Call for Abstracts

The American Crystallographic Association invites researchers, scientists, and crystallographers from around the world to submit abstracts for presentation at the ACA Annual Meeting 2024.

The deadline to submit an abstract for an oral presentation has passed but the portal is still accepting abstracts for poster presentations. Abstracts must be submitted by the deadline of May 3, 2024, to be eligible for consideration for a poster prize.

Abstract Submission

To maintain consistency and streamline the abstract submission process for the benefit of all conference participants we will be utilizing the Oxford Abstract system to collect abstracts for ACA2024. The Oxford Abstract System has proven to be a reliable platform, and we are confident that the enhancements and bug fixes implemented over the past year will contribute to a smoother and more efficient experience for both authors and reviewers. Further, we assure you that our team has diligently worked to address and resolve the reported issues, and we believe that the system is now well-equipped to handle the abstract submission process. There will undoubtedly be challenges to the use of any program but please know our dedicated staff is available to assist and ensure a smooth resolution.

In order to submit your abstract, you will need to register an email address with the Oxford Abstracts system. Once you have done so, you will be taken to a dashboard that will allow you to submit or amend your abstract. Please be aware that some local firewalls may restrict access to the abstract submission website, so if you are experiencing problems, please either try to access the site from another machine or ensure that you have added Oxford Abstracts as a ‘Trusted Sender’.

There are no submission fees, but the deadline and the submission guidelines will be strictly enforced. Please note that you must be registered for the meeting before submitting an abstract.

Please read the instructions below before beginning your submission.

  • Abstracts for invited presentations must be submitted in the same manner as those for contributed papers and are subject to the same applicable abstract deadlines. 

  • All submitted abstracts are included in the program; however, the mode of presentation (oral or poster) will be decided by session chairs and the Meeting Committee.

  • Incomplete abstract submissions will not be considered.

  • Presenting authors should be prepared to present their talk and listed first.  Please ensure that the “Presenter” box is clicked.

  • Abstracts should be carefully checked for spelling, grammar, missing data, blank pages, and any duplications, prior to submission. We do not perform any editing on the abstracts. 

  • If your abstract is accepted for oral presentation, the presenting author will be permitted a maximum of ONE oral presentation in the program.

To submit an abstract please have the following ready:

  • Be ready to select the session that best fits the theme of your abstract. Please review the list of sessions and descriptions before submission.

  • The full name, affiliation, address and email address of any and all authors (with the presenting author being listed first)

  • Title

  • Body of Abstract

  • Any images or graphs that need to be attached to the submission.

  • If you wish and you are submitting a poster abstract please be prepared to select a poster prize category to be entered. This is an optional item and only those who select a poster prize will be considered.

  • Please be prepared to designate whether or not you would like to participate in the Three Minute Thesis competition.

After submission, the presenting author will be sent a confirmation email.  

To promote widespread participation, submissions are limited to one abstract per presenter, although you may be listed as co-author on an unlimited number of other presentations. In addition, you may submit two abstracts if one is for an individual presentation and the second is part of an educational session.

Following the conclusion of the oral abstract deadline and the organization of sessions, authors will receive email notifications detailing the presentation method and the finalized schedule for their abstract, including the allocated date, time, and session.

All selected abstracts will appear in full on the Conference website, abstract booklet, and they may be published. By submitting your abstract, you give permission for their publication.

Process

The portal will open on February 1, 2024 and close to those submitting an abstract for an oral presentation on March 29, 2024. 

The portal will continue to accept abstracts for poster abstracts until June 1st but any poster presenter authors that want to be considered for a poster prize must submit prior to May 5th.

Oral Presentation Process

After the portal closes to oral abstracts, session chairs begin the process of reviewing the abstracts submitted to their session by organizing and assigning talk times. While session chairs can invite speakers, 40% percent of scheduled talks will come from contributed abstracts.  Once the oral sessions are arranged and approved by the Meeting Committee (late April 2024) speakers are notified (via email) and, if their abstract was selected for an oral presentation, given the date and time for their presentation.

Poster Presentation Process

After the portal closes to poster abstracts, poster chairs begin the process of organizing the three poster presentation events.  The unassigned oral abstract authors are notified (via email) that their abstract was not selected for an oral presentation and they have the opportunity to present via poster.  Those who elect to make this change have their abstract added to the poster presentation collection.  Once the poster sessions are arranged by the poster chairs, speakers are notified (via email) and are given the date and time for their poster presentation.