What to Expect from Pittcon 2017

Pittcon 2017 is rapidly approaching and this year promises to be bigger and better than ever before. Held in Chicago, Illinois at McCormick Place between the 5th and 9th March the expo and conference program will bring together thousands of members of the scientific community for four days of innovations, educational programs and unique networking opportunities.

Pittcon combines an exciting exposition for the latest instruments and techniques as well as a comprehensive technical lecture program with over 2000 presentations and more than 100 short training courses in a variety of new methods and techniques in analysis and spectroscopy for laboratory science.

Exhibitors and Expo

The 2017 Pittcon expo will feature more than 800 exhibitors of analytical and scientific instrumentation. The expo ‘Magnificent Mile’ in the centre of the hall will also feature live 20 minute demonstrations of new instruments and techniques by industry experts, the lab gauntlet challenge where visitors can test their labs skills, massage and relaxation areas, a giant iPad for web browsing and Tweeting, LEGO gravity car design and racing and virtual reality experiences; and the Pittcon information center where you can get an apple and a souvenir; just in case you need a rest for a five minutes.

Technical Program

Aside from the expo one of the main reasons to attend Pittcon 2017 is the impressive lecture program. Some of the highlights will be Jonathan Sweedler from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on analytical tools for cell by cell Characterization of the brain, Joachim Pleil from the US Environmental Protection Agency talking about environmental and clinical applications of breath biomarkers and Karl Deisseroth from Stanford University who will give the ‘keynote’ Wallace H. Coulter Lecture on Integrated Brainwide Structural and Functional Analysis.

The Waters Symposium is also not to be missed. At Pittcon 2017, the twenty-eighth annual Waters symposium will showcase the Genomic Analysis Technologies developed by Illumina, Inc, an emerging instrument manufacturer. This symposium will present new analytical methods involving gene sequencing and highlight the importance of encouraging cooperation between inventors, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and marketeers.

2017 Award Recipients

Honoring scientists who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of analytical chemistry and spectroscopy. The conference in 2017 will see 15 award symposia over the five days as part of the technical program. Some highlights will include:

The 2017 LCGC symposium that will present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Pat Sandra of the Research Institute of Chromatography and the Emerging Leader in Chromatography Award to Deirdre Cabooter of Leuven University.

The University of Pittsburgh symposium will present the 2017 Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award to Renã A S Robinson of the University of Pittsburgh for her work in proteomics, aging, and Alzheimer’s disease

The Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh symposium will present Paul Dauenhauer, of the University of Minnesota with the 2017 Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award for his work in GC-MS and biomass

The Royal Society of Chemistry will host a symposium on the use of proteomics to understand the past and present and solve future global challenges. At this symposium Kirsty Penkman of the University of York, UK, will be given the 2017 Royal Society of Chemistry's Joseph Black Award for her work on the analysis of proteins.

The Ralph N Adams Award symposia will focus on microscale analytical chemistry and present the award to Robert T Kennedy, Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology at the University of Michigan for his work in microfluidics and bioanalytical chemistry.