Attend Pittcon® 2012 to Connect With Colleagues, Innovations, and Scientific Discoveries

Pittcon® is the world’s largest annual conference and exposition for laboratory science where scientists from all over the world gather to connect with innovations, scientific discoveries, and colleagues. We are looking forward to Pittcon 2012 in the exciting city of Orlando, FL, March 11–15, at the Orange County Convention Center. Florida has become the powerful new catalyst in the global life sciences industry. The state’s biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device sectors continue to grow, making Florida the epicenter of some of the most exciting research, promising discoveries, and successful commercialization efforts in the world.

Pittcon will officially kick off on Sunday, March 11, with an Opening Session that includes the plenary lecture, “Ambient Ionization and Mini Mass Spectrometers: In situ MS for Everyone,” presented by R. Graham Cooks, Henry B. Hass Distinguished Professor–Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN). Make plans to attend the complimentary mixer, which will be held immediately following the lecture.

Exposition of Laboratory Instrumentation

The Exposition begins with an Opening Ceremony on Monday, March 12, at 8:30. This year’s Exposition will offer the latest instrumentation from over 900 leading companies from 40 countries. Recent surveys have revealed that 50% of our exhibitors will launch at least one new product at Pittcon this year.

The floor will be maximized for easy navigation and convenient access to amenities such as the tram, Internet cafés, Technology Park, and specialized sections including the Life Science, LIMS, and New Exhibitor areas. The premier Exposition offers conferees a unique opportunity to get a first-hand look at equipment, participate in live demonstrations, attend informative exhibitor seminars, and meet with technical personnel for Q&A sessions. In addition, 20% of exhibitors will offer discounts on purchases made on site.

2012 Technical Program

The 2012 Technical Program is designed to provide a venue for the world’s leading scientists to share their latest research and findings that impact all areas of laboratory science with an emphasis on worldwide topics critical to current events, operations operations, and health/wellness. The Technical Program, consisting of symposia, contributed sessions, workshops, and posters, will focus on such topics as environmental, life science, food science, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical, forensics, and alternative fuels—just to name a few. Award symposia will recognize and honor scientists who have made outstanding contributions to analytical chemistry and applied spectroscopy. In an effort to help minimize scheduling conflicts, there will be no Technical Program during the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. daily to allow attendees to visit the exhibits without missing any important technical presentations. In addition, all conferees will have access to webcasts of selected symposia for one year after the conference. The webcasted sessions will be clearly marked in the Final Program.

We are very pleased this year to add a new event to our program, a Capstone Lecture, “Redesigning DNA: Fixing God’s Mistakes,” presented by Steven A. Benner, Distinguished Fellow at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution. This lecture will take place Wednesday, March 14, at 5:00 p.m. in the Valencia Ballroom in the Orange County Convention Center, with a complimentary mixer immediately following.

Short Courses

Another educational aspect of Pittcon is the diverse and very affordable Short Course program. Select from over 100 courses to enhance your professional skills in your current area of interest or expand your knowledge of other fields. Our Short Courses are taught in a classroom setting by instructors who are experts in their fields, and range in length from halfday to two-day sessions. There are 34 new courses offered this year covering areas such as data analysis, food, life sciences, liquid chromatography, management, pharmaceutical, polymers, industrial hygiene, quality compliance, and rheology.

Networking opportunities

Most people would agree that one of the most beneficial aspects of attending Pittcon is to take advantage of all the networking opportunities available during conference week. There will be a Twitter café in the Pittcon booth for those who want to send tweets about Pittcon that will be displayed on a large-screen monitor in Technology Park.

For the second year, attendees can get connected to Pittcon before, during, and after the event with the enhanced mobile app, Pittcon 2012, which is available for free download in the App Store and Android Market. Enhanced features will allow you to customize your conference experience by creating your schedule in advance, communicate with other attendees during the event, view exhibitor profiles, and take session notes that can be e-mailed. The app will remain available to use as a reference tool after the conference ends.

The 2012 Conferee Networking Sessions, which are free to all registered conferees, are a great place to meet people, brainstorm new ideas, and discuss concepts. These two-hour sessions cover a wide range of topics to include forensics, chemical analysis, lab management, environmental, food quality, current trends, and more.

Our Employment Bureau helps to connect potential candidates with career opportunities. Interviews can be conducted on-site, and preregistration is required. Postings are suitable for the new entrant to the job market, as well as the seasoned professional.

Please visit www.pittcon.org to stay connected with all that Pittcon 2012 has to offer and learn why thousands of your colleagues attend this premier conference and exposition. Register before February 13, 2012, and pay only $115, which gives you week-long, unlimited access to the Exposition, Technical Program, and Conferee Networking Sessions. We urge you to also take advantage of the lowest prices on hotels by booking through PittconHousing.com.

We look forward to seeing you in sunny Orlando for an informative week that is guaranteed to shine!

Sincerely,

Jon N. Peace
President, Pittcon 2012