International Year of Crystallography

2014 is the official International Year of Crystallography as determined in July 2012 by the UN General Assembly.

The International Year of Crystallography 2014 (IYCr2014) aims to get people acquainted with crystallography and its achievements. It is also the perfect occasion to commemorate the centennial of the invention of X-ray crystallography, which can be attributed to the work of Max von Laue, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1914, and William Henry and William Lawrence Bragg, who were awarded the same accolade in the following year.

Acknowledging the important role crystallography plays in our daily lives, IBMC, the Municipality of Porto and the University of Porto are organizing an exhibition where visitors can marvel at 40 beautiful crystals that can be found in nature or made in laboratory. At the same time, the same institutions are promoting a school competition for magic crystal trees and charcoal crystal gardens. 

Find out more about this initiative and the history of crystallography at the official website.