The Meeting that Conquered the Big Apple "The
Event that will turn the Big I Apple upside down!!!" T h a t was how the Pittsburgh Conference Committee advertised this year's 41st annual Pittsburgh Conference and Exposition, held March 5-9 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. For any other show, organizers might have worried about promising more than they could deliver and conferees might have been skeptical about exaggerated claims. But by the time the sun had sunk into the Hudson River on Friday, organizers had delivered on their claims for the first conference of the new decade: A record 34,048 conferees had attended the "world's largest spectroanalytical event." In addition to a record attendance (see Table I), the number of exhibitors (860) as well as the number of booths (2597) reached all-time highs, filling every inch of the approximately halfmillion-square-foot Jacob Javits Convention Center. Conferees were able to attend their choice of 1350 technical presentations ranging from the latest in capillary electrophoresis to detecting molecules in space. (For detailed coverage of the exposition, see the March 19 issue of Chemical & Engineering News.) When a conference becomes this large, the sheer logistics are overwhelming. In fact, the conference has outgrown many cities, including its namesake, Cleveland, and Atlantic City. Only five cities can still accommodate it: New York, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Las Vegas. New York is the largest of the five, and organizers planning the conference took into account the potential problems associated with size. A well-run shuttle bus system connected distant hotels with the convention center. In fact, the buses were so popular that many were standing-room only. The conference committee also anticipated the record attendance and urged early registration. Despite this advance warning, lines of thousands of would-be conferees trailed out the doors of the convention center early
Monday, waiting their turn to register. To alleviate this bottleneck, registration officials quickly arranged for waiting registrants to attend meetings and the exposition and return later for their imprinted identification badges. Throughout the week of the conference, an Employment Bureau offered job candidates and potential employers a chance to meet. Approximately 1150 candidates registered with the bureau (an increase from 861 in 1989), and more than 780 employers sought candidates to fill open positions. On Tuesday, Centcom, Ltd., the advertising sales management for Ameri-
FOCUS can Chemical Society publications, served its 12th annual Pittsburgh Conference breakfast. Over coffee and scrambled eggs, a panel of experts discussed the hot topic of the 1990s: environmental analysis. Panelists included David Friedman, U.S. EPA; Richard Ronan, Roy F. Weston, Inc.; Nancy Pfund, Hambrecht & Quist (Venture Partners); and Robert Finnigan, Finnigan MAT. Friedman, program manager of the methods section of EPA's office of solid waste, described critical issues for successful environmental monitoring, in-
Table 1.
cluding the need for new technology that can be used for real-time, on-site analysis. He admitted that EPA has erected barriers to creativity by specifying "in excruciating detail" how analyses are to be accomplished. This process removes the chemist from the responsibility for the results, Friedman pointed out, and must be changed in the new decade. Accurate and precise data will still be essential, although government-mandated methodology will not be as specific. His final concern involved standardizing the testing requirements of various regulatory programs. Ronan, vice-president of the analytics division of Roy F. Weston, Inc., was not optimistic about achieving standardization. However, he believes that environmental professionals are constantly working to improve methodology that will provide accurate and precise results more quickly and at a lower cost. Pfund, a general partner at Hambrecht & Quist (Venture Partners), noted that the growing role of state and local government activities is creating a demand for increased environmental analysis. For example, Californians will soon vote on "The Big Green Initiative," major environmental legislation that affects such diverse areas as ancient redwood protection and global warming. Of the initiative's six sec-
Pittsburgh Conference attendance statistics, 1987-1990 Category
1987
1988
1989
1990
Total no. of conferees No. of technical papers No. of exhibitors No. of booth spaces
31,555 1,145 790 2,039
25,264 1,325 830 2,300
26,741 1,534 850 2,556
34,048 1,350 860 2,597
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 62, NO. 9, MAY 1, 1990 · 553 A
FOCUS
tions, all but one will require additional environmental monitoring. Finnigan, vice-president of Finnigan MAT, discussed the financial impact of environmentalism in the 1990s. He projected that despite the flat growth experienced in the environmental field
in 1989, the new decade will offer growth opportunities to companies that adapt their products to new markets within this country (e.g., clean air monitoring). Furthermore, he predicted that manufacturers who actively participate in growing environmental
markets abroad will reap attractive rewards. Conference organizers also recognized the worldwide importance of analytical chemistry and incorporated an international flavor in their technical program. According to program chairman Gerst Gibbon, an example of this was the symposium "Laboratory Accreditation and Standardization: Perspective on Europe in 1992." Symposium organizer Harry Hertz of the National Institute of Standards and Technology noted that the elimination of trade barriers in Europe will bring major changes to business and industry. Companies that produce goods for the European market must be aware of and meet laboratory testing standards and certification. Given the recent changes sweeping the world, it is impossible to predict their ultimate effect on the instrument industry. But one thing remains clear as the exposition heads off to Chicago in 1991. The Pittsburgh Conference will continue to be the premier international showcase of analytical instrumentation—one that you can't afford to miss. Louise Voress
For Those Involved in the Vital Field Now Monthly of Surface and Colloid Chemistry
Langmuir
The ACS Journal of
Surfaces and Colloids
Langmuir is a monthly journal of broad coverage that brings together research from all aspects of the field: ultra-high vacuum surface chemistry and spectroscopy, heterogeneous catalysis, all aspects of interface chemistry involving fluids, and disperse systems.
ACS Members* 1 year 2 years U.S. $58 $104 Can. & Mex. $70 $128 $144 Europe** $78 All Other $85 $158 Countries** 1990 Rates
Nonmembers 1 year $429 $441 $449 $456
Langmuir publishes peer-reviewed research in: * For personal use only. *· Air service Included. * "Wet" Surface Chemistry * "UHV Surface Chemistry For nonmember rates in Japan, contact Maruzen Co., Ltd. * Disperse Systems * Electrochemistry For more information or to subscribe, write: * Surface Structure; tunneling electron microscopy EDITOR William A. Steele, Pennsylvania State University ASSOCIATE EDITORS
A.T. Hubbard, University of Cincinnati R.L. Rowell, University of Massachusetts
554 A « ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 62, NO. 9, MAY 1, 1990
American Chemical Society Marketing Communications Dept. 1155 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
In a hurry? Call ToU Free (800)227-5558 (U.S. and Canada), or (202)872-4363 in D.C. and outside the U.S. and Canada, or Fax your order at (202)872-4615.
