The 2019 Annual Meeting of American Crystallographic Association took place at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center between July 20 and July 25 in Covington, KY. The Northern Kentucky Convention Center is located along the banks of the Ohio River and is directly connected to the Marriott at River Center where most attendees resided. It is also just across the 19th-century suspension bridge from downtown Cincinnati. The convention center has ten flexible meeting rooms totaling 13 288 sq. ft. Attendees enjoyed the spacious and modern meeting facility. The conference was attended by more than 550 attendees.
This year the program chairs were Stephan Ginell of the Biosciences Division of Argonne National Laboratory and Vivien Yee of the Department of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University. The Poster Chairs were Louise Dawe of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department of Wilfrid Laurier University and David R. Rose of the Department of Biology, University of Waterloo. These chairs have done a superior job of assembling a rich scientific program together. There were more than 400 abstracts for the meeting.
Prior to the main meeting, six workshops took place on Saturday, the first day of the meeting. These workshops included: Advanced Structural Characterization of Nanomaterials; Accelerating Your Career Development; Introduction to PHENIX for Electron Cryo-Microscopy; Serial Crystallography: Obtaining Protein Structure from Many Crystals; Workshop on Biological Structure Determination Using Cryo-EM; and Phase Identification and Materials Characterization Using Powder X-ray Diffraction.
A memorial lecture to remember Michael G. Rossman (1930–2019) who was a pioneer in crystallography of macromolecules and viruses took place on Saturday evening. Each morning prior to the start of the regular scientific sessions, a special award was presented and the awardees would present their talks. On Sunday, the Trueblood Award (to recognize exceptional achievement in computational or chemical crystallography) was presented to Brian Toby and Robert Von Dreele of Argonne National Laboratory (Photos 1 and 2). The Fankuchen Award (to recognize contributions to crystallographic research by one who is known to be an effective teacher of crystallography) was presented to Eaton Lattman of the University of Buffalo/Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute on Monday morning (Photo 3). Bryan Chakoumakos of ORNL received the Bau Award (to recognize exceptional research achievement in neutron diffraction) on Tuesday morning (Photo 4), and the Margaret C. Etter Early Career Award (to recognize outstanding achievement and exceptional potential in crystallographic research demonstrated by a scientist at an early stage of their independent career) was given to Efrain Rodriguez of the University of Maryland (Photo 5).
Brian Toby accepting the Trueblood Award from 2019 ACA President Joseph Ferrara. Photo courtesy: Richard Bromund.
Robert Von Dreele accepting the Trueblood Award from 2019 ACA President Joseph Ferrara. Photo courtesy: Richard Bromund.
Eaton Lattman accepting the Fankuchen Award from 2019 ACA President Joseph Ferrara. Photo courtesy: Richard Bromund.
Bryan Chakoumakos accepting the Bau Award from 2019 ACA President Joseph Ferrara. Photo courtesy: Richard Bromund.
Efrain Rodriguez accepting the Margaret C. Etter Early Career Award from 2019 ACA President Joseph Ferrara. Photo courtesy: Richard Bromund.
The Transaction Symposium this year was Data Best Practices: Current States and Future Needs, which featured 15 talks. There were more than 40 scientific sections, with topics including porous materials; geosciences; cryo-electron microscopes; structural dynamics; polymer structure and dynamics; magnetic, quantum, and electronic correlated materials; cancer biology; diffuse scattering; solid-state NMR crystallography; crystal structure from powder data; powder diffraction in industry; sources, beamlines and detectors; locating and refining H atoms; crystallization on the International Space Station; time-resolved at XFELS; solid-state supramolecular chemistry; functional sustainable materials; central dogma in 3D: the legacy of Tom Steitz; anomalous techniques in macromolecular crystallography; SAS methods in biology and soft materials; radiation damage; cool structures; in situ and operando measurements and materials; meaning of resolution; structure-based drug design; diversity and inclusion; and sustaining crystallography education and training. In addition, there were 147 posters on display from Sunday to Tuesday evening.
Fifteen Scientific Interest Groups (SIGs), each represent a particular discipline within the field of crystallography, also had their group meetings during the annual meeting. These SIGs included: Best Practices for Data Analysis and Archiving; Biological Macromolecules; Canadian Division; Cryo-EM; Fiber Diffraction; General Interest; Industrial; Light Sources; Materials; Neutron Scattering; Powder Diffraction; Service Crystallography; Small Angle Scattering; Small Molecules; and Young Scientists.
There was also an exhibit from Saturday to Tuesday. The exhibit is always an important part of the ACA Conference that compliments the scientific program. This year, there were a total of 30 exhibitors displaying their latest products and services. International exhibitors included analytical equipment manufacturers, materials producers, book and journal publishers, database and software producers, scientific societies, scientific consultants, and sponsoring companies. ICDD also had a booth in the exhibit under the supervision of Tom Blanton and Graciela Delgado (Photo 6). The exhibit hall was a popular place to meet up with old friends and colleagues, and meet new people. Members often strolled along different aisles to learn about new products, obtain information, chat with manufacturers, pick up souvenirs, browse through new publications, and participate in new product demonstrations.
ICDD booth at the ACA exhibit and four of its members [left to right and front to back: Graciela Delgado, Winnie Wong-Ng, James Kaduk, and Tom Blanton (ICDD Executive Director)].
Other social events and activities included the first-time attendee and student orientation, three-minute thesis competition, Dectris Lunch and Learn, CCDC Mixer, YSIG Mixer (with the support from Bruker), members business meeting, and the conference banquet on the last evening. The closing banquet dinner took place on the Belle of Cincinnati, a riverboat that sails along the Cincinnati River. The boarding dock was only steps away from the Marriott Hotel. The boat has a lavish Victorian décor, and it offers both sightseeing and a buffet dinner. On the boat, various awards including the poster awards and awards from selected SIGs were presented to the winners. The cruise was an enjoyable experience, particularly with a magnificent sunset view. Everyone was relaxed and was in a good mood after a successful conference.
The weather during the meeting was sunny and pleasantly warm. Many attendees had an opportunity for an enjoyable stroll outside the meeting hotel. In the future, the attendees can look forward to the 2020 annual meeting and exhibit which will take place at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina from August 1 to August 6. For 2019 meeting schedule and abstracts, please visit: https://www.aca2019mtg.com/2019-schedule and https://acaonline.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/2/sessiongallery.
