Excellent idea. From: CCP4 bulletin board <CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK> on behalf of Debanu Das <debanu....@gmail.com> Date: Saturday, December 24, 2022 at 5:57 PM To: CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK <CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK> Subject: Re: [ccp4bb] Future Diffraction Methods Consider merging with the Annual ACA meeting. The ACA meeting can also benefit from more X-ray diffraction methods rigor and training and it will help to elevate the continuity and history of the ACA and its previous and current member participation and contributions in the field. Best, Debanu
On Tue, Dec 20, 2022 at 6:40 PM Orville, Allen (DLSLtd,RAL,LSCI) <000066b6f959eb28-dmarc-requ...@jiscmail.ac.uk<mailto:000066b6f959eb28-dmarc-requ...@jiscmail.ac.uk>> wrote: Hi, Thanks James, for organising our last GRC meeting. In the past few years, I’ve also attended one or more Annual BioXFEL International Conferences (open, but ending?) and Ringberg Workshop on Science with FELs (by invitation only). Both were excellent meetings held in the winter, complemented the GRC in diffraction methods, and benefited from relatively small attendance with very focused discussions. I will also add that dynamic structural biology is a rapidly growing area that can include simultaneous functional, spectroscopic, and structural data collection from the same samples, and using synchrotron, XFEL, and/or electron sources. Moreover, many of the other life-science centric GRC’s also include significant structural data in their frontier programs and discussions (e.g. metals in biology, hemes and tetrapyrroles, enzymes, etc.). We are fundamental to biochemistry R&D… a broad community indeed. AMO ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Allen M. Orville, Ph.D. Wellcome Investigator and Royal Society Wolfson Fellow Principal Scientist, XFEL Hub at Diamond Light Source Harwell Science and Innovation Campus Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0) 1235 567505 Mobile: +44 (0) 7471 026061 email: allen.orvi...@diamond.ac.uk<mailto:allen.orvi...@diamond.ac.uk> AMO site: https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Instruments/Mx/XFEL-Hub/Staff/Orville.html XFEL-Hub site: https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Instruments/Mx/XFEL-Hub.html From: CCP4 bulletin board <CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK<mailto:CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>> on behalf of Frank von Delft <frank.vonde...@cmd.ox.ac.uk<mailto:frank.vonde...@cmd.ox.ac.uk>> Date: Monday, 19 December 2022 at 09:22 To: CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK<mailto:CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK> <CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK<mailto:CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>> Subject: Re: [ccp4bb] Future Diffraction Methods Shoot... that sucks. Yes, we do need something! "Structural Biology Methods"? More interesting question: does it need the GRC to host? What about reimagining the CCP4 study weekend - the question keeps coming up there anyway. That's one for CCP4 WG1 to discuss - they're meeting straight after New Year, so maybe James, you and Ivo should hop on a zoom and kick the idea around. Frank On 16/12/2022 22:10, James Holton wrote: > I want to thank everyone who attended the 2022 Gordon Research > Conference and Gordon Research Seminar on Diffraction Methods in > Structural Biology, as well as all those who contributed to these > great gatherings in the past. It was an outstanding meeting if I do > say so myself. Not just because it had been so long without in-person > interaction, not just because we had zero covid cases (which I see as > no small feat of Mind over Virus), but because of this amazing > community. It is rare in this world to have such a strong spirit of > collaboration, camaraderie and openness in undertakings as high-impact > as this. Surmounting the barriers to atomic-detail imaging of > biological systems has never been more exciting and more relevant. I > am proud to be a part of it, and honored to have served as Chair. > > It is therefore with heavy heart that I report to this community that > I was the last Chair of the Diffraction Methods GRC. > > The GRC Conference Evaluation Committee > (https://www.grc.org/about/conference-evaluation-committee/) voted > this year to discontinue the Diffraction Methods GRC and GRS. This > ends a 46-year tradition that I feel played a vital, and vibrant role > in the work of the people who answer questions on this BB. The reason > given was insufficient attendance. All other metrics, such as > evaluation surveys and demographics were very strong. I have tried to > appeal, but I'm told the vote was unanimous and final. I understand > that like so many conference organizing bodies the GRC is having to > make tough financial decisions. I must say I disagree with this one, > but it was not my decision to make. > > Many of the past and elected Chairs have been gathering and discussing > how to replace the Diffraction Methods GRC/GRS going forward. Many > great ideas, advice and perspectives have been provided, but that is a > select group. I feel it is now time to open up this discussion to the > broader community of structural methods developers and practitioners. > There are some important questions to ask: > > * How do we define this community? > Yes, many of us do cryoEM too, but is that one methods > meeting? or two? > * Does this community need a new diffraction methods meeting? > As in one meeting or zero? > * Should we merge with an existing meeting? > It would make logistics easier, but a typical GRC has 22 hours > of in-depth presentations over 5 days. The GRS is 7 hours over 2 > days. As Chair, I found that was not nearly enough. > * Where do you think structural methods are going? > I think I know, but I may be biased. > * Should the name change? > From 1976 to 2000, it was "Diffraction Methods in Molecular > Biology". The word "diffraction", BTW, comes from the Latin for > "shattering of rays", and originally used to describe the iridescence > of bird feathers. That's spectroscopy! > How about: > "Structural Methods for the Departing of Rays" > > I'm sure there are many more questions, and better suggestions. I > look forward to enlightening discussions! GRCs have always been about > discussion, and I hope to keep that tradition alive in this community. > > -James Holton > MAD Scientist > > ######################################################################## > > To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: > https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1 > > This message was issued to members of > www.jiscmail.ac.uk/CCP4BB<http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/CCP4BB>, a > mailing list hosted by www.jiscmail.ac.uk<http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk>, terms & > conditions are > available at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/ ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1 This message was issued to members of www.jiscmail.ac.uk/CCP4BB<http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/CCP4BB>, a mailing list hosted by www.jiscmail.ac.uk<http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk>, terms & conditions are available at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/ -- This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential, copyright and or privileged material, and are for the use of the intended addressee only. 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