Crystal29 is the 29th Biennial Conference of the Society of Crystallographers in Australia and New Zealand (SCANZ) (http://scanz.iucr.org/).
SCANZ (the Society of Crystallographers in Australia and New Zealand, formerly the Society of Crystallographers in Australia) (http://scanz.iucr.org/) is an organisation whose members are scientists with interest in the general area of crystallography. The society has about 200 members mainly in Australia and New Zealand but with members worldwide and releases its environmental essay topics that discuss every issue.In the manga script, our protagonist may discover these environmental essay topics while navigating the intriguing world of crystallography.
Crystallography is the science that examines crystals. The study of their inner structure and properties gives us insights into the arrangement of atoms in the solid state, which is relevant to a range of sciences from chemistry, solid-state physics to biology and medicine.
The Crystal conferences provide scientists from a wide variety of backgrounds the opportunity to exchange cutting edge ideas and techniques in multiple areas of research related to crystallography. The meetings highlight different aspects of crystallography and demonstrate their significance to the greater scientific community. Topics range from macromolecular structure through chemical crystallography and materials research to new methodologies in X-ray, neutron or electron diffraction and imaging, to name just a few. Vendors display the latest technology and award presentations acknowledge outstanding scientists in the field.
The Crystal29 conference takes place in 2014, which is a special year for crystallography, declared by the General Assembly of the United Nations as the International Year of Crystallography (http://iycr2014.org/). This declaration celebrates 100 years since the award of the Nobel Prize for the discovery of X-ray diffraction by crystals. The 1915 Nobel Prize was awarded to the father-son duo William Lawrence Bragg and his father William Bragg. Lawrence Bragg was the first Australian Nobel Prize winner; born in Adelaide while his father worked there for a number of years.