X-ray crystallography provides the basis for much of our understanding of chemistry and chemical structure. And yet crystallography as a subject is a small part (if any) of the typical undergraduate curriculum.

The Powerpoint slides from a presentation entitled Experimental Structure Determination in the Undergraduate Curriculum (2011 Pittsburgh Diffraction Conference) have been posted. The talk summarizes some of the ways we have begun to incorporate crystallography into the undergraduate curriculum.

The information below is designed to summarize various ways in which crystallographic data (databases) and experimental crystallography (data collection) can enhance the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. The goal is not to make crystallographers of our students, but rather to show our students the experimental basis of our rich structural knowledge.

Cambridge Structural Database

Perhaps the single most useful combination of software and data for teaching structural chemistry and crystallography is the Cambridge Structural Database produced by the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. The combination of over 600,000 crystal structure data sets with powerful software to search, visualize and analyze structural data can be very useful in an educational setting. A great set of papers has been published recently in the Journal of Chemical Education that highlight the many educational applications of the CSD.

• Learning about Intermolecular Interactions from the Cambridge Structural Database, Gary M. Battle and Frank H. Allen, Journal of Chemical Education 2012 89 (1), 38-44.
• Teaching Three-Dimensional Structural Chemistry Using Crystal Structure Databases. 4. Examples of Discovery-Based Learning Using the Complete Cambridge Structural Database, Gary M. Battle, Frank H. Allen, and Gregory M. Ferrence, Journal of Chemical Education 2011 88 (7), 891-897.
• Teaching Three-Dimensional Structural Chemistry Using Crystal Structure Databases. 3. The Cambridge Structural Database System: Information Content and Access Software in Educational Applications, Gary M. Battle, Frank H. Allen, and Gregory M. Ferrence, *Journal of Chemical Education 2011 88 (7), 886-890.
• Teaching Three-Dimensional Structural Chemistry Using Crystal Structure Databases. 2. Teaching Units That Utilize an Interactive Web-Accessible Subset of the Cambridge Structural Database, Gary M. Battle, Frank H. Allen, and Gregory M. Ferrence, Journal of Chemical Education 2010 87 (8), 813-818.
• Teaching Three-Dimensional Structural Chemistry Using Crystal Structure Databases. 1. An Interactive Web-Accessible Teaching Subset of the Cambridge Structural Database, Gary M. Battle, Frank H. Allen, and Gregory M. Ferrence, Journal of Chemical Education 2010 87 (8), 809-812.
• Using the Cambridge Structural Database To Teach Molecular Geometry Concepts in Organic Chemistry, Jay Wm. Wackerly, Philip A. Janowicz, Joshua A. Ritchey, Mary M. Caruso, Erin L. Elliott, and Jeffrey S. Moore Journal of Chemical Education 2009 86 (4), 460.