Pittcon has announced 19,018 attendees from 90 countries participated in its 2009 conference and exposition, held in Chicago, Illinois, from 8-13 March.
There was a six per cent increase in conferees over Pittcon 2008.
The exposition included 1,006 exhibiting companies occupying 2,249 booths and showcasing the latest laboratory instrumentation, equipment and services across a range of products and technologies, including separation sciences, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, nanotechnology, laboratory automation and informatics.
More than 130 companies exhibited at Pittcon for the first time.
The exposition also featured a new area called the Green Corner, in which 10 companies displayed products and services for green chemistry solutions, resource conservation and laboratory-pollution prevention techniques.
The comprehensive technical programme included more than 2,200 technical presentations distributed among invited symposia, organised contributed sessions, achievement awards, workshops and poster presentations.
More than 100 invited speakers addressed topics of global interest, including alternative and sustainable energy, food and drug safety, environmental issues, new materials development and bioanalytical techniques.
Dr George M Whitesides and Professor Ann A Flowers delivered the plenary lecture to a near-capacity crowd of 1,000 attendees.
More than 1,500 conferees also took advantage of the educational opportunities afforded by the Pittcon Short Course programme, which offered 100 courses in 60 topic areas.
Networking opportunities were also abundant at Pittcon 2009.
This year's programme included 35 networking sessions on a variety of topics and was attended by 430 participants.
