More work for a Co-ordinator!

[Brian McMahon]

As I mentioned in the previous topic, the forum software only allows 10 options in a poll. Here are a few more ideas that I noted down that would require some involvement from a central 'Co-ordinator'. As before, please check any of the options that you think would be useful ideas for such a Co-ordinator at least to explore.

11. Crystals (Natural History Museum book)
- The book Crystals (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crystals-Earth- ... b_title_bk) was produced by a couple of authors at the UK Natural History Museum ca. 1990, with input from the British Crystallographic Museum and Steve Maginn. It is a useful introductory-level text with excellent illustrations, that could, for example, provide much of the content for the 'All About Crystallography' section that I suggested for the IYCr website. The Co-ordinator would liaise with the Natural History Museum to determine the rights position if it were decided to reuse this content; and perhaps to investigate republishing, IYCr branding and possible profit-sharing.

12. NASA protein crystallisation experiments
- I didn't find much about NASA's protein crystallisation experiments (e.g. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stati ... -VEKS.html), but it seems to me that there is an opportunity to persuade NASA to put together something about this programme as a whole, thereby linking the crowd-pleasers of crystals and space travel. The Co-ordinator would contact NASA to explore the possibility of this; one would expect that development of suitable web content would thereafter be left to NASA.

13. Reaching out to schools
- Since crystallography is not, so far as I am aware, taught as a school subject anywhere, considerable effort should be put into making schools aware that it exists at all. I think this will be a major effort of the Teaching Commission throughout IYCr, but I suggest the Co-ordinator could at least identify relevant professional organisations in different countries (e.g. the Association of Science Education in the UK) and liaise with the Teaching Commission and other participants to ensure that as wide as possible a spectrum of schools worldwide is contacted.

14. Special issues of science magazines
- It used to be the case that every autumn Scientific American would produce a special issue dedicated to a single subject. I don't know if it still does. But the Co-ordinator could identify candidate magazines, ideally in many countries/languages, and liaise with their Editors to encourage them to dedicate a special issue to crystallography during the International Year.

15. Photo gallery
- We should establish an 'IYCr' gallery on the IUCr web site (? within the existing resource http://www.iucr.org/gallery) to which organisers of IYCr 'events' should be encouraged to send photographs of their events. Perhaps it should even be made a condition of using the IYCr logo to promote such an event. The Co-ordinator would at least prepre guidelines for organisers about the number and technical specifications of photographs to be supplied. If they were a requirement, the Co-ordinator might also be required to monitor 'official' branding and supply of photographs (or other mandatory requirements).

16. Prospectus
- Following on from the above, the Co-ordinator should prepare a 'Prospectus' for the IYCr. This would guide event organisers in areas such as: appropriate use of official logos, supply of photographs (or reports of their event to the IYCr website or IUCr Newsletter). It would include background material press packs etc. It should certainly be freely available onlline; one should also assess the possible need (and production/distribution costs) for a hard-copy version.

17. Local Lectures
- It would be very good to encourage lectures (ideally with demonstrations) at local museums, science centres etc. For the most part, one would expect local institutions to organise such things, but the IYCr Co-ordinator might help by maintaining a register of crystallographers able and willing to deliver such lectures, and make this available to local societies.

18. IUCr strategic developments
- It may be that the IUCr wishes to take advantage of the visibility and prestige of an International Year to promote some of its longer-term strategies. For example, an official statement or set of guidelines on ethics from the Union may be helpful, given our experience with systematic fraud in recent publications. Or the Diffraction Data Deposition Working Group might wish to issue at least an interim report or declration during the IYCr. The role of a Co-ordinator in such cases would be to act as liaison with press and with other agencies/organisations (e.g. ICSU, CODATA).