Schedule

Electron Crystallography
Keynote

African Crystallographic Association
Keynote

Aperiodic Crystals
Keynote

Co-Chairs: Igor Polikarpov & Vanita Sood Sponsoring Commission: Biological Macromolecules Structure-guided protein design and engineering are opening new frontiers in biomedicine and biotechnology by enabling the creation of molecules with functions not represented in nature. Approaches such as inverse folding, backbone design, protein inpainting, scaffolding for designed active sites, and engineering protein surfaces for binding or catalysis are driving innovation in biologics and therapeutic proteins. This microsymposium will highlight recent advances in computational design, experimental strategies, and structural characterization that expand the boundaries of molecular functionality, demonstrating how engineered proteins can address challenges in medicine, biotechnology, and materials science.

Biological Macromolecules

Co-Chairs: Carolyn Brock & John Evans Sponsoring Commission: Crystallographic Nomenclature and the International Tables Approximate symmetry that is periodic has long been recognized, but its prevalence, revealed through database studies, has only recently been appreciated. Approximate periodic symmetry is found in structures determined below a phase transition and in enantiopure crystals that mimic centrosymmetric packing. It also appears in many other crystals that may have nucleated in a space group of higher symmetry and then become distorted during growth. Algorithms for identifying and quantifying approximate symmetry are being developed, but trained eyes remain very useful. Applications include the design of noncentrosymmetric and polar crystals, the identification of structural families of related materials, and the investigation of phase transitions.

Crystallographic Nomenclature

Co-Chairs: Satya Kushwaha & Arvind Yogi Sponsoring Commission: Crystal Growth and Characterization of Materials Floating zone (FZ) methods provide avenues to grow single crystals with ultrahigh purity, essential for next-generation materials research and technologies. Recently, infrared lasers have been introduced as a heat source and, unlike traditional optical FZ, they provide greater flexibility in operation and more controlled molten zones. In laser FZ, enormous energy can be concentrated in a small volume, allowing the creation of exceptionally high temperatures exceeding ~4000 °C and enabling higher operating pressures. Such high temperatures and pressures have opened the door to next-generation materials synthesis capabilities and provide opportunities for discovering new materials that were previously inaccessible, such as high-valency metal oxides and ultrahigh-temperature ceramics, in a more economical way.

Crystal Growth and Characterization of Materials

Co-Chairs: Huibo Cao & William Ratcliff Sponsoring Commission: Quantum Crystallography Co-Sponsoring Commission: Structural Chemistry Supporting Commission: Magnetic Structures Combining different techniques spanning the radiations used in crystallography can provide insights into phenomena such as the interplay between charge and spin density waves in kagome metals and superconductors, metal-insulator transitions, charge ordering, magnetism, superconductivity under high pressure, symmetry-breaking mechanisms, lattice distortions, electronic topology, and the discovery of novel quantum materials. This microsymposium welcomes contributions across this broad range of important research topics.

Magnetic Structures
Quantum Crystallography
Structural Chemistry

Co-Chairs: Amélie Juhin & Gerry Seidler Sponsoring Commission: XAFS Co-Sponsoring Commission: Synchrotron and XFEL Radiation Supporting Commission: Quantum Crystallography High-energy-resolution X-ray spectroscopy has revolutionized our ability to probe electronic and structural properties in materials, providing unprecedented insights into their fundamental behavior. Techniques such as high-resolution X-ray absorption spectroscopy (HR-XAS), resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS), and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) allow researchers to explore valence states, electronic excitations, and chemical environments with exceptional precision. These methods are essential for understanding a wide range of materials, from catalysts and energy storage systems to quantum materials and biological systems. With advancements in synchrotron and free-electron laser sources, as well as improvements in spectrometer designs and data analysis, the field is pushing the limits of energy resolution, signal detection, and time-resolved capabilities. This microsymposium will bring together experts to discuss the latest developments in instrumentation, methodologies, and applications of high-energy-resolution X-ray spectroscopy, highlighting its impact across various scientific disciplines.

Quantum Crystallography
Synchrotron and XFEL Radiation
XAFS

Co-Chairs: Miguel Delgado & Klaudia Hradil Sponsoring Commission: Crystallography in Art and Cultural Heritage Sustainability has become an increasingly important concept in response to the growing challenges of climate change and environmental degradation. Within the cultural heritage community, the maintenance and restoration of cultural objects and sites has always been a priority, but new threats such as air pollution, wildfires, floods, and human conflicts are accelerating deterioration processes. Understanding these processes and developing effective solutions to slow, halt, or reverse them is essential. Equally important is the sharing of knowledge and best practices with the global community to strengthen collective efforts to safeguard cultural heritage.

Crystallography in Art and Cultural Heritage

Co-Chairs: Shuhei Furukawa & Guido H. Clever Sponsoring Commission: Structural Chemistry In recent years, research on discrete organic cages (DOCs) and coordination cages has advanced rapidly. These cage structures hold great potential for applications in catalysis, molecular recognition, drug delivery, and more. Current research trends include applications in energy-related fields, biomedical uses of coordination cages, dynamic transformation and self-assembly, catalytic reactions inside coordination cages, and the structural design and control of self-assembly. These studies highlight the diverse applications and potential of discrete organic and coordination cages, promising further advancements in the field.

Structural Chemistry

Co-Chairs: Dorothee Liebschner & Omid Haji-Ghassemi Sponsoring Commission: Crystallographic Computing This microsymposium will explore best practices for using predicted models in structural biology, including combining them with experimental data, assessing reliability and accuracy, and incorporating them into structure determination workflows. Case studies may showcase successful applications such as the interpretation of cryo-EM maps, structure-guided drug discovery, the determination of multiprotein complex structures, and hybrid modeling approaches that combine AlphaFold predictions with SAXS and NMR data. With recent breakthroughs in protein structure prediction, particularly through tools like AlphaFold2/3 and RoseTTAFold, structural biologists now have access to highly accurate predicted models. However, effectively integrating these models into experimental workflows requires an understanding of best practices and a reevaluation of traditional structure determination approaches.

Crystallographic Computing

Co-Chairs: Ivana Evans & Maths Karlsson Sponsoring Commission: Inorganic and Mineral Structures Co-Sponsoring Commission: Powder Diffraction Supporting Commission: Crystallography of Materials The search for new and improved solid-state ionic conductors (SSICs) is one of the most active fields in materials chemistry, driven by their key role in technologies such as solid-state batteries, fuel cells, sensors, carbon capture compounds, and hydrogen storage. Solid-state ionic conduction is also a crucial aspect of mineral formation, subsolidus synthesis, and post-synthetic modification in materials chemistry. This microsymposium will cover structural aspects of solid-state ionic conduction, emphasizing the insights obtained through crystallographic analysis and the progress enabled by applying crystallographic design principles. Topics include lithium, proton, oxide, and other mobile ions; hydration and carbonation in geological and technological contexts; associated phase transitions and symmetry analysis; computational simulations; and in situ/operando experiments using diffraction and related methods.

Crystallography of Materials
Inorganic and Mineral Structures
Powder Diffraction

Co-Chairs: Pierre Aller & Aina Cohen Sponsoring Commission: Synchrotron and XFEL Radiation Serial crystallography has become a standard method for structure determination at light sources worldwide. Far from its early days of experimental uncertainty and bootstrap methods, the field has matured, with well-defined applications that leverage the advantages of low-dose, highly redundant data collection. These applications range from time-resolved crystallography to small-molecule structure determination and beyond. However, significant challenges remain: interoperability between facilities, instrumentation, and software continues to be a bottleneck, as does improving accessibility for the broader structural biology community. This microsymposium will explore the latest progress in all aspects of serial crystallography, including advancements in hardware, algorithms, user programs, and results from groundbreaking experiments.

Synchrotron and XFEL Radiation

Organizers: Santosh Panjikar & Martin Lutz The Software Fayre at the 27th IUCr Congress (Calgary, August 11-18, 2026) offers a forum for developers to present new crystallographic software and demonstrate their features through hands-on tutorials. The Fayre will be held August 12-18, with time slots available for registration.

Crystallographic Computing

Co-Chairs: Soichi Wakatsuki & Sagar Khare Sponsoring Commission: Biological Macromolecules The application of structural biology-based strategies for drug discovery has a longstanding record, leading to the development of numerous therapeutic agents. The field’s potential extends far beyond drug design. This microsymposium will showcase a diverse and innovative range of structural biology applications, particularly those linked to the tremendous progress in protein engineering that combines state-of-the-art experimental approaches with cutting-edge computational methods.

Biological Macromolecules

Co-Chairs: JM Perez-Mato & Margarida Henriques Sponsoring Commission: Magnetic Structures Co-Sponsoring Commission: Powder Diffraction Supporting Commission: Neutron Scattering The aim of this microsymposium is to demonstrate the potential of magnetic diffraction when combined with advanced analytical tools such as magnetic symmetry groups and representation analysis. It will cover new methods and developments for the determination of magnetic structures, while also welcoming experimental contributions where the method used to determine the magnetic structure is itself of significant interest.

Magnetic Structures
Neutron Scattering
Powder Diffraction

Co-Chairs: Arkadiy Simonov & Arianna Minelli Sponsoring Commission: Crystallography of Materials Co-Sponsoring Commission: Aperiodic Crystals Understanding the interplay between disorder and dynamics is crucial for uncovering the fundamental properties of complex materials. Diffuse scattering is a powerful tool for capturing short-range correlations, local distortions, and dynamic phenomena across a wide range of materials. Recent advancements in diffuse scattering experimental methods, coupled with computational modeling and machine learning, have created new opportunities to decode complex disordered structures and their influence on material behavior. This microsymposium will highlight recent advances in diffuse scattering techniques and discuss how to bridge the gap between atomic-scale understanding of disorder and macroscopic properties. Topics will include recent developments in data collection, interpretation, and modeling, and their application to next-generation functional materials.

Aperiodic Crystals
Crystallography of Materials

Co-Chairs: Matteo Bianchini & Andrea Kirsch Sponsoring Commission: Powder Diffraction Co-Sponsoring Commission: Neutron Scattering Chemical synthesis and processes are critical in everyday life, from functional materials to pharmaceuticals to high-performance computing components. These reactions can proceed through a variety of crystalline or amorphous intermediates before yielding the final product. Understanding and monitoring synthesis under real-world conditions provides valuable insights for industrial applications. This has been enabled by the development of ancillary equipment adapted to diffractometers and scattering instruments that simulate real-world conditions, allowing the tracking of crystalline and other components as a function of synthesis parameters such as reaction time, temperature, and atmosphere. Such data provide guidance on the optimal conditions for obtaining the desired phase, which in turn can inform improved synthesis protocols. With this information, industry can optimize procedures while minimizing reaction times and costs.

Neutron Scattering
Powder Diffraction

Co-Chairs: Nichole Valdez & Nico Graw Sponsoring Commission: Crystallographic Teaching Co-Sponsoring Commission: Magnetic Structures One of the most challenging elements of teaching structural science is communicating three-dimensional (3D) concepts in a classroom setting. This microsymposium will highlight technique development and advancements in visualization technologies that allow instructors and students to explore crystallographic concepts and structural data in helpful and engaging ways. Submissions are invited on a broad spectrum of visualization tools and technologies showcasing both high- and low-tech solutions, including classroom activities, physical models or model kits, animation and rendering techniques, effective diagram design, lighting and coloring strategies, computer-aided design (CAD), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and 3D printing. Good visualization strategies are not limited to the classroom, and this microsymposium will also promote cross-disciplinary exchange and highlight the central role visualization plays in advancing and effectively communicating crystallographic research. Contributions from all disciplines are welcome.

Magnetic Structures

Co-Chairs: Massimiliano Bonomi & Ignacia Echeverria Sponsoring Commission: CommDat Co-Sponsoring Commission: Biological Macromolecules Integrative structural biology leverages data from X-rays, neutrons, and electrons, combined with AI-driven predictions, to provide a comprehensive and accurate view of biological macromolecules. However, differences in resolution, contrast mechanisms, and experimental conditions pose significant challenges for data integration. Resolution reflects spatial detail, while contrast depends on signal-to-noise ratios and scattering properties. Errors may arise from experimental limitations, data processing, and model assumptions, necessitating rigorous validation and refinement strategies. AI plays a crucial role in aligning heterogeneous datasets, predicting missing structural elements, and identifying inconsistencies. Developing robust methodologies for merging multimodal data will be essential for advancing our understanding of complex biological systems, such as the nuclear pore complex or ribosome dynamics.

Biological Macromolecules
CommDat

Co-Chairs: Antonio Carlos Doriguetto & Luca Catalano Sponsoring Commission: Structural Chemistry Polymorphism—the existence of multiple crystal forms of the same compound—is a fundamental yet not fully understood phenomenon with far-reaching implications, from academic research to real-world applications. The exploration of the structural background of isostructurality—highly similar molecular arrangements in crystals of chemically different compounds—brings us closer to advancing crystal engineering. This microsymposium will bring together experts from academia and industry to discuss isostructurality, polymorphism, and phase transitions, covering molecular and mechanistic perspectives as well as their impact on industrial processes and applications, including drug development, organic electronics, and food chemistry.

Structural Chemistry

Co-Chairs: Keith Moffat & Thomas Ursby Sponsoring Commission: Crystallographic Computing Co-Sponsoring Commission: Biological Macromolecules Supporting Commission: Synchrotron and XFEL Radiation Time-resolved crystallography has revolutionized our ability to capture dynamic structural changes in biological macromolecules and materials, providing insights into molecular mechanisms across different time scales. Advances in computational methods have been instrumental in processing and interpreting large-scale time-resolved crystallographic datasets, enabling high-resolution structural determination from femtoseconds to seconds. The development of sophisticated algorithms and data-processing pipelines has facilitated the integration of serial crystallography techniques at synchrotron and X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) facilities, where the rapid collection of thousands of diffraction images presents unique challenges in data handling, synchronization, and model refinement. Computational approaches such as real-time feedback systems, machine learning-driven data reduction, and multidimensional modeling are driving improvements in accuracy and efficiency. The future of time-resolved crystallography lies in the synergy between experimental innovation and computational advancements, paving the way for a deeper understanding of dynamic processes in biological and materials sciences.

Biological Macromolecules
Crystallographic Computing
Synchrotron and XFEL Radiation

Co-Chairs: Louisa Meshi & Lukas Palatinus Sponsoring Commission: Electron Crystallography Electron diffraction is currently in a lively period of advancement, with many novel methods being developed. Recently, there has been a shift toward studying smaller and more beam-sensitive crystals at increasingly higher levels of detail. This progress has been enabled by new diffraction methods requiring advanced experimental procedures such as electron beam scanning, crystal tracking, and 4D-STEM. This microsymposium is devoted to the novel hardware and software being developed to push electron diffraction and electron crystallography beyond previous limits. With recent advancements in dedicated electron diffractometers and 4D-STEM instrumentation, electron diffraction is expanding to more laboratories worldwide, attracting a growing audience directly interested in these developments. This microsymposium will focus on the latest methodological advances in electron crystallography.

Electron Crystallography

Co-Chairs: Helio Tolentino & Chanh Tran Sponsoring Commission: Synchrotron and XFEL Radiation Co-Sponsoring Commission: XAFS Supporting Commission: Biological Macromolecules The convergence of spectroscopy and imaging techniques is revolutionizing our ability to probe the chemical, electronic, and structural properties of materials and biological systems. By integrating high-resolution spectroscopic methods with advanced imaging modalities, researchers can now achieve unprecedented spatial and spectral insights across a wide range of scientific disciplines. This microsymposium will explore the latest developments in multimodal approaches that combine X-ray, electron, and optical spectroscopies with imaging techniques such as holography, ptychography, tomography, and fluorescence mapping. It will highlight recent breakthroughs in instrumentation, data processing, and applications in materials science, catalysis, environmental science, and life sciences.

Synchrotron and XFEL Radiation
XAFS

Quantum Crystallography
Keynote

CommDat
Keynote

Electron Crystallography
Keynote

Co-Chairs: Raphael de Wijn & David Dranow Join us for an engaging discussion as scientists with various careers across academia and industry share their personal journeys, challenges, and triumphs in the field. What makes each career path fulfilling? What are different academic and industrial career paths? What key decisions shape professional growth and satisfaction? This session offers valuable insights for scientists at all stages, with a special focus on guidance for early-career professionals. Gain practical advice, explore diverse career paths, and learn what it takes to build a rewarding and impactful career.

IUCr Early Career Scientist Division