The Significance of Crystallography

press release: Truax Campus, 1701 Wright Street, Room C1450 (next to the bookstore)

Madison College STEM Center’s Wednesday Speaker Series

Ilia A Guzei, Ph.D, Molecular Structure Laboratory Chemistry Department University of Wisconsin-Madison

Roentgen's 1895 discovery of X-rays has transformed the world from obscure to transparent.  It played a major role in science, medicine, law, and art. Twenty eight Nobel prizes have been awarded for research related to crystallography. In this presentation, I will talk about the significance of X-ray analysis in chemistry and why I became a crystallographer. I will describe how the X-rays were discovered, how chemists grow crystals in the laboratory and at the International Space Station, what information we can learn from structural analysis, and the impact of the new outreach project – statewide Wisconsin Crystal Growing Contest among high and middle school students. The audience members will grow crystals during the talk as well!