Curated by University of Illinois Chemistry Professors Gregory S. Girolami and Vera V. Mainz, this exhibition explores the development of crystallography from its beginnings in ancient Greece to its modern role as a key scientific technique.  Crystallography and our understanding of the nature of matter was revolutionized by the discovery of X-ray diffraction.  X-ray crystallography was key to discovering the double helix structure of DNA in the early 1950s.

The exhibition displays texts that span 500 years of scientific inquiry into the nature of crystalline structures.  Please join us for an informative introduction to the works on display and the history of how the study of crystals has changed our lives.