'Young crystallographers' rejuvenate crystallography in Germany

Abstract

Since its founding in 2013, the Young Crystallographers (YC) have become one of the most active working groups not only within their parent organization, the German Crystallographic Society (DGK), but also among other young crystallographers' groups in Europe and the world. The aim of the YC is and always has been to support early-career researchers in the diverse fields of crystallography and the rejuvenation of the field on a national scale. Over the past decade, we have curated events, platforms, and educational content tailored to foster collaboration and knowledge transfer among young crystallographers. In this article, we introduce our group and show how this active and diverse community has shaped the rejuvenation of crystallography in Germany, strengthened by the support of our national society.

Keywords: crystallographic associations; education; teaching; young scientists.

Figure 1

Timeline of the Young Crystallographers, including the respective chairs, major milestones, and conferences that were co-organized (DGK Microsymposia, hands-on lab meetings, meetings of the YC, and collaborative events with other associations such as the French Young Crystallographers and German Young Crystal Growers, DGKK).

Figure 2

Selected comments on the special issue ‘Spotlight on Germany’s Young Crystallographers’ (Nentwich, 2022 ▸).