Pittcon is the top international meeting for laboratory science and it is also the not-for-profit educational corporation that organises said event: The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy. Don’t let that confuse you though.
Founded in 1950, the first 18 conferences and expositions were in fact held in Pittsburgh, but Pittcon has continued to grow and grow, taking in other American locations, redefining its original emphasis and quickly reaching today’s position of pre-eminence in the world of laboratory instrumentation, innovation and consumables.
Pittcon can now attract more than 950 exhibitors, providing an unparalleled opportunity to view the latest equipment – write a wish list! – and talk directly with the manufacturers. The chance to see the products being demonstrated by technically proficient exponents, in front of a knowledgeable participatory audience, can be invaluable when considering purchase options.
Further technical insights can be gleaned by attending one of the 2,000 + technical sessions and the specially commissioned Short Courses and, of course, there is the latest news and views (including video) from ‘labface’ provided in the symposia and elsewhere throughout the event.
With so much going on (17,000 + delegates!) the networking opportunities are always manyfold, both to discuss your own areas of interest and to embark on new ones!
However, as befits its dual identity Pittcon’s reach extends far beyond the conference itself. Funds raised assist science education at all levels – more than a million dollars a year going to support equipment and research grants, libraries and museums and public science centres. Not forgetting the prestigious annual Pittcon Awards to those researchers who have made a significant contribution to the field of Analytical Chemistry.
Pittcon did not arrive fully formed of course, it has it’s roots in the activities of both the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP) and the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP).
The further affiliation of a number of U.S. organisations, like the American Chemical Society, and international organisations, such as the Beijing Conference and Exhibition on Instrumental Analysis (BCEIA), the Laboratory Managers Association and the Japan Analytical Instruments Manufacturers Association, has further added to the influence and authority of the Pittcon brand – to use the modern idiom.
Overall it means that Pittcon continues to feel like a conference and organisation built around ‘you’, one that has grown organically to become a major event of the science conference year, but which has never lost its original purpose of informing and assisting the laboratory worker and science enthusiast. See you in Philadelphia!