Blog February 2020

Each year we hold User Group Meetings, or UGMs, as a chance to meet with scientists from all areas of industry and academia who are using our software. This quick summary outlines what happens on the day, and why you should attend if you haven't before.

Earlier this year, the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) was delighted to receive the news that we had been approved for CoreTrustSeal certification. This certification accredits the CCDC with providing trusted stewardship and access to data as judged against criteria established and endorsed by the wider research data community. It reinforces and reflects the faith that our depositors and partner organisations have shown in CCDC over the years to provide a trusted home for their data.

It has been known for over 100 years that some compounds can be added to a reaction to speed it up without being changed themselves – this is the principle of catalysis.  The early years saw much of the research into the fundamental kinetics and industrial applications.  This blog will highlight the advancements in catalytic science by looking at selected Nobel Prize winners,¹ particularly for organic synthesis, and the contribution of catalysts to the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD).

I always like visiting the headquarters of the Royal Society of Chemistry at Burlington House. Situated on London’s Piccadilly, it shares a courtyard with the Royal Academy as well as four other “learned societies”. It’s an impressive building, and inside there is a great sense of scientific heritage, from the multitude of books that line the walls to the portraits of eminent chemists gazing down. It was here that I found myself on the 6^th of February for an “In Silico Techniques” meeting of the Joint Pharmaceutical Analysis Group (JPAG).

The Periodic Table is a display of the chemical elements that scientists have identified.  The layout of the elements helps people learn and understand the physical and chemical properties of the elements and the relationships between them.  In 1869 Russian Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev published the first recognizable periodic table.  To celebrate this amazing feat, the year 2019 was proclaimed the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT) by the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 

Today marks the International Day of Women and Girls in Science^[1] so it is the perfect time to reflect on women in crystallography and how we are striving for equality at the CCDC.