Webinar: Using the CSD to Teach Chemistry: From High School to PhD
Learn practical ways to teach crystallography and molecular structures using data from the Cambridge Structural Database.
Thursday, 23rd July, 16:00 (BST) – Live on GoToWebinar
Some concepts in chemistry, such as symmetry elements in crystal structures, can be challenging for students to engage with. To support learning, many teachers and educators use the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) to help students visualise and analyse molecules and crystal structures. The CSD is also widely used in outreach activities to introduce crystallography to students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to explore crystal structures.
In this webinar, two educators from our community will share how they use the CSD portfolio to teach chemistry across a wide range of levels, from high school students to PhD researchers.
Speakers:
Dr Erhard Irmer, Lecturer for Chemistry at Georg August-University of Göttingen, XLAB – Göttingen experimental laboratory for young people, Germany
Abstract: Exploring the world of organic molecules
An understanding that molecules have a three-dimensional structure is essential for understanding fundamental concepts in chemistry. In addition to ‘hands-on’ molecular models, 3D models on a computer or mobile phone offer valuable opportunities to develop and enhance this understanding.
The Teaching Subset of the Cambridge Structural Database (Battle et al., 2010) offers free access to a wide range of experimentally derived structures that can be used in school and undergraduate university chemistry teaching. The subset is easily accessible via WebCSD and Mercury.
The webinar will explore the question of what prior knowledge of X-ray crystallography theory is required to work with these ‘real’ crystal structures. Then, potential applications in school chemistry lessons will be presented. These include the VSEPR model, aromaticity and intermolecular forces, especially H bonds (Irmer, 2025). Furthermore, Mercury can be used to ‘discover’ symmetry elements in crystal structures. Finally, we will demonstrate how the Teaching Subset can be used as a ‘reference book’ for organic molecular structures.
References:
Battle, G. M., Ferrence, G. M. & Allen, F. H. (2010). J. Appl. Cryst. 43, 1208–1223.
Irmer, E. (2025). J. Appl. Cryst. 58, 1802–1809.
Professor Natalia Alvarez, Adjunct Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the Universidad de la República in Uruguay.
Abstract: The use of the CCDC in teaching structural chemistry from elementary school to PhD
This seminar will highlight the use of CCDC tools in advancing structural chemistry education across multiple age groups and academic levels. We will discuss examples that range from visualisation workshops for children aged 10–12 and basic intermolecular interaction analysis for high school and first-year university students to advanced PhD-level regional courses.
Over the past decade, more than six regional “bring your crystal” schools have been organised across Latin America. Designed for young researchers, these schools focus on X-ray crystallography for small molecule structural determination, validation, and analysis. They are hosted in laboratories equipped with single-crystal diffractometers and feature a stable core of lecturers from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Uruguay, alongside guest experts from diffractometer manufacturers and the CCDC. Additionally, co-editors from Acta Crystallographica Section E (ActaE) instruct participants on International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) publishing standards.
The courses conclude with student presentations featuring structures solved from their own crystals. The latest edition, the MVD School and CCDC workshop held in Montevideo, Uruguay, in February 2026, dedicated a full day to basic and advanced CCDC tools, led by instructors Ilaria Gimondi and Yinka Olatunji-Ojo. For their final presentations, students were asked to use at least one CCDC tool to analyse a specific structural feature of their material, aligning the software’s capabilities with the physicochemical properties they wished to explore. This active-learning strategy allows students to freely investigate their own research interests, fostering a deeper, more permanent grasp of the material.
Who should attend:
- Educators and Teachers in Chemistry and in Crystallography.
- Teaching assistants and teaching fellows.
- Lecturers and professors.
- Head of Education/ Director of Teaching and Learning or Director of Studies.