discipline of X-ray crystallography.
Activities in Australia include a crystal growing competition co-sponsored by the Society of Crystallographers in Australia and New Zealand and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute; photographic and art competitions; and a protein crystal recognition crowdsourcing initiative sponsored by the C3 facility at the CSIRO in Melbourne. A list of activities worldwide and in Australia can be found on the IYCr website.
The Australian celebrations will formally conclude with the Science at the Shine Dome symposium in May 2015, devoted to the important role crystallography continues to play in sciences including chemistry, geology, physics, biology, material science and archaeology.
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