The Pittsburgh Diffraction Society

$The Pittsburgh Diffraction Society Annual Conference$

The 82nd annual Pittsburgh Diffraction Conference will be held Oct 9-12, 2025 at Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York. Now open for registration and abstract submission. Please visit the Conference Web Page.

The next Sidhu Award will be bestowed at the 2026 PDS conference. It is awarded for Outstanding Contributions to the Fields of Crystallography or Diffraction by a Scientist within Six Years of her/his/their Ph.D.

The 2026 George Jeffrey Award for Outstanding Graduate Students to attend the Congress of the 2026 IUCr in Calgary, Canada.

Welcome to our Website

The Pittsburgh Diffraction Society (PDS) is a not-for-profit organization which promotes fundamental and applied diffraction and crystallographic research and the exchange of ideas and information concerning such research. The PDS was founded by Professor Surain S. Sidhu who organized the first Pittsburgh Diffraction Conference in 1943. Since that time the PDS has sponsored an annual conference, returning to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, every few years. Professor Sidhu is remembered and honored through the Sidhu Award, given to an outstanding scientist who is within six years of having earned the Ph.D. or its equivalent. Other awards sponsored by the PDS to support and encourage young scientists include the George Jeffrey Award, which provides travel assistance for students attending the triennial Congress of the International Union of Crystallography, and the Chung Soo Yoo Award given to the best student presenter at the annual Pittsburgh Diffraction Conference, and the Bryan M. Craven Scholarship, given to a foreign student, preferably from New Zealand or Australia, to assist with travel expenses to participate in the ACA Summer Course in Crystallography.