The Canadian Light Source will host its first X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) School for materials sciences this summer, from August 16-18. The school will be in-person and will have lectures, hands-on experiments at the beamlines and hands-on sessions for XRD analysis and Pair Distribution Function (PDF) data analysis.
The school will cover several topics: X-Ray Diffraction, Rietveld Refinement, Pair Distribution Function, Reverse Monte Carlo fitting, Small Angle X-Ray Scattering and in-situ experiments.
We look to equip our present and future users with the knowledge and tools that they will use during their research. This school is primarily aimed at students and early career researchers from academia and industry, with an interest in XRD, SAXS, and PDF.
Applications are due by June 30, 2022.


Registration Fees
Participants selected for the workshop will be contacted and informed of the procedure of payment in July 2022. Payment must be received prior to the school.
- Academic participants: $400
- Non-academic participants: $600
Included in the registration fee is access to the full academic programme and hands-on sessions, in addition to coffee, snacks, and lunch each day of the school. Participants will be expected to arrange their own accommodations in Saskatoon.
Financial Support
There are limited funds available to support academic participants. Please indicate on your application form if you would like to be considered for this support.
Larry Calvert Travel Support
Students are eligible to apply for financial support from the Larry Calvert Travel Fund, administered by the Canadian National Committee for Crystallography (CNCC)
The deadline to apply for this support is June 30, 2022.
Contact
Beatriz Moreno Senior Scientist, Beamline Responsible (BXDS)
Program
Note that this is a tentative schedule only, and is subject to change. All times listed are in local Saskatoon (CST) time.
Day 1: August 16, 2022
09:15 - 09:20 | Welcome and Introductions | Beatriz Diaz Moreno |
09:20 - 10:00 | How do synchrotrons work and what are they good for | Feizhou He |
10:00 - 10:20 | Snacks | |
10:20 - 11:10 | Introduction to powder diffraction | Joel Reid |
11:10 - 12:00 | Rietveld Method | Robert Von Dreele |
12:00 - 13:15 | Lunch Break | |
13:15 - 14:20 | Introduction to GSAS II | Robert Von Dreele |
14:20 - 15:10 | GSAS II hands on data analysis | Joel / Beatriz / Graham |
15:10 - 15:25 | Snacks | |
15:25 - 16:30 | GSAS II hands on data analysis | Joel / Beatriz / Graham |
Visit to the CLS and Happy Hour |
Day 2: August 17, 2022
09:15 - 10:05 | Structure Solution with Powder Diffraction | Joel Reid |
10:05 - 10:20 | Snacks / Group Photo | |
10:20 - 11:10 | Besides Rietveld refinement – what else does GSAS-II do | Robert Von Dreele |
11:10 - 12:00 | PDF - General | Graham King |
12:00 - 13:15 | Lunch Break | |
13:15 - 15:00 | Group 1: Experiments at the beamlines Group 2: Hands-on GSAS II |
All hands on deck |
15:00 - 15:15 | Snacks | |
15:15 - 17:00 | Group 1: Hands-on GSAS II Group 2: Experiments at the beamlines |
All hands on deck |
Day 3: August 18, 2022
09:10 - 09:55 | PDF - x-rays vs neutrons / instrumentation | Graham King |
09:55 - 10:40 | Reverse Monte Carlo fitting | Graham King |
10:40 - 10:50 | Snacks | |
10:50 - 11:35 | In situ experiments | Beatriz Diaz Moreno and Chang-Yong Kim |
11:35 - 12:20 | Thin film XRD | Chang-Yong Kim and Beatriz Diaz Moreno |
12:20 - 13:30 | Lunch Break | |
13:30 - 14:20 | Introduction to SAXS | Adam Leontowich |
14:20 - 15:10 | Hands-on PDFgui | Graham / Beatriz |
15:10 - 15:25 | Snacks | |
15:25 - 16:30 | Hands-on RCMProfile fitting | Graham King |
16:30 - 16:35 | Closing |
About the Speakers
Robert Von Dreele

Feizhou He
Materials & Chemical Sciences Manager at the Canadian Light Source

Joel Reid
Industrial Scientist at the Canadian Light Source

Graham King
Scientist at the Brockhouse High Energy Wiggler Beamline at the Canadian Light Source

Beatriz Moreno
Senior Scientist at the Canadian Light Source - Brockhouse Beamlines' Responsible

Adam Leontowich
Associate Scientist at the Canadian Light Source

Chang-Yong Kim
Senior Scientist at the Brockhouse Beamlines at the Canadian Light Source
