Volume 5 Issue 6

From the ICDD - You are receiving this newsletter because you are an ICDD Member or are affiliated with the ICDD.

See this newsletter on the ICDD web site.

Didn’t make it to the 2007 Denver X-ray Conference? 
Here’s what you missed….

At the foot of Pikes Peak, at the Sheraton Hotel in Colorado Springs, the 56th Annual Denver X-ray Conference took place, 30 July through 3 August 2007.

Highlights of this year’s conference included the stimulating plenary session talks relating to Stardust-X-rays in Space, as well as those of a similarly titled special session, Stardust Characterization. The program was also enhanced with a workshop and several sessions on polymers, composites, biopolymers, and biological systems.

Characterized by its traditional camaraderie, the conference experienced its highest attendance numbers in recent years. The nearly 550 attendees and exhibitors enjoyed the scientific exchange that transpired in the 16 workshops and 16 special sessions, held throughout the week. The conference also provided a forum for networking among scientists, both beginners to experts, working in the X-ray materials analysis fields.

The Plenary Session, Stardust - X-rays in Space, featured 4 inspiring talks given by renowned speakers:

• J.L. Campbell, Guelph-Waterloo Physics Institute, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, discussed In Situ Measurement of Hydration of Martian Soils and Rocks Using the Scatter Component of the XRF Spectrum.
• R.J. Brissenden, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, focused his presentation on The Chandra X-ray Observatory: Observing the High Energy Universe.
• Remote X-ray Diffraction of Planetary Bodies: What is Mars Really Made of? was presented by D.L. Bish, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.
• George J. Flynn, Dept. of Physics, SUNY-Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, NY completed the plenary talks with Stardust: The Mission and the Critical Role of X-ray Chemical Analysis.

Several awards were presented at the Plenary Session as well:

• Recognizing distinguished work in powder diffraction, the 2007 Barrett Award was presented to Sunil K. Sinha, of the University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA. Sunil later presented a talk on: What We Can Learn About the Structure and Dynamics of Surfaces and Thin Films from Off-Specular Scattering.
• The 2007 Jenkins Award, which is awarded for lifetime achievement in the advancement of the use of X-rays for materials analysis, was presented to Ting C. Huang, Emeritus, IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA. The Conference was honored to have Phyllis Jenkins present for this momentous occasion. Ting also received the 2007 Distinguished Fellow Award for his long and meritorious service to the ICDD.
• Tamás Ungár, of Eötvös University Budapest, Budapest, Hungary, became the recipient of the 2007 Hanawalt Award. This award honors scientists for important, recent contributions to the field of powder diffraction. Tamás was recognized for his work, The Dislocation Model of Strain Anisotrophy.

At the conclusion of the conference, Dr. Vic Buhrke, Consultant, Portola Valley, CA, retired as Chairman of the DXC Organizing Committee. The Committee presented Vic with a plaque to acknowledge their appreciation for his years of dedication and service to the conference. Vic will remain a member of the committee. Congratulations to our new Chairman, Dr. Bob Snyder, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA!

Make your plans to attend next year’s conference being held at the Marriott Denver Tech Center Hotel, when the International Conference on Residual Stress (ICRS-8) will meet jointly with the DXC. Stay informed by visiting www.dxcicdd.com.