Crystallography, International Union of IUC

a scientific organization supporting international cooperation in the field of crystallography and the exchange of information on the theory, experimental methods, and application of the results of crystallographic research. The union also organizes joint investigations involving many laboratories throughout the world, undertakes the accumulation and publication of crystallo-graphic information, and works toward the standardization of crystallographic units of measurement, nomenclature, and symbols.

The International Union of Crystallography was organized in 1947 with the participation of Soviet scientists. As of 1972, national committees of crystallographers of 30 countries were members of the union. The Soviet national committee joined the organization in 1954.

The IUC is headed by a president. From 1966 to 1969 the Soviet academician N. V. Belov served as president; the English scientist D. Crowfoot-Hodgkin became president in 1972. The highest body of the IUC is the general assembly, which is convened once every three years. Its resolutions are implemented by the executive committee, whose ten elected members meet every year. The executive committee creates temporary and permanent commisions on such questions as crystallographic apparatus, the use of computers in crystallographic computation, nomenclature, and instructional approaches. The budget of the IUC is based on membership dues (paid by the participating countries according to the number of votes of each in the general assembly) and UNESCO grants.

Every third year, the IUC convenes not only the general assembly but also an international congress of crystallographers. Symposia and other international meetings are organized every year with the union’s support. The IUC publishes handbooks, scientific tables, and journals. Its major periodical is the journal Acta Crystallographica, which it has published since 1948 (in two series since 1968). The Journal of Applied Crystallography has been issued since 1968. Since 1940, the IUC has published more than 30 volumes of Structure Report, which contains abstracts of studies of the atomic structure of crystals.