Crystallography in the University Curricula
In 2001 and 2003, the United States National Committee for Crystallography (USNC/Cr) Education Subcommittee conducted two surveys to determine the content and extent of coverage of crystallography in university curricula, as well as the views of the broader crystallographic community on the status of crystallography education and training in the US, in both the physical and the life sciences. These surveys suggested that perhaps as a result of rapid technological advances in the field of modern crystallography, there appears to be a declining number of master practitioner crystallographers, as well as a lack of sufficient education and training in crystallography for individuals who wish to understand and/or use crystallography as a tool in their hypothesis-driven research. Recognizing the opportunity to communicate to the broader scientific community the research opportunities afforded by crystallography, as well as the value of crystallographic information, the education committees of the American Crystallographic Association (ACA) and USNC/Cr organized an education summit, which took place June 1-2, 2005 at the conclusion of the ACA national meeting in Orlando, FL. Individuals known for their experience and contributions in crystallography education and training participated in this summit. In 2006, the U.S. National Committee for Crystallography and the American Crystallographic Association prepared and released the paper Crystallography Education Policies for the Physical and Life Sciences: Sustaining the Science of Molecular Structure in the 21st Century. A PDF version of this paper is available.