Pittcon 2015 Hits the Big Easy in a Big Way: $21 Million Economic Impact

  • Exhibiting Companies from 29 Countries
  • Third Year for Food Labs Conference Co-location in Conjunction with Pittcon
  • Technical Program Highly Acclaimed

New Orleans, LA – March 8-12, 2015 – Pittcon 2015, the 66th Conference and Exposition for Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, ended on March 12, in New Orleans with an economic impact to the city estimated at $21 million. This global event brought together more than 14,200 conferees and exhibitor personnel. Those who attended Pittcon for the first-time account for 36% of the conferee number. For the third year, the co-location of Food Labs Conference, organized by Innovative Publishing and Food Safety Tech, was held in conjunction with Pittcon.

Global Attendance Remains Strong
Pittcon has always had a strong global presence, and 2015 was no exception with 28% of attendees being from outside the United States; top countries by attendance were Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and 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 (575,000 total sq. feet) consisted of 922 exhibitors from 29 countries occupying 1,690 booths displaying the latest innovations in instrumentation and technology used in laboratory science. This year, we welcomed 129 first-time exhibitors. There were three specialized areas on the floor —the New Exhibitors, Laboratory Information Management (LIMS) and new this year, was the Food Technology area which centralized products and services typically used by those in food science.
When asked to comment on Pittcon, eight-year exhibitor Craig Chinchilla of Chinchilla Scientific said, “Pittcon is a great opportunity for us to visit with dealers that we normally would not be able to travel and meet. We can fit many sales calls into a few days in our booth.”

Key decision makers attending the conference account for 74% of the attendees who rely on the exposition to identify or finalize the purchase of laboratory products for their organizations.
Exhibitor Sean Jameson from VUV Analytics, Inc, stated, “We had overflow foot traffic in our booth for three solid days.”

The 2015 sponsors included: Platinum Sponsors Waters Corp. and Shimadzu and Silver Sponsors Chemplex, EMD Millipore, Hamamatsu, Parker, Restek, Spectro and Supelco.

Robust Technical Program Offers Multiple Educational Opportunities
Pittcon offered more than 2,000 technical sessions presented in 78 symposia, 14 awards, 116 oral sessions, 10 workshops and more than 800 posters. Approximately 40% of the presentations focused on life science topics.

The Wallace H. Coulter Lecture, presented by Naomi J. Halas, Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University, on Sunday, March 8, was attended to a capacity audience followed by a complimentary mixer.

The 31 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 discuss techniques, solutions to challenges and innovative concepts.
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, 115 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, ranging from beginning to advanced levels, were attended by approximately1,300 participants.
The 2015 Short Course Chairman Kerry Holzworth remarked, “Participating in a short course helps laboratory personnel to achieve educational and developmental career goals.” He added, “The cutting edge techniques and methodologies presented enable attendees to better understand current events and trends.”

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. This year, there were 128 employers, 565 positions, 363 candidates and 440 interviews. The number of positions were up 50% and employers up 17% when compared to 2014 statistics.

Science Week

  • Each year through Science Week, Pittcon offers outreach and support programs for science education in the city that hosts its annual convention. Six hands-on workshops designed for upper elementary school students and middle school students led students through the exciting process of experimentation and discovery. Teacher workshops supported by school equipment grants were available for elementary, middle and high school teachers in the New Orleans area.
  • In addition to offering the workshops, Pittcon presented approximately $50,000 in science equipment grants to schools with educators participating in the teacher workshops. The grants enable the schools to purchase equipment demonstrated in the workshops so teachers can implement the science experiments in their own classrooms, or they can use the grants to purchase other science-related equipment of their choice from select companies.
  • Mike Randall, a nationally recognized science demonstrator and educator from the University of Wisconsin, Madison presented his educational and highly entertaining lecture demonstration, “Wonders of Physics” to a crowd of more than 500 high school students.

About Pittcon
Pittcon® is a registered trademark of The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, a Pennsylvania non-profit organization. Co-sponsored by the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh, Pittcon is the premier annual conference and exposition on laboratory science.

Proceeds from Pittcon fund science education and outreach at all levels, kindergarten through adult. Pittcon donates more than a million dollars a year to provide financial and administrative support for various science outreach activities including science equipment grants, research grants, scholarships and internships for students, awards to teachers and professors, and grants to public science centers, libraries and museums.

Visit pittcon.org for more information.