Pittcon Prelude
Ahead of New Orleans, we offer a little history, editorial program picks, and invite you to the Humanity in Science Award symposium.
A Brief History of Pittcon
Sixty-five years ago, a small technical meeting sponsored by the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh took place on the seventeenth floor of the luxury William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh. There were 14 exhibitors and 25 booths, and the volunteers behind the conference sought to create the most extensive technical program they could, hoping to attract a wide audience and noteworthy speakers. Overall, 56 papers were presented, drawing around 800 attendees. It was a success – the organizers’ celebration included five gallons of ice cream and six apple pies...
The first meeting was known simply as the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, but fast forward to 2015 and that small meeting has evolved into an analytial behemoth more commonly referred to as Pittcon – which is a good thing, because despite the show’s Pittsburgh origins, Pittcon hasn’t visited there since 1966... The 2015 installment takes place in New Orleans (March 8-12) and will feature more than 2,000 technical sessions (see Editor’s Top Fives).
The 2014 event, held in Chicago, featured 935 exhibiting companies and 16,255 attendees. The 2013 event, held in Philadelphia was ranked number 104 on the Trade Show News Network’s Top 250 US trade shows of 2013. It’s hard to believe that even after the success of the first show in 1950, no one intended on making it a regular occurrence...
Editor’s Top Fives
Symposia
- Accurate Mass Analysis of Environmental Samples and Food by both LC and GC/Q-TOF-MS (March 8, 1:30pm, room 238)
- The International Year of Light – SAS. “Fundamental Science-driven Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging for Clinical Diagnostic Systems (March 9, 9:45am).
- Imaging Mass Spectrometry of Biological Samples (March 10, 1:30pm, room 262)
- Microelectrodes, Microfluidics and Microdevices – Tools to Study Physiology On-Chip and In Vivo (March 11, 1:30pm, room 263)
- Forensic Analysis in the Lab and Crime Scene (March 12, 8:30am, room 265)
Oral Sessions
- There is More to Medical Marijuana than THC, CBC and CBD: Comprehensive Analysis of Cannabis Using Gas Chromatography – High Resolution TOFMS (March 8, 1:30pm, room 241)
- Sensors: Molecular Recognition and Sensing Mechanisms (March 9, 8:30am, room 276)
- Advances in Energy Research: From Unconventional Fuels to Solar Energy (March 10, 1:30pm, room 240)
- Chemometrics (March 10, 8:30am, room 255)
- Food Research: USDA/ARS in New Orleans (March 11, 8:30am, room 255)
The Humanity in Science Award Symposium
In 2014, Phenomenex and The Analytical Scientist came together to create an award that would recognize the innovative and altruistic work that goes on behind closed doors in the field of analytical science.
Here, at Pittcon 2015 in New Orleans, we celebrate with the winners of the inaugural Humanity in Science Award.
What The Humanity in Science Award winners and runners up offer insight into the work that impressed our judges.
Where Seminar Room A (“SRA”)
When March 10
Session 1: Morning coffee @ 11am
Session 2: Afternoon tea @ 3pm
"Making great scientific magazines isn’t just about delivering knowledge and high quality content; it’s also about packaging these in the right words to ensure that someone is truly inspired by a topic. My passion is ensuring that our authors’ expertise is presented as a seamless and enjoyable reading experience, whether in print, in digital or on social media. I’ve spent seven years writing and editing features for scientific and manufacturing publications, and in making this content engaging and accessible without sacrificing its scientific integrity. There is nothing better than a magazine with great content that feels great to read."
