IUCr 2023 and related events

IUCr 2023 Keynote and MS

The CXAFS organized a keynote lecture and six microsymposia at the IUCr Congress in Melbourne in 2023. 

Keynote lecture

Dr Daniel Bowron, from the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, gave a keynote talk titled ‘Exploring Chemical Function in Structurally Disordered Systems through Atomistic Modelling of Diffraction and Spectroscopy Data’. The talk was very well attended, attracting interest from other commissions. 

Microsymposia

The CXAFS organized two MS, ‘X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy in Life Sciences’ and ‘Applications of Machine Learning to X-ray Spectroscopy and Scattering’. We organized an additional two MS together with the Commission on Synchrotron and XFEL Radiation: ‘New Opportunities in X-ray Spectroscopy at Ultra Low Emittance Synchrotron Sources’ and ‘Dynamical processes and transient structures underlying energy conversion: X-ray spectroscopies from fs to µs’. Two more MS were organized with the Commission on Powder Diffraction (‘Materials for Advanced Energy Technologies’), and with that and the Commission on High Pressure (‘Putting Pressure on Complementary X-ray Spectroscopy and Scattering Methods’).

IUCr 2023 Workshop: X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) Workshop

26th IUCr Congress: Melbourne, Australia, 22 August 2023

Venue: Room 220; Time: 8 am – 4 pm

This workshop is intended to be an introduction to X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy principles and techniques for crystallographers with tutorials and hand-on-training session on data analysis. The talks will be delivered by experienced XAFS professionals from all over the world and will include basic principles of the technique, basic and advanced data analysis techniques and examples of application of XAFS technique in several cutting-edge research areas of physical science, material and chemical sciences.

REGISTRATION BURSARIES

Chairs

• Dr Dibyendu Bhattacharyya (BARC, India)
• Dr Sofia Diaz-Moreno (Diamond, UK)
• Dr Giuliana Aquilanti (Elettra, Italy)
• Dr Christopher Chantler (Melbourne University, Australia)

Local Organising Committee

• Dr Chanh Tran (La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia)
• Dr Christopher Chantler (University of Melbourne, Australia)
• Dr Ruwini Ekanayake (University of Melbourne, Australia)
• Ms Madeline van Dongen (Swinburne University, Australia)

The workshop was organized as part of the 26th Congress and General Assembly of the IUCr in Melbourne, and it took place on the 22nd of August. The workshop included an introduction to XAFS principles and techniques for crystallographers, with tutorials and hands-on training sessions on data analysis. Applications of the technique in several cutting-edge research areas of physical science, materials and chemical sciences were also discussed. The workshop was very well attended, with more than 20 international participants registered, and the feedback from the students was very positive.

The CXAFS secured sponsorship and financial support from the IUCr for travel and subsistence for young and early career researchers. The bursaries were awarded to three researchers coming from India, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Statement on Gender Balance at IUCr 2023 XAFS workshop

The IUCr 2023 XAFS workshop Organizing Committee fully supports and promotes gender equality in accordance with the IUCr policy Gender Balance. 

We will ensure gender equality in our committees (including the Organizing Committee itself), among our lecturers and participants and pay special attention to the gender balance in evaluating bursary applications.

In accordance with IUCr policy, our gender statistics are here. We have developed a committee and lecturer policy, setting up the 40% ratio as a bare minimum to be looked for by the organizers. More specifically, the ratio in both, the International Programme and Local Organizing Committees is 50% (4 people; 2/2). This ratio has also been looked for in the lecturers (though with more flexibility, given that not all fields have the same representation). At least 4 of 9 lecturers are women (~ 45%). The above ratios compared to previous information on past IUCr XAFS workshops in 2014 and 2017, where 1/3 ratio of chairs and 3/10 (4/9) ratio of lecturers were obtained, clearly shows the positive evolution of the XAFS community to a fair gender balance.

Further information can be found on the web site of IUCr’s Gender Equity and Diversity Committee GEDC. This page contains a code of conduct, a GEDC conference speaker statement and a toolkit for conference organisers.

Scientific Freedom Policy Statement

The Organizing Committee of the IUCr 2023 XAFS workshop shall observe the basic policy of non-discrimination and affirms the right and freedom of scientists to associate in international scientific activity without regard to such factors as ethnic origin, religion, citizenship, language, political stance, gender, sex or age, in accordance with the Statutes of the International Council for Science. At IUCr 2023 XAFS workshop no barriers will exist which would prevent the participation of bona fide scientists.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Statement

We welcome all crystallographers and scientists working in related fields, regardless of their ethnic origin, race, citizenship, language, political views, gender, sex, sexual preferences, physical disabilities and age. We strive to create a culture of diversity, equality and inclusion.

Q2XAFS 2023

The International Workshop on Improving Data Quality and Quantity in XAFS Spectroscopy (Q2XAFS2023) will be held at the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne (Australia), August 17-18, 2023. This is a Satellite Meeting of the IUCr Congress. The workshop aims to bring together experts in the field of X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy to discuss aspects of the technique that affect data quality in XAFS experiments.

Q2XAFS2023 will provide a forum for discussions with the goal of reviewing international standards and protocols and developing revised recommendations for best practice when performing XAFS experiments. The workshop will be attended by scientists working at international facilities as well as academics.

The event aims to cover the following elements:

REGISTRATION BURSARIES

International Programme Committee

Local Organising Committee

Session outline

Session 1: Sharing and re-using XAS data

• Data formats (plain text, XDI, xasCIF, NeXus/HDF5, CIF)
• Metadata (Essential meta data, ontology of XAFS related terminology)
• XAFS databases
• Comparability of XAFS data (Round Robin)

Session 2: Improving the interpretation of XAS data

• Quantification of uncertainties during EXAFS data evaluation and propagation of uncertainties
• Quantification and correction of experimental uncertainties (dark currents, dead time etc.)
• Quantifying uncertainties in XANES evaluation methods (PCA etc.)
• Novel methods (Machine Learning, AI...)

Session 3: Improving the quality of XAS measurements

• Bio and other fragile samples (beam damage)
• Extreme conditions (ultrafast, high-pressure, in-operando)
• Fast measurements (Q-XAFS, dispersive XAFS)

Session 4: Improving the reporting of XAS results

• General reporting guidelines for XAS publications
• IUCr and CXAFS reports
• Assessing experimental data quality
• Including uncertainties in pre-processed data and reported results
• Specific challenges and reporting for photon in/photon out spectroscopies
• Specific challenges and reporting for lab-based XAFS

Programme

Download in PDF format

Note: each presentation is 20+5 minutes in length.

Location: Australian Synchrotron (Melbourne)

Day 1: Thursday 17th August 2023

Day 2: Friday 18th August 2023

Call for Poster Award

Conference Report

The international conference was jointly organized with the International XAFS Society, and was held at the Australian Synchrotron, ANSTO, as a satellite meeting of the 26th Congress and General Assembly of the IUCr in Melbourne. Just under 70 participants came together, discussing via presentations and posters the latest in XAFS data formats and shareability, machine learning and data processing, improved XAFS measurements and data acquisition, and ways to effectively report data. More than half of the participants were international, with representatives of 13 different countries: Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, and United States of America. The proceedings of the conference will be published in Radiation Chemistry and Physics.

The CXAFS secured sponsorship and financial support from the IUCr for travel and subsistence for young researchers. Three bursaries were awarded to researchers coming from Australia, while an additional three were given to international researchers - Sweden, Germany and Japan.