Jan 202014
 

RKV-001Once again, the weather contrived to cause problems, this time with flooding causing closures to both the Botley and the Abingdon Roads.  Despite this, the speakers and organisers and, more importantly cake and lunch (!) all arrived in time even though some of the delegates were unable come (for those who missed it, the program for Red Kite V is available to download).

People who only had a short bus, cycle or walk arrived in good time for the first of the mini-plenary sessions which was presented by Prof. Andrew Weller from Oxford who discussed the preparation of an alkane complex by solid-state hydrogenation.  The session was continued by Jerome Wicker (also Oxford) (who eventually managed to remember his title) and was talking about predicting whether or not materials will crystalise.  This was followed by two more speakers from Oxford, Markus Gerstel talking about radiation damage in protein samples and Joshua Hill discussing framework materials.

After mid morning cake with coffee for those who were quickest and tea for those who weren’t (sorry about that – we will make sure there is more next time!), we started the second session.  This began with our second mini-plenary speaker, Dr. Arwen Pearson from the Research Complex and the Astbury Centre, Leeds, who gave a nice presentation that demonstrated how reactions can be followed in the solid state in proteins.  This was followed by three more speakers from Oxford:  Andrew Jupp talking about novel organophosphorus species, Rémi Tirfoin explaining how important single crystal X-ray diffraction is to organometallic chemists and Andrew Johnston telling us about benzoylmethylecgonine – a simple compound whose structure is more complex that you would think.

Lunch was accompanied by posters and the room was a constant buzz as people mixed munching with science, before the final session began.  The mini-plenary was presented by Prof. Mike Glazer (Oxford) who demonstrated how important it can be to get space groups right and what effect it can have on a phase diagram.  This was followed Dr. Mark Warren (Diamond) explaining how the facilities on the small-molecule beamline I19 can help you follow a reaction.  Next was Dr. Lynne Thomas from the Research Complex and Bath, who showed how you can use a range of techniques to understand the structure of materials as complex as Sitka Spruce (aka aircraft wood).  The final speaker of the day was Dr. Tristan Youngs (ISIS) who explained how complex amorphous systems could be studied using neutrons.  The meeting was brought to a close with the awarding of the obligatory tweeting poster prizes which were given to the nicely alliterating Joe, Jerome and Jamie (Paddison, Wicker and Lawler, respectively);  congratulations to them.

The day finished with a drinks reception giving people who had missed the best posters a chance to talk to the winners.  Once again, everyone seemed to enjoy the day.  We are looking forward to seeing everyone again at the next meeting which will be held on the Harwell site over the summer.

Finally, the organisers would like to thank all the excellent speakers, delightful attendees, esteemed poster judges, kind souls who helped set up the rooms, and especially the John Fell Fund who provided sustenance:  together you made this another fantastic meeting.

Sep 092013
 

diamondThe fourth meeting of the Red Kite Network was held on Monday 9th September 2013, at Diamond Light Source.

The meeting included a tour of the synchrotron and a full programme of talks by local speakers, focussed on the use of synchrotron radiation as a structural probe.

Programme
1:15 pm Dr. Harriott Nowell (Diamond) Introduction and Welcome
1:20 pm Dr. Steve Thompson (Diamond) “I11 Upgrade Project”
1.50 pm Dr. Philip Chater (Diamond) “Structural Chemistry Through the Length Scales”
2.20 pm Tours, Tea, Coffee and Posters in R22
3.50 pm Dr. Anna Warren (Diamond) “X-ray Imaging as a Tool for Crystal Location”
4.10 pm Jon Treacy (Diamond/Manchester) “SXRD of Metal Oxides”
4.30 pm Rich Knighton (Oxford) “Towards Selective Anion Binding By Templated Interlocked Structures”
4.50 pm Karim Sutton (Oxford) “Big Methods for Small Molecules”
5.10 pm Drinks reception and Posters

The meeting closed with the award of prizes for best posters.

Jan 172013
 

The third Red Kite Meeting was very well attended and comments from attendees indicated that it was very well received.  As well as Richard Cooper chairing the first session, contributions from Chem. Cryst. included posters from Will Brennan, George Pidgeon, Olivia Shehata, Karim Sutton and Jerome Wicker and a presentation from Kirsten Christensen on modulated molecular materials.  The esteemed poster judges picked George’s poster on hydrogen bonding in fluoride complexes as one of two joint prize-winning efforts thanks to the clarity of his presentation.

Pidgeon Catches Kite at RKIII

Pidgeon Catches Kite at RKIII

Dec 212012
 

The third meeting of the Red Kite network will be held on Thursday 10th January, 2013 in the Main Lecture Theatre in the Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford.  Attendance will be courtesy of the John Fell Oxford University Research Fund.  The meeting will consist of three sessions, each commencing with a half hour Plenary delivered by a leading academic, followed by three shorter talks by younger researchers.

Please check out the program for more details and email Amber L. Thompson (amber.thompson @ chem.ox.ac.uk) BY MONDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER, if you would like to attend the lunch and the drinks reception after the meeting (these will only be available to registered attendees).

 

Sep 012012
 

The second meeting of the Red Kite network will be held on Tuesday 18th September, 2012 at ISIS.  Attendance will be free of charge and there will be a transport from Oxford and a drinks reception thanks to generous sponsorship from ISIS. There will also be a tour of the ISIS facility, followed by a microsymposium, comprising a number of short talks by local speakers, focussed on the use of neutrons in structural science and ending with a drinks reception and poster session.

Please check out the program for more details and email Amber L. Thompson (amber.thompson @ chem.ox.ac.uk) or Marek Jura (marek.jura @ stfc.ac.uk) BY MONDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER, if you want to come on the bus, otherwise we need a complete list of names by FRIDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER to arrange security clearance for the tours of ISIS.

ISIS experimental hall

ISIS experimental hall

Jul 262012
 

The results have just been announced for the latest round of applications to the John Fell Oxford University Research Fund.  Our application for funding for meetings for the Red Kite network over the next three years was successful, which is excellent news and should secure its immediate future.

Dec 012011
 

Red Kite Crystallographers logo[Update:  Thank-you to all the speakers and attendees who made this a great event; details are available on the main Red Kite web page.  See you all again next year!]

The inaugural meeting of the Red Kite Crystallographers will be held on Thursday 12th January, 2012 in the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford.

Attendance will be free of charge.  The meeting will consist of three sessions, each commencing with a half hour Plenary delivered by a leading academic, followed by a three shorter talks by younger researchers.

 

Programme

9:00 Set up Posters etc.
9:50 Introduction
10:00 Prof. Harry L. Anderson (Oxford) “Porphyrin Nanorings”
10:30 Claire Murray (Reading/Diamond) “Pairwise Assembly of Organopalladium(II) Centres with the Cyanurato(3-) Ligand”
10:45 Nick White (Oxford) “Towards Selective Anion Binding inside Interlocked Molecules”
11:00 Dr. Fraser White (Oxford Diffraction/Agilent) “Copper or Molybdenum? A Comparative Study”
11:15 Tea Break
11:45 Prof. Bill I. F. David (ISIS) “Structure-property Relationships in Lightweight Hydrides – Playing the Odds”
12:15 Stefan Sedlmaier (Oxford) “Synthesis, Identification and Characterisation of novel, condensed Oxonitridophosphates and Phosphorus Oxonitrides”
12:30 Karim Sutton (Oxford/Diamond) “Exploiting the Tunable Wavelength Capabilities of Beamline I19”
12:45 Michael Kelly (Oxford) “Exploring Catalysts for Novel Hydrogen Storage Materials”
1:00 Lunch (Not included)
2:00 Posters
2:30 Dr. Andrew L. Goodwin (Oxford) “Size Matters: The Anomalous Mechanics of Frameworks”
3:00 Dr. Jeppe Christensen (RCaH) “Dynamical Structural Science at RCaH”
3:20 Dr. Matthias Gutmann (ISIS) “A combined neutron, X-ray and Computational Study of Croconic Acid”
3:40 Dr. Robin Owen (Diamond) “Exploiting Fast Detectors and Bright Beamlines for Room Temperature MX at the Synchrotron”
4:00 Close

 

 

 

Those not speaking are encouraged to bring posters and the best will be rewarded.

Lunch is not included, but will be available from either the Chemistry Canteen, the Biochemistry Café or the University Staff Club on the day.  Alternatively you can bring a packed lunch.  Parking is notoriously difficult in Oxford, so please keep that in mind if travelling and we would recommend the train or Park & Ride.

In order to ensure there is enough tea/coffee/cake/poster boards, please let Amber L. Thompson (amber.thompson @ chem.ox.ac.uk) or Richard I. Cooper (richard.cooper @ chem.ox.ac.uk) know BY MONDAY if you are coming and whether you are going to bring a poster.