Experience Innovation at Pittcon 2013  

For the first time Philadelphia will play host to the 64th Pittcon, which will be held the Pennsylvania Convention Center on March 17 - 21, 2013.
Pittcon is the world’s largest annual premier conference and exposition on laboratory science and attracts more than 17,000 attendees from industry, academia and government from 90 countries worldwide. Pittcon provides a showcase for scientific innovations on laboratory equipment, technology and supplies, unique networking opportunities and educational programmes. Experience innovation from over 930 exhibitors, a diverse Technical Program of over 2000 presentations as well as networking sessions that provide the chance to exchange innovative ideas with scientists from around the world.
Nobel Laureate Sir Harold (Harry) Kroto (pictured right) will deliver the Pittcon 2013 Wallace H. Coulter Plenary Lecture, ‘Exameter Objects to Nanometer Ones and Back Again’. The Plenary Lecture will be part of the Opening Session for the Technical Program at Pittcon 2013.
Sir Harry Kroto is currently a Francis Eppes professor of Chemistry at Florida State University, where he is carrying out research in nanoscience and cluster chemistry as well as developing exciting new Internet approaches to STEM educational outreach. In 1996, he was knighted for his contributions to chemistry and later that year, was one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and holds an emeritus professorship at the University of Sussex in Brighton, United Kingdom.
Kroto will present recent results from his work at Florida State University which has uncovered fascinating new information on how fullerene molecules are created in the laboratory. He will also discuss the way that original studies of carbon chain molecules in the laboratory initiated radioastronomy discoveries in massive interstellar clouds and stars which in turn led to the laboratory experiment that uncovered the totally unsuspected existence the C60 cage molecule.
The highlights of the 2013 James L. Waters Annual Symposium, Chemical Imaging Spectroscopy’, which will focus on the commercialisation of chemical imaging. Chemical imaging has enabled advancements in the fields of pharmaceutical analysis, polymer characterisation and identification of defects in semiconductor materials.
This informative symposium will take place during Pittcon on Monday, March 18, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The speakers chosen for the symposium are pioneers in this field and are uniquely qualified to discuss the development of chemical imaging and its commercialisation. The session will also focus on the current state of the technique and what the future holds for chemical imaging.
R. Michael Barnett will deliver the Pittcon 2013 Wallace H. Coulter Keynote Lecture, ‘How The Higgs Boson Saved Us From A Cold, Dark, Lifeless Universe’. The Keynote Lecture will be presented on Wednesday, 20 March at 5:00 pm at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. R. Michael Barnett is a senior physicist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He is head of the 190-member international Particle Data Group and has written many research papers on the physics that may be found at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Barnett will address the collider and the experiments, the nature of the Higgs boson and commented, “While an extremely unusual particle has clearly been discovered, how do we know it is the Higgs boson we predicted?
Conferee Networking sessions are free to all registered attendees and provide an informal venue for a small group of 15 to 25 participants to openly discuss topics of mutual interest or solve problems specific to certain instrumentation or procedures.
This year, there are 42 facilitated sessions during Conference week. These unique networking opportunities begin on Sunday and run through Wednesday afternoon. All sessions will be held in the Philadelphia Marriot Downtown which is connected to the convention center. Topics include discussions in areas such as bioanalytics, environmental science, fuels/energy/petrochemicals, genomics, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical and many more.
In keeping with the trend of increased social media use at Pittcon, conferees with mobile devices have access to the official Pittcon 2013 Mobile App which is available for free download in the App Store and Android Market or directly from pittcon.org. The app serves as an all-in-one event guide containing all the information and details about the exposition, program, and short courses, as well as a valuable networking tool to use before, during, and after the event. Features include the ability to create a custom agenda; receive reminders and updates; search, filter, and find; take notes and send by email; and exchange contact information.
Over the following pages we take a look at a selection of the exhibitors and products that will be on display this year. For further information on the show and a full list of exhibitors go to www.pittcon.org.