Composition
Stephen Burley (Rutgers University)
Branton Campbell (Brigham Young University)
Aina Cohen (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource) (CHAIR)
Joe Ferrara (Rigaku Americas Corp.)
Ashfia Huq (Industrial Crystallographer)
Mitch Miller (Rice University)
Thomas Proffen (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Description
The USNCR/Cr subcommittee on Research Infrastructure focuses on user facilities, databases, and other critical resources for crystallographic/structural science within the US. With an emphasis on the needs of this research community, the committee monitors the activities, accessibility, and funding of these resources. World-class national user facilities for scattering and microscopy, funded mainly by the US Department of Energy, the US Department of Commerce, and the National Institutes of Health, enable the experimental determination of the atomic structures of molecules and materials. Major crystallographic databases (such as the PDB, CCDC, ICDD, Materials Project, and COD) serve as archives for experimental data, atomic coordinates, and associated metadata, and are critical for ensuring the integrity and reproducibility of atomic-level structural determinations. National high-performance computing centers enable the rapid prediction and modeling of structure, dynamics, properties, and behaviors of molecules and materials.
Ongoing activities and initiatives
- Report regularly on the status and needs of major crystallographic databases, as well as the possibility of new databases.
- Report regularly on the health and development of national scattering and microscopy facilities.
- Communicate with national-facility and government leaders regarding trends and forecasts that the crystallographic/structural-science research community should be aware of.