2017 was another big year for Pittcon, as global attendance and economic impacts are revealed

Pittcon 2017 brought together members from the scientific community from around the world with leading speakers, instructors and exhibiting companies.

• $29.2 Million Economic Impact
• Exhibiting Companies from 30 Countries
• Technical Program Highly Acclaimed – Leading researchers share scientific research

Pittcon 2017, the 69^th Conference and Exposition for Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, ended on March 9, in Chicago Illinois with an economic impact to the city estimated at $29.2 million. This global event brought together approximately 14,150 conferees and exhibitor personnel (official numbers to be released by end of March).  Those who attended Pittcon for the first-time account for nearly 28% of the conferee number.

Global Attendance Stable

Pittcon has always had a strong global presence, and 2017 was no exception with 22% of conferees from outside the United States from 89 countries. The top five countries by attendance were China, Canada, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom.  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 787 exhibitors from 37 countries occupying 1,404 booths displaying the latest innovations in instrumentation and technology used in laboratory science.  This year, we welcomed 124 first-time exhibitors. There were two specialized areas on the floor —the New Exhibitors and Laboratory Information Management (LIMS).

It was the second year for Live Demo areas on the floor. Leading exhibitors who presented pre-scheduled interactive presentations of a product, technique or service reported that the demos were very well attended.

The 2017 sponsors included: Platinum Sponsor Shimadzu and Silver Sponsors Chemplex, Metrohm, PerkinElmer and Hitachi Koki.

A new initiative designed to recognize ingenuity and innovation at this year’s conference was the Pittcon Today Excellence Awards. Finalists were selected by a blue chip panel of experts, including leading voices in academia and industry publications, who evaluated the 80+ entries based on ingenuity, creativity, implementation and outcomes, with 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.

Winners include:

Less than $10,000,000 Category:

• GOLD – Biovendor Instruments - MALDI COLONYST®
• SILVER – Elemission Inc.- Mission Curiosity

$10,000, 000 – $100,000,000 Category:

• GOLD – Hirschmann Inc. - Opus Dispenser
• SILVER – Metrohm - Process Ion Chromatograph
• BRONZE – Tosoh Bioscience LLC - TSKgel Protein A-5PW HLPC Column

More than $100,000,000 Category:

• GOLD – Waters Corporation - ACQUITY QDa Mass Detector
• SILVER – Phenomenex - β-Gone β-Glucuronidase Removal products
• BRONZE – Beckman Coulter Life Sciences - New Optima AUC Analytical Ultracentrifuge

Robust Technical Program Offers Multiple Educational Opportunities

Pittcon offered more than 2,000 technical sessions presented in 72 symposia, 15 awards, 89 oral sessions, 19 contributed sessions, 6 workshops and 56 poster sessions. Approximately 40% of the presentations focused on life science topics.

The Wallace H. Coulter Lecture, “Integrated Brainwide Structural and Functional Analysis” was presented by Karl Deisseroth, the D.H. Chen Professor of Bioengineering and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  The session was attended by a capacity audience followed by a complimentary mixer and poster session.

The 34 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.  Participants have stated that these courses are another factor in selecting Pittcon as the one conference they attend every year.  This year, 117 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.

The diverse selections, beginning and intermediate levels, were attended by approximately 700 participants.

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 2017 Employment Bureau reported  there were 92 employers, 217 positions, 415 candidates and 400 interviews. The top categories for job offers were sales/marketing, R&D, and method development. New this year, the employment service will be active through March for both employers and candidates.