We are pleased to announce that in 2014, the International Year of Crystallography, the second joint conference of the Italian Crystallographic Association (AIC) and of the Italian Synchrotron Radiation Society (SILS) will be held in Florence.
An ancient tradition links the study of crystallography to this city, which during the sixteenth century saw the Medici family attracting on the banks of the Arno river Nicolas Steno, who stated the first law of crystallography. In the same period the Medici started to collect some crystalline specimens, first nucleus of one of the most precious and ancient collections of natural crystals.
The program selected by the Scientific committees will encourage the participation and contacts between members of the two groups involved, enabling the exchange of ideas in scientific fields all of which concern the study of the properties of condensed matter (such as crystal growth, nanoscience, methods and techniques for the determination of atomic, electronic and vibrational structure, molecular recognition, polymer and materials science, molecular medicine and structural biology).
Thus, a hundred years after the international awards for the fundamental importance of studying matter by means of crystals, we are confident that Florence, the cradle of Renaissance ideas, will be the venue in which scientists from different fields will innovate and find stimuli for growth and collaboration.
For more informations: http://www.cristallografia.org/congresso2014/