Standing Peachtree – Pittcon 2016 in Atlanta

G.I.T. Laboratory Journal
News / Interviews
February 10, 2016
By Arne Kusserow

Pittcon 2016 in Atlanta

You can’t visit Atlanta without getting in contact with peaches. Standing Peachtree was the name the Native Americans of the Cherokee and Creek nations gave to the village at the place where the Peachtree creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, right in the heart of Atlanta today.

Peach trees are omnipresent in Atlanta, as Peachtree streets, lanes, places, avenues, roads, hill, building etc. This may be a little problematic when you try to reach your hotel in Peachtree Street, but is in fact they are delicious. There is one place in Atlanta where you won’t get a peach: The organizers desks at Pittcon 2016, there, apples are served for free- a tradition of Pittcon. Somehow also a tradition is our interview with the Pittcon organizers. This year we asked Marian Nardozzi to give us an interview because she and her co-workers, the professional staff of Pittcon, are as enthusiastic about the event as the volunteers are and we found it is the right time to talk about their contributions to the success of this outstanding scientific event: The only event in the world, where you can meet almost all deciders in the laboratory, analytical chemistry and biotechnology business at a single place. The ones who drive groundbreaking scientific research, the ones who drive instrument development, and the ones who report on all this. See you there soon.

Laboratory Journal: What are the educational projects and grants Pittcon will support with its revenues this year?

M. Nardozzi: Proceeds from Pittcon, which is co-sponsored by the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP) and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP), 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 and research grants; scholarships for students; awards to teachers and professors; and grants to public science centers, libraries and museums in western Pennyslvania, Ohio and West Virginia.