Maureen M. Julian earned an AB from Hunter College, New York City, with a double major in physics and mathematics, and a PhD from Cornell University in physical chemistry with a thesis in crystallography. She was a research fellow at University College, London, with Professor Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, a founder of the International Tables for Crystallography. The author has given several series of crystallography workshops for undergraduate and graduate students in various departments, including chemistry, geology, and materials science. Her interests include ab initio calculations, molecular bonding, and group theory.