Volume II No 4 A Special Issue for the AsCA'92 November 1992 >>>> PDF of original

President's Message

Dear Colleagues,

November 14, 1992 is a big date for the AsCA. The Inaugural Conference of the Asian Crystallographic Association, AsCA'92 is open.

You will be pleased to learn that both the number of registrations and the number of papers accepted exceeded all of our expectations. I believe that the AsCA'92 will be highly successful thanks to your kind cooperation. Our schedules crowded but I am sure that all of you will do your utmost in presenting and discussing the results of your excellent work in the time that we have. And no doubt all of you will carry back knowledge and enthusiasm generated here to your respective countries to promote the study of crystallography and allied subjects.

This Conference is a splendid chance for all of us to improve our scientific mutual understandings, plus our many close friendships, to grow as researchers and scholars, and to expand international cooperation.

At the second Council Meeting on July 21,1990, as one of the activities of AsCA in 1990-1993, the importance of the AsCA Newsletter was emphasized. In addition to this, it was agreed that the Inaugural AsCA Conference should be promoted. However, it was thought that the AsCA was not standing on solid ground financially and scientifically. Thanks to Prof. Sydney R. Hall, the first President of AsCA, and the President of the Society of Australian Crystallographers and the President of the Crystallographic Society of Japan, both Societies kindly decided to have their joint annual meetings under the auspices of AsCA. The International Union generously granted us financial support for young scientists. My thanks are also due to the International Union of Crystallography.

Finally, I would like to express my deep thanks to the Singaporian, Australian and Japanese Organizing Committees and also to the International Program Committee for their generous efforts to prepare many things, to arrange the Program, to open this Conference, and to arrange and keep the Conference going steadily. Without their strong support and help we would have been at a loss.

At this opportunity I would like to call your attention again to the Sixteenth General Assembly and Congress of the International Union, Beijing, China 1993. This is a major event in crystallography in Asia ! I hope we'll meet again in Beijing next August. With'warmest friendship,

Nobutami KASAI

President, AsCA

Message from the lUCr President

Dear Colleagues,

It is a particularly great pleasure for me to attend the Inaugural Conference of the Asian Crystallographic Association in Singapore, and I would like to thank your President, Professor Kasai, for having invited me and for giving me this opportunity of extending to you the warmest greetings and wishes of the International Union of Crystallography.

The lUCr was founded in 1948 with the aim of promoting international cooperation in crystallography in every part of the world, and contributing to the advancement of all aspects of crystallography. To achieve this purpose, it publishes journals, its Commissions coordinate the activities in the field of crystallography, and the triennial Congresses give the opportunity to crystallographers from all over the world to meet and to compare their results.

The National Committees representing its adhering bodies form the base of lUCr. However, the intensification of the exchanges between crystallographers on a local basis, and the high cost of long distance travel have shown the need for meetings of crystallographers coming from countries lying close together geographically. This, added to the fact that there are countries where the number of crystallographers is too small for and adhering body to be constituted, has led to the formation of Regional Crystallographic Associations; the European Crystallographic Committee was thus founded in 1972 and the Asian Crystallographic Association in 1987.

The International Union of Crystallography recognized in 1978 the importance and the usefulness of such regional bodies, and changed its Statutes so as to create the status of Regional Associate. The same year it accepted the ECC as a Regional Associate, and in 1987, the Asian Crystallographic Association. In 1990, the American Crystallographic Association was also accepted.

The current membership of the Asian Crystallographic Association comprises seventeen countries of which five only are at present members of the International Union of Crystallography. This shows how useful AsCA is and will be to coordinate the activities of crystallographers in the region and to constitute a link between them and the lUCr. As an example of its role in relation to the lUCr, AsCA will designate its regional Editor for the new Edition of the World Directory. It will also provide various items of informations of interest to the whole community of crystallographers, which will be published in the lUCr Newsletter to be launched at the beginning of 1993.

The foundation of AsCA and its first meeting are very timely as they come at a period when Australasia is one of the regions of the world where the developements are most rapid. This is particularly true for Crystallography. The lUCr is well aware of this and will do everything it can to facilitate and to support this developement. One sign of this recognition is the fact that it will hold it XVIth General Assembly and Congress in Beijing in 1993. There is no doubt that this will provide a very good forum for exchanges between crystallographers from Asia and from. the rest of the world.

The Scientific Programme put together by the organizers for the present Conference is very exciting, and the large number of participants is a testimony of its success. I wish all of you a very fruitful meeting and to AsCA a very long and prosperous life.

Andre AUTHIER

President of the International Union of Crystallography

Message from the First President of AsCA

The AsCA'92 Singapore Conference

This is an exciting time for crystallographers in Asia. One of the principle objectives of the Asian Crystallographic Association is the promotion of Crystallographic research and teaching in the region and a regional scientific meeting is one of the best ways of achieving this.

With AsCA'92 we are on the eve of our first such venture. That this has happened so quickly after the formation of AsCA in 1987, is a tribute to the rapid growth of our science in this region to support given to AsCA by the national societies of member countries. The structure and organisation of AsCA is quite different to the other lUCr Regional Members, the American Crystallographic Association and the European Crystallographic Committee, in that we are strongly dependent on the cooperation of the

national organisations. On this occasion, the planning of AsCA'92 has only been possible because of the financial and administrative support of the Crystallographic Society of Japan(CrSJ) and the Society of Crystallographers in Australia(SCA). These two societies agreed to combine their 1992 meetings under the auspices of AsCA and hold them at a time and a locality which would be suitable for the majority of scientists in the region. Both Societies have, along with the lUCr, contributed generously to grants for young scientists attending the meeting.

Registrations for this meeting have already exceeded expectations and it has all the earmarks of an exciting and productive endeavour. I welcome this opportunity to wish AsCA every success with their inaugural conference, and I look forward to seeing many of you there in November.

Sydney R. Hall

University of Western Australia

Formation and History of AsCA

The possibility of an Asian regional crystallographic group was mooted almost ten years ago. With the formation of European Crystallographic Committee for coordinating activities in Eastern and Western Europe, and the fact that the American Crystallographic Association had become the de-facto regional organisation for Canada and other countries in the America's, it was suggested that a similar organisation would be beneficial to the Asian region.

Early informal discussions centered on defining the boundaries of the regional group. Overlap with the ECC or ACA was undesirable, and the boundaries should be as simple as possible geographically. It was decided that the region would defined by a 'circle' passing through Japan, China, India, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand. Other crystallographic communities enclosed in the region included Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.

Representatives from most of these countries attended an informal meeting at the 1984 lUCr Congress in Hamburg to discuss the formation of a regional group. The meeting was chaired by the then President of the Society of Crystallographers in Australia, Terry Sabine. At this meeting it was resolved that the SCA should prepare and circulate a draft constitution for consideration at the 1987 Perth Congress. Rod Hill, who was Honorary Secretary of the SCA, was made responsible for coordinating the drafting, circulation and updating of the constitution. Prior to the Perth Congress three drafts of the constitution were circulated for comment and adjustment.

On Friday August 14 1987 a meeting of regional representatives approved the draft constitution, and the Asian Crystallographic Association came into being. The AsCA Constitution, which is shown elsewhere in this Newsletter, provides for three categories of membership. Category I allows for one representative on the AsCA Council who has one vote. Category II allows for one Councillor with two votes. Category III allows for two Councillors with a total of four votes. Membership dues are zero for Category I, one unit for Category II and two units for Category III.

The first meeting of the AsCA Council on Monday August 17 1987 elected the executive members of the AsCA, composed of a President, a Vice President and a Secretary Treasurer. Most business at the AsCA Council meeting centered on activities for the 1988-1990 triennium, and the budget needed to fund these activities. After considerable discussion it was decided that a biennial Newsletter would be the prime function for AsCA in the initial years, and other activities would follow from this. The 1988-90 unit membership fee was set at 120 Australian dollars per annum.

The AsCA Executive for the 1988-1990 triennium are:

President: Sydney Hall

Vice President: M. A. Viswamitra

Secretary Treasurer: Jimpei Harada

(Sydney R. Hall, AsCA Newsletter, Vol.1, No. 1, Jan. 1988, p.2)

The second AsCA Council meeting was held on Saturday July 21 1990 in Bordeaux, France. At this meeting four countries, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam were admitted to join AsCA. As one of the activities of AsCA in 1990-1993 triennim, the importance of AsCA Newsletters is confirmed. In addition to this, it was agreed that the inaugural AsCA conference should be promoted. The 1990-1993 unit membership fee was set at 120 Australian dollars per annum, the same amount as that in 1988-1980.

The present AsCA Executive and the Council

Members are as follows:

President: Nobutami Kasai

Vice President: Fang-Ming Miao

Secretary Treasurer: Yu Wang

AsCA Councillors 1990-1993

Prof. G. R. Desiraju School of Chemistry University of Hyderabad Hyderabad INDIA

Prof. Lecong Dzuong Department of Metal Physics and Materials National Polytechnical Institute of Hanoi Truong DH Bachkhola Hanoi VIETNAN Tel:[84]56116

Prof. Richard Pemasiri Gunawardane Chemistry Department University of Peradeniya Peradeniya SRI LANKA Tel:[948]88018

Prof. S. P. Sen Gupta Department of Materials Science Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science Jadavpur Calcutta 700032 INDIA Tel:[91]469371

Prof. Sydney R. Hall Crystallography Centre University of Western Australia Nedlands Western Australia 6009 AUSTRALIA Tel:[61]9 380 2725 Fax:[61]9 380 1014 email: syd@crystal.uwa.oz.au

Dr. Anwar ul Haq Material Science/Metallurgy Division Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories KahutaP.O.Box502 Rawalpindi PAKISTAN

Prof. Jimpei Harada Department of Applied Physics Nagoya University Chikusa-Ku Nagoya 464-01 JAPAN Tel:[81]52 781 5111 Ext 4464 Fax:[81]52 782 2129

Dr. Altaf Hussain Department of Chemistry University ofDhaka Dhaka 1000 BANGLADESH

Prof. Nobutami Kasai Faculty of Home Economics Kobe Women's University Aoyama 2-1, Higashisuma Suma, Kobe 654 JAPAN Tel:[81]78 731 4416 Ext 3309 Fax:[81]78 732 5161

Prof. Lip Lin Koh Department of Chemistry National University of Singapore Kent Ridge Singapore 0511 SINGAPORE Tel:[65]772 2847 Fax:[65]779 1641

Prof. Waloejo Loeksmanto Department of Physics Bandung Institute of Technology Jalan Ganesya 10 P. 0. Box 1288 Bandung 40132 INDONESIA Tel:[62022]430634 440245 Ext881 Fax:[62022]438338

Prof. Thomas C. W. Mak Chemistry Department The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shatin

New Territories HONG KONG Tel:[852]6096344 Fax:[852]6035057

Prof. Fang-Ming Miao Department of Chemistry Tianjin Normal University Ba Li Tai Tianjin CHINA Tel:[86]02 2 345028 Ext 256 Fax:[86]022318439

Dr. Abdul Hamid bin Othman Department of Chemistry

University of Malaya 43600 UKM Bangi Selangor MALAYSIA Tel:[603]825 0001 Ext 2439 or 3330 Fax:[603]825 6484

Dr. Young Ja Park Chemistry Department Sook Myung Women's University Yongsan-Ku

Seol140 KOREA Tel:[82]2 713 4528

Dr. Wyona Kruz Patalinghug Chemistry Department , De La Sale University 2401 Taft Ave Manila PHILIPPINES Tel: [63150 46 11

Dr.Phathana Phavanantha Physics Department Chulalongkom University Phya Thai Road Bangkok 10500 THAILAND Tel: [66]2 252 9987 Fax:[66]2 215 5523

Dr. Ward Thomas Robinson Chemistry Department University of Canterbury Private Bag Christchurch NEW ZEALAND Tel: [64]3 482 009 Ext 294 Fax:[64]3 483 308 email: W.Robinson%CANTERBURY.ac.NZ%RELAY.CS.NET

Prof. Yu Wang Department of Chemistry National Taiwan University Taipei TAIWAN Tel:[886]2 3635357 Fax:[886]2 3636359 email: AC7b0001@TWNMOE10

Prof. John William White Research School of Chemistry Australian National University Canberra Australian Capital Territory AUSTRALIA Tel:[6162]49 3578 Fax:[6162]487817

CONSTITUTION of the ASIAN CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATION

1. Nature

The Asian Crystallographic Association (AsCA) is hereafter referred to as "the Association".

2. Objectives

(a) The objective of the Association is to contribute to, and to promote, the advancement of crystallography and allied subjects in Asia.

(b) The Association adheres to the objectives of the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr).

3. Membership

(a) Membership shall be to those countries and regions (which are here-after referred to as "countries") within the Asian region bounded by Japan, Korea, China, Pakistan, India, Australia and New Zealand.

(b) A member country shall choose, with the approval of the Council, one of the three categories of membership set out in Articles 4(a) and 5 (a).

4. Council and Executive

(a) The Association shall be administered by a Council consisting of Councillors from each member country. The number of Councillors from a country and the voting power given to each Councillor shall be in accordance with the membership category, as follows,

Category I II III

Number of Councillors 1 1 2

Total number of votes 1 2 4

The Councillors representing each country shall be appointed by the National Crystallographic Society of that country, or if such an organizatiaon does not exist, by the National Committee affiliated with the IUCr. If neither of these bodies exists, the member shall be co-opted

by the Executive from among the practicing crystallographers in the country.

(b) The councill shall elect a President, Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer. The Executive Committee consists of those three members elected.

(c) Executive members shall hold office for one three-year term, after which elections shall be held. No member of the Executive shall serve more than three terms. The President shall serve for one three-year term and shall not be eligible for re-election as President.

(d) The Council and Executive shall meet at least once in every three years, preferably at the triennial lUCr Congress. A quorum for meetings of the Council shall consist of not less than one half of the current membership eligible to vote. All members of the Executive must be present at a meeting of the Executive Committee. Notice of meetings of either body shall be circulated to all Councillors at least six months in advance.

(e) If the Councillor for a particular countries is unable to attend a meeting of the Council or Executive, an alternate may be appointed by the National Society or National Committee of that country.

5. Finances

The finances of the Association shall consist of the following.

(a) Membership dues in accordance with the category, as follows,

Category I II III

Number unit contributions 0 1 2

The unit contribution, stated in terms of a specific currency, and the category of the member country, shall be approved by the Council at the triennial meeting.

(b) Gift received by the Association with the permission of the Executive Committee.

(c) In the event of dissolution of the Association, its funds shall be dispersed among the member countries in accordance with their accumulated number of unit contributions.

6. Changes to the constitution Proposals for changes to the constitution shall be communicated in writing to the President at least six months prior to a Council meeting. A change to the constitution shall require a two thirds majority vote of all those eligible to vote at Council meetings. Voting may be recorded by mail or proxy.