Synchrotron radiation is an indispensable tool in macromolecular crystallography and most of the macromolecule structures deposited in the PDB are solved and refined with data collected at synchrotron sources. Some of the skills needed to make optimal use of state-of-the-art beamlines and data processing and analysis software are difficult to learn without intensive hand-on training.

The main goal of the course RapiData Collection and Structure Solving is to provide such an educational experience. The course has taken place since 2015 at SSRL, following the closure of NSLS at Brookhaven National Laboratory, where it was held for 16 years. RapiData 2021 will use a similar format to previous editions, with equal emphasis on the ideas and concepts behind conventional methods for diffraction-data collection, and practical experience collecting and processing data.

All students are encouraged to bring their own specimens for data collection, and to bring old data for the data-reduction and structure-solving tutorials. Students are split into several groups for the hands-on training sessions. Participants without crystals will be able to practice on samples provided by the organizers and data collected on the beamlines.

On Wednesday May 5 we will hold a lecture course on the fundamentals of crystallography to ensure that students without much previous experience in crystallography benefit fully from the lectures and practicals during the rest of the course. The main RapiData course will begin on Thursday morning, May 6. There will be lectures during the first four days (May 6-7, May 10-11). The software tutorials will begin on Wednesday May 12, and run in parallel with data collection on Thursday May 13 and Friday May 14. The course will end on Saturday May 15 with a recapitulation meeting.

Confirmed speakers and tutors include:

• Bob Sweet - Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA
• Clyde Smith - SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
• Paul Emsley - MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK
• Jim Pflugrath - Rigaku (ret), USA
• Ana Gonzalez - Max IV Laboratory, Sweeden
• Elspeth Garman - University of Oxford, UK
• Raji Edayathumangalam - Brigham and Women's Hospital, USA
• Dorothee Liebschner - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
• Harry Powell - harry powell crystallographic, UK
• Andrea Thorn - University of Wuerzburg, Germany
• Silvia Russi - SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
• James Holton - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
• Thomas Weiss - SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
• Aina Cohen - SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
• Nick Sauter - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
• Andreas Foerster - Dectris Ltd.
• Jeney Wierman - SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
• Clemens Vonrhein - Global Phasing Ltd.
• Claus Flensburg - Global Phasing Ltd.
• Andrey Lebedev - Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK
• Maksymilian Chruszcz - University of South Carolina, USA
• James Fraser - University of California San Francisco, USA
• Li-Wei Hung - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
• Billy Poon - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
• Nigel Moriarty - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA