Durham is dominated by its Norman cathedral which towers over a strategic loop of the River Wear.

20 December 2007. CrystalMaker Software Ltd is pleased to confirm that it sponsored the recent Royal Society of Chemistry Solid State Group meeting, held at the University of Durham.

The meeting ran on 17-18 December, held at various venues within the university, including the Chemistry Department and Trevelyan College.

Despite the relatively specialised nature of the meeting, it proved highly popular, with over 170 delegates - considerably more than had originally been envisaged.

As well as providing financial support for the meeting, we were able to exhibit our software during breaks in the agenda, and at the evening poster session. We enjoyed meeting so many delegates and demonstrating new features in our software.

CrystalMaker provides an ideal tool for solid-state chemists, making it easy to quickly visualize the structures of materials. Critically important is the ability to go beyond mere visualization, and to explore different aspects of a structure. CrystalMaker's flexible interface, with easy View creation and of course multiple undo levels, makes this even easier.

Also demonstrated at the meeting was CrystalMaker's ability to work with multiple structures, in the same window - as View thumbnails - allowing animation of structural sequences, including phase transitions. This is a unique feature of the program, and is increasingly important as scientists progress from "mere" structure solution, to deeper understandings of structural behaviour and properties of crystals.

Many thanks to John and Ivana Evans (University of Durham) for organising such a well-attended and successful meeting!