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American Crystallographic Association (ACA)

What is the ACA?

This how ACA describes themselves: 

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"The American Crystallographic Association, Inc. (ACA) is a non-profit, scientific organization of over a thousand members in more than thirty-five countries. The ACA was founded in 1949 through a merger of the American Society for X-Ray and Electron Diffraction (ASXRED) and the Crystallographic Society of America (CSA). The objective of the ACA is to promote interactions among scientists who study the structure of matter at atomic (or near atomic) resolution. These interactions will advance experimental and computational aspects of crystallography and diffraction. Understanding the nature of the forces that both control and result from the molecular and atomic arrangements in matter will help shed light on chemical interactions in nature." 

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American Crystallographic Association

The most prestigious, international crystallographic association, boasting more than 40 Nobel Prize Laureates and over 1,300 members from 37 countries worldwide.

The ACA is especially famously known for its numerous Nobel Prize Laureates ((IUCr) Nobel Prize winners), many of which attained their recognition through extensive research in crystallography-related fields of science:

Sir William Henry Bragg and Sir William Lawrence Bragg- Analysis of crystal structures thr
Rosalind Franklin - Discovery of DNA through X-ray crystallography.png
Maurice Wilkins - Discovery of helical structure of DNA through X-ray crystallography.png
Francis Crick - Discovery of helical structure of DNA through X-ray crystallography.png
James Watson - Discovery of helical structure of DNA through X-ray crystallography.png
Ada Yonath - Determination of ribosomal structure and function through X-ray crystallograp
Thomas Steitz - Determination of ribosomal structure and function through X-ray crystallog
Jennifer Doudna - Development of method for genome editing (CRISPR-Cas9) through crystallo

Annual International Conference

American Crystallographic Association (ACA)

STARS President, Susanna Huang, helped work on a selenium-modified nucleic acid crystallization project and presented about the selenium nucleic acid technique at the international ACA conference in Cincinnati in the summer of 2019.

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There, she saw people doing crazy amazing research with crystals and structural biology. People were growing crystals in outer space and were showcasing instruments that could screen through hundreds of plates in a day.​​​

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Since then, she resolved to share with other students about crystallography and its importance in therapeutic drug design to treat diseases. 

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​We believe that attending and presenting at the ACA conference not only provides students with the chance to practice their presentation skills and network but also help them see the real world of structural biology and help them be inspired, so that when they return to STARS branches the following school year, they share that excitement for crystallography with fellow students with invigorating energy through branch meetings and outreach events.

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Conferences attended:

2019 American Crystallographic Association Conference​

Direct result: creation of STARS high school club, growing inorganic crystals and initiating crystal-growing outreach events for local students

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2023 American Crystallographic Association Conference

Direct result: creation of STARS undergraduate branch, growing protein crystals and organizing crystallography workshops for students

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2024 American Crystallographic Association Conference

Direct result: Raised over $800 from corporations and conference attendees for supporting the 2025 high school crystallography workshop

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