Caribbean Regional X-ray Science Toward Advancement Laboratory

Following the successful initiative of the X-TechLab in Benin, serving as a hub for Africa, LAAAMP and its partnering institutions, in collaboration with UNESCO and other organizations, have initiated the development of a crystallography research and training hub for the Greater Caribbean at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica.

crXstal, the Caribbean Regional X-ray Science Toward Advancement Laboratory, was inaugurated on October 3, 2024 and serves as:

1. A training centre: to teach X-ray crystallography through short courses and hands-on training schools for students and professionals from throughout the Caribbean in collaboration with the International Union for Crystallography (IUCr), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), and LAAAMP. International, intraregional training schools are organised under the successful and well-known framework of the IUCr-UNESCO OpenLab.
2. A research centre: to conduct cutting-edge research projects and address local and regional problems through project-based grant funding, allowing local scientists to bocome full participants in the life of the international scientific community. International experts from IUCr and LAAAMP are committed to assist local researchers and students with crystallizing materials, growing single crystals, collecting, processing, and interpreting X-ray diffraction data, and defining and executing research projects. Moreover, crXstal will act as a feeder and assist future users of the proposed Greater Caribbean Light Source, similar to the role that X-TechLab in Benin is playing towards the establishment of the African Light Source.
3. A service centre: to collect and interpret X-ray diffraction data for industry (e.g., for quality assessment and research in sectors like pharma, mining, cement and construction materials, new materials) and private clients. crXstal will endeavour to become self-sustaining and overcome the challenge of maintenance costs through research-based grant funding and a service arm that extends to industry and private sector clients throughout the Greater Caribbean.