The Royal Society has added more information to its web site (address above)
including a directory of the names and addresses of current fellows. Full
text of Royal Society reports and statements are published on the web site
as they are released, including their comments on the Research Assessment
Exercise. Paper copies of this document may be obtained by sending a stamped
addressed envelope to the Science Advice Section. You can now read the
text of the newsletters 'ICSU focus' and 'Royal Society News' on the Web. If
you cannot see where they are from the contents on the first page, there is
a useful search facility which can find them when you ask for the text
string 'ICSU'. One of the more recent ones is at
http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/st_icsu4.htm where you can read more about the
relations between the Royal Society and the International Unions referred to
by our BCA president, Mike Glazer, on page 2 of this newsletter.
On-line applications encouraged.
As an experiment to facilitate
application processes, electronic forms may be downloaded direct to PCs for
Royal Society Research Grants, and Conference Grants
New Fellows elected in 1998 - 40 new Fellows were
elected this year, among them Keith Bowen, who has made
unique contributions in applied physics and instrumentation to nanoscience
and metrology. Others you may know are, Dr. Hari Bhadeshia, Cambridge and
Dr R.K.Thomas, Oxford.
Olga Kennard Fellowships The fellowships were established in 1997 with the first appointment available from 1 October 1998. The scheme is aimed at outstanding research scientists in crystallography or structural molecular biology with more than three years postdoctoral experience. Appointees are encouraged to spend up to two years of the fellowship working at institutions outside of the UK within Europe. The first holder of this prestigious fellowship will be Dr John Rafferty working on the structural investigation of DNA recombination at the University of Sheffield.
Keith Wylde, Manager Research Appointments
Fellow Honoured. Her Majesty the Queen has approved the appointment of Sir Tom Blundell FRS as the next Chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.
Biographical Memoir. Ken Holmes, Heidelberg is writing a biographical memoir of Sir John Kendrew and would appreciate help from readers who knew him.
New Frontiers in Science Exhibition was held on 17th and
18th June 1998.
As usual it was a fascinating collection of exhibits
including:
'Christmas trees on the wing' a study of iridescent
butterflies and moths with possible
future military applications to
the hiding of 'stealth' bombers from enemy radar.
'Microscopic glass
fibre crystals: the world's longest holes', this revolutionary type of
optical fibre can guide high power multicoloured laser light with
unprecedented precision over long distances. It was interesting, but I
thought it misnamed. The fibres are glassy, not crystalline, they are packed
together so that their cross section looks similar to close -packed spheres
so they were just called 'crystals'.
'Ice - hot cold and
confused'. This exhibit was very popular with visitors. It's
serious purpose was to explain the recently discovered new phase of ice, but
it also tried to interest people in the extraordinary properties of water
in a light hearted way. I am hoping to set up a new page on the BCA Website,
devoted to the structure of ice, with help from the exhibitors on this
stand.
ECANews now on-line. Prof. Gianluca Calestani, editor of the newsletter of the European Crystallographic Association, writes that the first issue of ECANEWS is now on the Internet at http://area.ba.cnr.it/eca. ECANEWS is intended to establish a permanent contact among Executive Committee, Council and the wide Crystallographic Community for direct and fast information exchange and to advise about the next ECA activities.
News from IUBMB, (International Union of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
All of the news items can now be
found on the Website at
http://www.iubmb.unibe.ch
The
immediate Past President, Kunio Yugi, intends to donate funds to endow an
annual lecture to be given at the IUBMB Conference or Congress. This year
the lecture will be given by Charles Weissman in Jerusalem in October. The
18th Congress will be held in Birmingham, UK in 2000, the 19th in Toronto,
Canada in 2003.
Networking with the International Union of Biological Sciences
http://www.iubs.org
This is being carried out
by a group in the University of East London; for further information contact
Mike Boulter at the Palaeobiology Research Unit email: [email protected]
Free Trial - the all new Nature Structural Biology
online
On 20 July 1998 I received an email containing the
contents of the July issue of 'Nature Structural Biology and explaining that
the complete text of the issue is freely available for a trial period on
their web site
http://structbio.nature.com This site
also has details of how to submit manuscripts. You can register (free) to
receive the monthly contents pages.
Offers invited for a Joyce-Loebl microdensitometer
We have a Joyce-Loebl microdensitometer (model Mk III CS), which is no
longer required. The instrument has not been used for some time but is in
good condition - any offers please? For further information please
contact:
Andrew Middleton, British Museum, Department of Scientific
Research, London
WC1B 3DG, UK ; Tel: 0171 323 8342; e-mail: [email protected]
Free software from Two suppliers!
1. A major upgrade to the freeware diffraction program for Macs has been released. CrystalDiffract version 2.0 has a completely-new, MacOS8-style interface, with a floating toolbar, shortcut buttons and improved Help facilities. It can be downloaded from the CrystalMaker web site at: http://www.crystalmaker.co.uk.
Further information about the program is available on the news page:
http://www.crystalmaker.co.uk/news.cd.intro.html or contact the suppler:
Cambridge University Technical Services Ltd,20 Trumpington Street, Cambridge,
CB2 1QA, UK Tel: +44 1223-334755 Fax: +44 1223-332797
e-mail:[email protected]
2. The software for PCs advertised last year in these pages, 'Diamond', is now marketed by a new company, Crystal Impact, who have made an improved version and are offering a free-of-charge trial version, which can be downloaded from their web http://www.crystalimpact.com/diamon
Address for further details: CRYSTAL IMPACT GbR, Postfach 1251, 53002 Bonn
Phone: +49 (228) 735825 Fax: +49 (228) 739586 email: [email protected]
EPSRC Chemistry Programme Update no 8- the EPSRC
website has recently been redesigned so that users can navigate it more
easily.
Find it at http://www.epsrc.ac.uk.
Try it
to see if you can find details of the 1998 EPSRC Senior Fellowship
Award to the BCA previous President Professor Judith
Howard, Durham University, which is accompanied by a photograph
which is an excellent likeness.
The same issue has news of major changes in the National X-ray
Crystallography Service. A new diffractometer has been installed, a
Nonius Kappa CCD machine.
The Service operation will move to the
Chemistry Department at the University of Southampton, where the Service
Director, Mike Hursthouse, takes up a post as Professor of
Structural Chemistry in September. Current registered users will be kept
informed of the timing of the move, others who may wish to use the Service
should contact Mike, preferably by email ( [email protected] )
Details of the CCG Autumn meeting are at URL
http://www.isis.rl.ac.uk/Crystallography/CCG98.htm
The EPSRC has been looking at the age distribution of Principal Investigators to see whether there as any truth in the accusation that only old, well established researchers can get grants, so young people become discouraged and leave the field.
For proposals submitted after 1 September 1998, there are new arrangements for feeding referee's comments back to proposers prior to the proposals being considered by Prioritisation Panels for all EPSRC Programmes and the majority of schemes.
On page 10 there is a delightful
'Song of the Lord High Programme Manager'
in the style of W.S.Gilbert beginning:
As someday it may happen that our budget will get sliced,
I've got a little list - I've got a little list
Of some chemist types whose research work might well be sacrificed
Without ever being missed - it never would be missed.
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