Pittcon 2018, the 69th Conference and Exposition for Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, ended on March 1, in Orlando, Florida with an economic impact to the city estimated at $23 million. This global event brought together approximately 11,415 conferees and exhibitor personnel (official numbers to be released at the end of March).
Global Attendance Stable
Pittcon has always had a strong global presence, and 2018 was no exception with 25% of conferees from outside the United States from 80 countries. The top five countries by attendance were China, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany. Attendees include lab managers, scientists, chemists, researchers and professors, from industrial, academic, and government labs. They represent an equally broad number of scientific disciplines including life science, food science, drug discovery, environmental, forensics, nanotechnology, water/wastewater, energy/fuel, agriculture and bioterrorism.
Exposition
The dynamic exposition floor (378,542 total sq. ft, 150,000 sq. ft. exhibits only) consisted of 713 exhibitors from 33 countries occupying 1,247 booths displaying the latest innovations in instrumentation and technology used in laboratory science. This year, we welcomed 92 first-time exhibitors. There were two specialized areas on the floor —the New Exhibitors and Laboratory Information Management (LIMS).
Pittcon 2018 introduced schedule changes to the annual exhibition. The exhibit hall was open for three days, Tuesday, February 27 – Thursday, March 1. Additionally, there was an exhibits-only afternoon on Tuesday, during which time no program sessions were offered. This allowed attendees ample time to visit the exposition floor, and the floor was buzzing with excitement throughout the afternoon.
The NEXUS Theaters were another new addition to the exhibits. These two theaters consisted of 22 entertaining and informative presentations on a variety of topics from cannabis testing, to communicating science, to lab safety.
The large interactive park area, this year called Alligator Alley, again offered attendees DemoZones, the Lab Gauntlet Challenges, LEGO® Gravity Car Racing, Virtual Reality Experiences, the Pittcon Booths and more.
The 2018 sponsors included: Platinum Sponsor Shimadzu and Silver Sponsor RotaChrom Technologies.
The second annual Pittcon Today Excellence Awards recognized ingenuity and innovation at this year’s exposition. Finalists were selected by a blue chip panel of experts, including leading voices in academia, industry, and trade publications, who evaluated exhibitor entries based on ingenuity, creativity, implementation and outcomes. The principal criterion being the product’s projected impact on the industry and the wider public. The prestigious awards were presented at each exhibitor booth recognizing gold, silver and bronze winners across the three sales categories. Recipients include:
Less than $10,000,000 in sales category
GOLD - Gate Scientific, Inc. - Wireless smartSENSE Stirbar
SILVER - RotaChrom Technologies.- RotaChrom rCPC and iCPC
BRONZE – Axcend Corporation – Axcend Focus LC
$10 - $100,000,000 in sales category
GOLD – B&W Tek - STRaman®
SILVER – Metrohm- 946 Portable VA Analyzer
BRONZE – CEM Corporation - EDGE
Greater than $100,000,000 in sales category
GOLD – HORIBA Scientific – Duetta
- Xylem, OI Analytical - 1080 Combustion Total Organic Carbon Analyzer
SILVER – Fluid Imaging Technologies, Inc. - FlowCam Nano
BRONZE – Shimadzu Scientific Instruments – IRSpirit
Robust Technical Program Offers Multiple Educational Opportunities
Pittcon offered more than 2,000 technical presentations presented in 68 symposia, 10 award sessions (15 awards presented), 14 oral sessions, 52 contributed sessions, 5 workshops and 67 poster sessions.
The Wallace H. Coulter Lecture, “Analytical Science in Precision Medicine: Facing the Challenges of the 21st Century Healthcare” was presented by Jeremy K. Nicholson, the Head of the Department of Surgery and Cancer and Director of the MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre Faculty of Medicine.
Pittcon 2018 introduced a second special evening lecture, the Plenary Lecture. This Tuesday evening presentation “Optical Microscopy: The Resolution Revolution” was presented by Dr. Stefan Hell, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen and Director at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. Both sessions were well attended and were followed by happy hour in Pub Pittcon.
The 33 Conferee Networking sessions provided a unique opportunity for conferees from around the world to meet in an informal setting to discuss topics of mutual interest. The facilitator-assisted sessions discussed critical topics in areas such as environmental, biomedical, water, academia, pharmaceuticals, FDA regulations and more.
The Short Course program offered an opportunity for skill-building training and continuing education for laboratory professionals at an affordable price. This year, 93 short courses were offered covering a wide variety of topics including, but not limited to, analytical methods in environmental, food and life sciences; nanotechnology; water/wastewater; petroleum and pharmaceuticals. Lab management courses are also a significant part of the program and provide critical insight into the interpretation of the requirements of regulatory aspects, global guidelines, and laboratory standards. Nearly 900 participants attended these courses and received professional development hours.
Employment Bureau
Pittcon provides a free onsite employment service for candidates to review active job openings and for employers to review candidates’ credentials and resumes. The 2018 Employment Bureau reported there were 92 employers, 248 positions, 296 candidates and more than 270 interviews