In 1989 protein
crystallographers from around Texas met on the Texas A&M university
campus for the first time. Because of the distances between groups,
young crystallographers needed an opportunity to discuss their
scientific results and questions with colleagues. While the one-day
format of a Saturday in Fall was maintained over the years, colleagues
in neighboring states and even Mexico were quick to join, so the name,
SouthWest Macromolecular Symposium, was chosen both to represent our
broader scope as well as for the symbolic symmetry (SWMS) of our
science. ((with the right font, W and M are symmetrical))
At one
of the first meetings, Marvin Hackert told of discussions in the
Austin area about the possibility of a synchrotron for the
semiconductor industry. The seed was planted, but it sprouted at
another state capitol, Baton Rouge, thanks to the long-term courtship
guided by their beam manager, Ben Craft. Over these years, we have
watched students and post-docs mature and prosper and we have seen the
various groups successfully attack progressively more ambitious
projects.
Financial support from vendors helped us keep costs low, so attendance
has ranged from 50 to 80. Presentations have progressed from 35mm
slides to PowerPoint and mpeg movies, but the chalkboard was always
handy for some good questions.
A
highlight of SWMS was the 10th annual meeting, when a
Friday afternoon session contained presentations on software (the late
Bob Sparks), synchrotron methods (Keith Moffat), virus structures
(Michael Rossmann), and an overview (Johann Deisenhofer) (cf. web
page). After dinner, Al Cotton told how the carboxypeptidase structure
study began and Allen Edmonson (a contemporary with Michael Rossmann)
told about his role in the sequencing (with Stein&Moore) and structure
analysis (with Kendrew) of myoglobin.
Summaries of symposia and photos have appeared each year in the ACA
newsletter, providing further evidence elsewhere that crystallography
is a vital science in our region.
While
individual groups have grown, the mean-free-path between
crystallographers remains about the same, so the need to meet,
present, discuss, and interact with colleagues persists. It therefore
is satisfying to see that we again shall be able to gather this Fall,
and with an extended format that will include an invited speaker and
topical workshops – but still keeping the Saturday sessions where
especially the young scientists are encouraged to present their work.
Dr. Edgar Meyer, Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics Center
for Structural Biology (Emeritus Faculty),
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University,
College Station, TX
Dr. Meyer, who founded the SWMS in
1989, began his distinguished career at Texas A&M University in 1967.
As a chemist (Ph.D., University of Texas), professor (Texas A&M
University), and an X-ray crystallographer, with over 100 publications
in the scientific literature, he helped pioneer interactive computer
graphics and was the first scientist to use color graphics for
molecular modeling. He developed the program SCULPT and a number of
bas-relief and freestanding molecular sculptures.
He founded the Protein Data Bank as a
visiting scientist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory and was the
first scientist to use computer networking in the life sciences.
