Crystals grown from aluminum potassium sulfate. Credit: Douglas Levere / University at Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Crystals are a vital part of our everyday lives. They fall from the sky as snowflakes. They flavor our food in the form of sugar and salt. They help drive technologies that range from computers to wristwatches.

And this fall, K-12 students and teachers across the country will have the chance to try their hand at growing their own large, single crystals through an annual contest coordinated by professional chemists across the nation.

The 2022 U.S. Crystal Growing Competition begins on Oct. 17. Starting that day, participants will have five weeks to cultivate crystals using materials provided by organizers.

“From snow to salt to computers, crystals are all around us and impact many aspects of our daily lives,” says contest founder Jason Benedict, PhD, associate professor of chemistry in the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences. “The U.S. Crystal Growing Competition gives parents, educators and children all across the country the opportunity to watch these incredible objects grow right before their eyes, learn about the science of crystals, and win awesome prizes.”

Entries submitted in the “cool crystal” category of a past edition of the U.S. Crystal Growing Competition. Credit: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki.

A good alum crystal is colorless, transparent and octahedral. Credit: Douglas Levere / University at Buffalo

The contest’s organizers — known as the Crystallites — include Jason Benedict and Tasha Benedict at UB; Karah Knope, PhD, at Georgetown University; Michael Nippe, PhD, at Texas A&M University; Jeff Rack, PhD, at the University of New Mexico; and Fernando Uribe-Romo, PhD, at the University of Central Florida.

The U.S. Crystal Growing Competition is sponsored by the American Crystallographic Association (which is based in Buffalo); the U.S. National Science Foundation; VWR and Ward’s Science; the UB Department of Chemistry; Georgetown University Department of Chemistry; the Texas A&M Department of Chemistry; the University of Central Florida Department of Chemistry; the University of New Mexico Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology; the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering; the Western New York section of the American Chemical Society; Bruker; Krackeler Scientific; Rigaku; and individuals who have made donations.

Texas A&M University chemistry graduate student Lupita Aguirre inspects one of the crystal submissions for the 2021 contest, judging it for size, quality and clarity. Judging of last year's contest took place at Texas A&M. Judging of the 2022 competition will return to UB. Credit: Texas A&M University

Charlotte Hsu News Content Manager Sciences, Economic Development Tel: 716-645-4655 chsu22@buffalo.edu Twitter: @UBScience Pinterest: UB Science

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