Volume 3 Issue 5

From the ICDD - You are receiving this newsletter because you are an ICDD Member, have attended an ICDD-sponsored program, or are affiliated with the ICDD.

See this newsletter on the ICDD web site.

XRD Clinic

Clinic - Recently, our clinics on hands-on Practical XRF, Fundamentals and Advanced Methods of XRD were held at headquarters. The focus on practical applications, hands on experience, and intense personal instruction, differentiates the ICDD clinics from other venues. Don't just take our word for it, please read a testimonial from one of our attendees:

"I attended the ICDD X-ray clinic in June 2005.  As a USGS X-ray technician, I was hoping to obtain a deeper understanding of the science of X-radiation.  And did I ever!  From Plank's Constant to noise curves to coherent scatter and attenuation coefficients, the able instructors covered all of it in a friendly, comprehensible fashion.  The science lectures were great!

The labs also provided new and useful information.  Of particular value was the sample preparation lab wherein we learned that it is possible to minimize preferred orientation.  A simple mounting technique, with which I was unfamiliar, improves random distribution of mica and other minerals, producing a better X-ray profile.  Again, just great!

The adjective that best describes the week of the clinic is "polished."  The instructors, the lectures and labs, the accommodations, transportation to and from ICDD headquarters, the included snacks and lunches, and the evening discussions were perfect.  It was money well spent.  I'm a smarter X-ray tech for having attended." 

Sincerely, Rhonda Driscoll, US Geological Survey

Be sure to mark your calendar
and visit us at the following events:

2005 AAPS
Annual Meeting and Exposition
Booth #1601
Nashville, TN
6-10 November 2005

2005 MRS Fall Meeting
Booth #524
Boston, MA
28 November - 2 December 2005

PPXRD-5
Somerset, NJ
14-16 February 2006

ICDD Annual Spring Meetings
Newtown Square, PA
20-24 March 2006

Denver X-ray Conference (DXC) - 2005
"X-ray Imaging" was the focus of this year's DXC. Covered in the plenary as well as a special session, this topic attracted many attendees, all of whom were enlightened and entertained by the broad-range, energizing talks. Read about the 2005 DXC .

DXC Organizing Committee News
Tim Elam, who is affiliated with EDAX, Mahwah, NJ and University of Washington, Redmond, WA , is one of the newest members to join the Denver X-ray Conference Organizing Committee. Tim is a physicist with extensive knowledge about quantitative XRF and energy dispersive analysis. Denise Flaherty, Conference Coordinator at ICDD, who has administered the conference since 1997, was also elected to the Committee. Congratulations, Tim and Denise!

The 5th Pharmaceutical Powder X-ray Diffraction Symposium will be held 14-16 February 2006 in Somerset, New Jersey. Call for Papers Deadline: 15 November 2005. SAVE 25% by registering by 1 November 2005 - For details see the PPXRD website - www.icdd.com/ppxrd

For even more valuable pharmaceutical XRD training, don't miss the optional hands-on workshop - Characterization of Pharmaceutical Solids: Crystal Studies and XRD Applications - 13 February 2006

For more information regarding PPXRD-5, please contact Leah Mooney at mooney@icdd.com

The Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship deadline is quickly approaching; all applications must be received by 31 October 2005. Winners will be announced in January 2006. See complete application details at http://www.icdd.com/resources/awards/frevel.htm

If you have any questions regarding the Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship, please contact Leah Mooney at mooney@icdd.com

The IUCr Congress provided a venue for an informal meeting of regional ICDD members. On August 22, the rooftop terrace of the Tornabuoni Beacci Hotel in Florence, Italy , provided a picturesque setting, where approximately 50 members and their families gathered to enjoy fine cuisine and meet the ICDD Board of Directors. It was indeed a pleasure to meet so many of our members, many of whom have never had the opportunity to travel to ICDD headquarters in Newtown Square .

ICDD is pleased to announce our first database release with a new collaboration partner, Material Phases Data System (MPDS). This collaboration incorporates structural data from the Pauling File into the PDF creating a new product, PDF-4+.

PDF-4+ is the successor to PDF-4/Full File and now contains 240,050 material data sets standardized and reviewed from data contained in the ICDD, Pauling File, ICSD and NIST databases. The Pauling File addition brings new data and new capabilities to PDF-4+ with the addition of atomic parameters and an inorganic structural prototyping system. This system uses atomic environment, cell parameters, Wyckoff notation and space groups to organize inorganic materials into common families. This enables research scientists to identify materials, even those without a reference pattern, by polytype analysis. The addition of atomic parameters also enables molecular graphics and the calculation of variable wavelength X-ray, electron, and neutron diffraction patterns based on fundamental principles and software developed by ICDD members, scientists and collaboration partners.

After 16 years, Alice Lauser, ICDD's Receptionist, has retired. Alice started her career at the ICDD as a Customer Service Clerk in Sales and Marketing Operations before becoming our Receptionist. The ICDD recognized and thanked Alice for her years of dedicated service and wished her all the best in her retirement.

ICDD welcomes Sheila DiGiuseppe as our Receptionist.