Dear Geochemists,
Deadlines for our bursaries are only a month away, so please consider applying!
Meeting Attendance Bursaries (PhDs and ECRs) (deadline 15th May)
The Geochemistry Group welcomes applications from researchers registered at UK and Irish
universities or research institutions to facilitate the presentation of their
geochemistry-related research at a meeting hosted online, within the UK or
internationally. The bursary is open to students regardless of funding situation as well
postdoctoral researchers without financial support for conference attendance. Full
eligibility criteria are listed in the application form which can be downloaded from our
website:
https://geochemistrygroup.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=130&acti…
These are often under subscribed, so you stand a great chance of success!
NEW! Technical Staff Meeting Attendance Bursary (deadline 15th May)
The Geochemistry Group welcomes applications from technical staff (laboratory
technicians/managers, project officers, etc.), based at UK and Irish universities or
research institutions and working in geochemistry laboratories (either on a short-term or
on a permanent basis), to facilitate their attendance at meetings within the UK or
internationally.
Funding for the following types of expenses can be applied for through this bursary: (i)
offsetting the cost of travel to, and accommodation at, conferences, workshops or training
courses being attended in person (the Geochemistry Group encourages low-carbon travel
modes but it is also possible to claim for carbon offsetting costs if flying is
inevitable); (ii) contributions towards the cost of registration and abstract fees for
both online and in-person professional meeting, or (iii) a combination of both. Full
eligibility criteria are listed in the application form which can be downloaded from our
website:
https://geochemistrygroup.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=130&acti…
Design our new logo!
I am sure you will agree that our logo now seems a little outdated, so we are asking the
community to suggest a fresh logo design! This is a rare opportunity to step out of the
lab and let your artistic side out!
Please email your design ideas (however rough at this stage!) to George Cooper
(CooperG3@cardiff.ac.uk<mailto:CooperG3@cardiff.ac.uk>) by May 15th, We will then
review the entries at our next committee meeting before a final vote. Please do send your
ideas in, or we will have to hand over control to the questionable hands of AI!
MinSoc Skills and Training
The next event (21st April 2026) is: An introduction to Single Crystal X-ray and Electron
diffraction techniques
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2FnOTgbAGRTYici9nM5PB4gQ&data=05%7C02%7Cgeochemistry.group%40mailman.cardiff.ac.uk%7C7de492a8721e4ec2322408de993333e2%7Cbdb74b3095684856bdbf06759778fcbc%7C1%7C0%7C639116642354037535%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=NzRGi2xmPj5MwHlfawtPiHUGlQnnYkd%2Bm03sBVC%2Bfjg%3D&reserved=0>
by Robert Bannister, Daniel Rainer and Peter Horton (UK National Crystallography Centre,
University of Southampton). Register here:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/nOTgbAGRTYici9nM5PB4gQ#/registration<ht…
Determining the atomic arrangement within crystalline materials is fundamental to
understanding their properties and behaviour. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) has
long been the gold standard for precise structure determination, offering detailed
insights into symmetry and coordination environments. However, the main barrier to the use
of SCXRD as a technique is the ability to grow suitably sized crystals of sufficient
quality. Due to the significantly increased interaction between electrons and matter, when
compared with X-rays, electron diffraction (3DED) allows us to study crystals magnitudes
smaller than SCXRD experiments. This enables structure solution from nanocrystalline
materials. Together, these methods provide a powerful set of techniques for resolving
complex structures, but each comes with its own challenges in data collection,
interpretation, and refinement. In this talk we will begin with discussing routine SCXRD
experiments and then explore 3DED, in both instances looking at sample preparation,
through data collection and into structure solution.
All the best
George