Altomare Angela

Qualifications: Research Director, IC (Institute of Crystallography)-CNR (National Research Council of Italy), Bari (Italy) (January 2021-present); Senior Researcher, IC-CNR (December 2001-December 2020);  Researcher, IRMEC (Institute for the Development of Crystallographic Methodologies)-CNR, Bari (Italy) (February 2001- December 2001); Researcher, IRMEC-CNR (July 1999-February 2001); Researcher, IRMEC-CNR (July 1994-July 1999); Researcher, IRMEC-CNR (June 1989-June 1994); Degree in Physics cum laude, University of Bari (Italy) (1988).

Recent appointments held: President of AIC (2021-present); Member of the Executive Committee of the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) (2021-present); Member of the Commission for the participation of National Research Council of Italy to the International Union of Crystallography (2019-present); Main editor of Acta Crystallographica Section A (2018-present); Member of the European Powder Diffraction Conference Committee (2016-present); Co-editor of Acta Crystallographica Section A (2014-present); Member of the Commission on Powder Diffraction of the International Union of Crystallography (2014-2021); Scientific Responsible of the IC-CNR research team involved in structural characterization from single crystal data and microcrystalline powder diffraction data (2009-present).

Research and scientific activity: Co-author (or author) of more than 150 publications in internationalpeer-reviewed journals, 10 chapters of books (two chapters in the ‘International Tables for Crystallography’), twelve crystallographic computing programs widely used by national and international scientific community; Chair of the Scientific Organizing Committee of the International Crystallography School organized by the Commission on Crystallographic Teaching of AIC, held in Bari, August 2018-September 2018; Chair of the 15th European Powder Diffraction Conference, held in Bari, June 2016; Invited speaker, teacher, chairman of microsymposia, as well as member of program committee at several national and international meetings and schools. Sum of times cited: >30000 (‪Google Scholar, September 2022).

Fields of research:  Development of original crystallographic methodologies and their applications for the structural characterisation using X-ray or/and neutron diffraction from powders of micro- and nanocrystalline materials of various types, through qualitative analysis and/or structural solution.

Acknowledged expertise:  Development of innovative methodological approaches and advanced computational algorithms for the solution of compounds with a complexity of up to 100 non-hydrogen atoms in the asymmetric unit, through calculations based on Direct Methods theory, calculations of electron density maps, least squares, Fourier transform, probabilistic calculations, global optimisation methods, figures of merit, analysis protocols; Implementation of algorithms  in crystallographic software, EXPO, QUALX, OCHEMDB, characterised by high computational and graphical performances, distributed and used worldwide, both by research institutions and companies; Studies of single crystal, micro- and nanocrystalline materials also in collaboration with national and international laboratories; Applications of developed methods and software to studies of materials of interest to chemical, pharmaceutical, biological, physical, materials and cultural heritage sciences: organic, inorganic and metallorganic compounds, natural or synthetic substances, drugs, minerals, catalysts, etc…

Selected publications

• A. Altomare, Solving molecular compounds from powder diffraction data: are results always reliable?,  IUCrJ, Volume 9, Part 4, July 2022, Pages 403-405, doi: 10.1107/S2052252522006571.
• A. Altomare et al., EXPO2013: a kit of tools for phasing crystal structures from powder data, Journal of Applied Crystallography, Volume 46, Page 1231-1235, Part, doi:10.1107/S0021889813013113.
• C. Cuocci, N. Corriero, F. Baldassarre, M. Dell’Aera, A. Falcicchio, R. Rizzi and A. Altomare,  Advanced perspectives in the EXPO software for solving crystal structures from powder diffraction data, Journal of Applied Crystallography, Volume 55, Part 2,  April 2022, Pages 411-419, doi: 10.1107/S160057672200245X.
• A. Altomare et al., Indexing a powder diffraction pattern, In International Tables for Crystallography Volume H: Powder Diffraction, C.J Gilmore (Editor), J.A. Kaduk (Editor), H. Schenk (Editor), Wiley: New York, 2019, doi: 10.1107/97809553602060000949. (ISBN) 978-1-118-41628-0, doi: 10.1107/97809553602060000949.
• A. Altomare et al., Solving crystal structures using reciprocal-space methods,  In International Tables for Crystallography Volume H: Powder Diffraction, C.J Gilmore (Editor), J.A. Kaduk (Editor), H. Schenk (Editor), Wiley: New York, 2019, doi: 10.1107/97809553602060000957. (ISBN) 978-1-118-41628-0, doi: 10.1107/97809553602060000957.
• A. Altomare et al., QUALX2.0: a qualitative phase analysis software using the freely available database POW_COD, Journal of Applied Crystallography, Volume 48, Part 2, April 2015, Pages 598-603, doi: 10.1107/S1600576715002319.
• P. Musci, M. Colella, A. Altomare, G. Romanazzi, N.S. Sheikh, L. Degennaro, R. Luisi, Dynamic Phenomena and Complexation Effects in the α-Lithiation and Asymmetric Functionalization of Azetidines, Molecules, 2022, 27, 2847. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27092847.
• R. Rizzi, F. Capitelli, B.I. Lazoryak, V.A. Morozov, F. Piccinelli and A. Altomare, A Comprehensive Study of Ca9Tb(PO4)7 and Ca9Ho(PO4)7 Doped β-Tricalcium Phosphates: Ab initio Crystal Structure Solution, Rietveld Analysis, and Dielectric Properties, Cryst. Growth Des., 2021, 21, 4, 2263–2276, doi: 10.1021/acs.cgd.0c01683.

Main collaborations:

Univ Bari A Moro, Dept Pharm Drug Sci, Via E Orabona 4, I-70125 Bari, Italy

Univ Bari A Moro, Dipartimento Farm Sci Farmaco, Consorzio CINMPIS, Via E Orabona 4, I-70125 Bari, Italy

Univ Bari A Moro, Ist Chim Composti Organometall ICCOM CNR, Dipartimento Chim, Via E Orabona 4, I-70125 Bari, Italy

Laboratory of Industrial and Synthetic Organic Chemistry (LISOC), Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, University of Calabria

Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy

Univ Bari, Dipartimento Sci Terra & Geoambientali, Via E Orabona 4, Bari 70125, Italy

Univ Polytech Tirana, FIMIF, Tirana 1000, Albania

Rudjer Boskovic Inst, Div Mat Phys, Zagreb 10000, Croatia

Univ Federico II, Complesso Univ Monte S Angelo, Dipartimento Sci Terra Ambiente & Risorse, Via Cintia 21, I-80126 Naples, Italy