[computing] IUCr congress in Prague (2020)

[Harry Powell]

Dear all

It may be worth pointing out some of the duties of the IPC rep, coloured by my experience of having done the job!

The first thing is to make sure that the MS/keynotes/plenaries suggested by the Commission are communicated to the Congress Programme Committee chair.

The hard bit is actually the meeting with the other IPC reps - this is a two-day meeting near the Congress venue the year before the event. The skills needed here revolve around negotiating and being able to come to a compromise - most Commissions will put forward 2 - 3 x as many suggestions as there are available slots.

When I did it, on the first day, most people took the position that "all my Commission's suggestions are absolutely vital and have to be accommodated"; this was followed by a visit to the venue itself, and an evening of reflection and discussion; on the second day grudging agreement was reached as to the final programme (which also left some slots free for "hot news" sessions). 

I hardly knew anyone from the other Commissions before the IPC, and I don't think that it was a disadvantage - what's more important is to be a good person to interact with who can hold their own in a discussion. The IPC meeting itself is a great opportunity to form new contacts outside one's own immediate field.

The IUCr is very happy to have joint sessions, so one way to reduce the argument at the IPC meeting is to come up with suggestions that include other Commissions at an early stage; these joint sessions are much more likely to be accommodated.

I don't know if it is still the case, but the CompComm sessions at the Congress used to get the highest attendances, because the methods and programs that implement them are generally of more interest to more people than those focussed on a more specific scientific issue.

This may or may not be useful....

Harry
--
Dr Harry Powell
Chairman of European Crystallographic Association SIG9 (Crystallographic Computing) 




On 15 Jan 2018, at 15:51, Claudia Millán Nebot wrote:

> Dear Martin and colleagues from the computing commission,
> 
> I would like to volunteer for the computing school program committee as a representative for Biological and macromolecular crystallography. Participating actively in the organization of the computing school is the topic in which I think I can contribute better, as I don't have so many years of experience or contacts as other members of the commission as for being part of the IPC. I have attended myself all the latest computing schools, and I have as well participated in other scientific computing events, and I would really enjoy being part of the effort to organize the computing school in Prague.
> 
> Best wishes,
> 
> Claudia
> 
> 2018-01-15 11:08 GMT+01:00 Martin Lutz <m.lutz at uu.nl>:
> Dear commission members,
> 
> I hope that you all had a good start into the new year! Since this is my first e-mail after the Hyderabad meeting, I also want to welcome all of you in the new commission. I am looking forward to the collaboration with you.
> 
> At the beginning of the new year, we have to organize a few things. You have received the e-mail of Radek Kuzel and Ivana Kuta Smatanova on 6-Dec. They ask for nominations for a member of our commission to the program committee for the Prague congress. The rules for the nominations were included in their e-mail. We should propose more than one candidate, from which one will be selected. Please send your suggestions to this mailing list or to me personally. Deadline is the end of January.
> 
> We also should start the planning for the computing school in 2020. Please send me suggestions for a general theme for this school.
> 
> For the computing school I would like to establish a program committee as well. Because crystallographic computing addresses all areas of crystallography this should be reflected in the program. Beside myself, I would like to include three additional members:
> * Biological and macromolecular crystallography
> * Chemical and materials crystallography
> * Non-diffraction techniques and powder methods
> Please send me your suggestions.
> 
> Best wishes,
> Martin
> 
> --
> Martin Lutz
> Crystal and Structural Chemistry
> Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research
> Faculty of Science
> Utrecht University
> Padualaan 8
> 3584 CH Utrecht
> The Netherlands
> Tel. [+31] 030-2533902
> e-mail: m.lutz at uu.nl
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