Dear reader, it is with pleasure that I announce that the To.Sca.Lat.-1.0: The Latin America Summer School on Crystallography, Diffraction and Total Scattering Analysis for Advanced Materials and NanoScience, held in the Vila Fátima at Florianópolis from 10^th to 14^th December 2018 was a big success!

Timely following the successful 2015 Edition of ECRISLA school, and taking inspiration from the To.Sca.Lake 2.0 Workshop (Total Scattering for Nanotechnology on the Como Lake, Italy, 2017), the Latin American school was a 5-days full engagement on advanced X-ray synchrotron and Lab powder diffraction techniques for applications to materials of high technological and biomedical interest, both at the micro and nano scales.

Topics will covered ab-initio structure solution by powder diffraction, quali- and quantitative phase analysis, microstructural analysis, Total Scattering Techniques for Nanomaterial Characterization (structure, defects, size, morphology) by combining Small- and Wide-Angle methods in Reciprocal (Debye Scattering Equation) and Real (Pair Distribution Function) Space. Cases of applications to pharma and biomimetic materials, porous metal organic frameworks, nanosized metal, oxide, semi- and super-conductors were presented.

Lectures on fundamentals, experimental, modelling and analytical aspects of the technique (40% of the time) combined with tutorial sessions (60% of the time) on data analysis were performed with the aid of the following programs: TOPAS, QUANTO, PM2K, DIFFax+, DebUsSy and PDFGui. Total support to install the programs were provided by the speakers by private communication to the participants before the event, at least for those available for download as DebUsSy and PDFGui (or by request by e-mail to the author) .

Advanced aspects of Synchrotron Radiation and its application to powder diffraction of functional materials were introduced by Alexandre Gomes Carvalho, from the Brazilian Synchrotron in Campinas. Well renowned experts in the field of powder diffraction and programs, with high scientific reputation in the different topics and experience at European and Swiss Large Scale Faclities, joined the To.Sca.Lat and delivered lectures and tutorial sessions.

My sincere greetings and thanks to all involved in this pioneering event in Latin America and that in 2020 we will have the next edition: ToScaLat-2.0 !!

Carlos Eduardo Maduro de Campos

Invited Speakers of ToScaLat-1.0:

• Prof. Norberto Masciocchi, Uni Insubria & To.Sca.Lab, Como, Italy
• Dr. Antonella Guagliardi, Institute of Crystallography CNR & To.Sca.Lab, Como, Italy;
• Prof. Matteo Leoni (Chairman of ICDD), Uni Trento, Italy; (website)
• Dr. Federica Bertolotti, Aarhus University & To.Sca.Lab, Denmark;
• Dr. Alexandre Magnus Gomes Carvalho do LNLS/Brasil (CV Lattes)

Organizers:

• Dr. Carlos Eduardo Maduro de Campos de Florianópolis/Brazil (Local Chair);
• Dr. Diego Lamas de  San Martin/Argentina (Chairman of LACA – Latin American Crystallography Association);
• Dr. Leopoldo Suescun Pereyra from Montevidéu/Uruguay;
• Dr. Valderes Drago (FSC-UFSC) Florianópolis/Brazil;
• Kelli de Fátima Ulbrich (FSC-UFSC) Florianópolis/Brazil
• Vittorio Oliveira Lazzari Girardi (EMC-UFSC) Florianópolis/Brazil
• Julia Martinello Willemann (FSC-UFSC) Florianópolis/Brazil

Sponsors:

A few more reasons to evaluate the event as successful:

• Temporary licenses of the latest version of TOPAS (Windows only) allow you to carry out tutorials on participants’ computers during the event. Offer from the Bruker Office in Germany.
• There were 10 oral short communications presented by the participants;
• Grants for lodging and food costs were offered to practically all participants. Offer from the sponsors of the event: International Center for Diffraction Data (ICDD) and Associazione Italiana di Cristallografia (AIC).