Innovation and Inspiration highlight LabAutomation2009.
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Press Release Summary:
With 4,237 participants, Labautomation2009 included 100 podium presentations from field of laboratory automation, 18 short courses, 186 poster presentations, 17 industry-sponsored workshops, and special session, titled "Celebrate and Reunite with Five Years of Award-Winning Innovation." Eight innovative young companies were invited to participate as guest exhibitors on Innovation AveNEW, an ALA program designed to assist creative and collaborative technology development.
Original Press Release:
Scientific Innovation and Inspiration Highlight an Energetic LabAutomation2009
CHICAGO - LabAutomation2009, the world's leading conference and exhibition on emerging laboratory automation technologies, welcomed 4,237 participants from around the world to the Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs, CA, January 24-28, 2009.
LabAutomation2009 continued the Association for Laboratory Automation's (ALA's) tradition of delivering a firstclass, high-energy conference experience. Among the five-day event's educational highlights were the top 100 podium presentations from the field of laboratory automation. Other educational attractions included 18 short
courses, 186 poster presentations, 17 industry-sponsored workshops and a special session, entitled "Celebrate and Reunite with Five Years of Award-Winning Innovation," celebrating the fifth anniversary of the ALA Innovation Award Program.
Participants found LabAutomation2009's plenary speakers especially inspiring. According to Conference Chair R. Scott Martin, Ph.D., of Saint Louis University, St.Louis, MO, "The overwhelmingly positive feedback is extremely gratifying to ALA, and especially the members of the LabAutomation Scientific Committee who worked very hard to pull together another meaningful conference." Plenary speakers included Klavs F. Jensen, Ph.D., Warren K. Lewis Professor of Chemical Engineering and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; John Abele, Lab Automation Pioneer and Co-Founder of Boston Scientific; and, Jeffrey Wigand, Ph.D., the real-life scientist behind Russell Crowe's character in the
Academy Award nominated movie, "The Insider."
LabAutomation2009 participants also enjoyed a robust exhibition. The 425-booth exhibit floor showcased technologies from 250 different companies, including 45 first-time LabAutomation exhibitors, and featured more than 25 new product launches.
"LabAutomation2009 was a surprise given the economy," stated Hansjurg Haas, Ph.D., Director Marketing and Integrated Systems, Laboratory Automation Scientific Instrument Division, Thermo Fisher Scientific. "I have spoken with other vendors who have said that it has been a positive experience - the floor looked busy, traffic was constant, and quality of leads seemed good. From a vendor perspective, LabAutomation makes you realize how much this community has grown - you're a competitor one day, a partner the next. To some degree we are all integrated and that triggers both collaboration and mutual respect."
For the third year, eight highly innovative young companies were invited to participate as guest exhibitors on Innovation AveNEW, an ALA program designed to assist creative and collaborative technology development. In a special portion of the exhibit floor, Innovation AveNEW entrepreneurs shared their scientific inventiveness with LabAutomation attendees. LabAutomation2009's eight Innovation AveNEW exhibitors included:
o Boreal Genomics, British Columbia, Canada;
o Cynvenio Biosystems, LLC, Santa Barbara, CA, USA;
o Lyncee Tec SA, Lausanne, Switzerland;
o m2p-labs, Aachen, Germany;
o Resonant Sensors Incorporated, Arlington, TX, USA;
o SONOPLOT, Inc, Middleton, WI, USA;
o SparkLix Bio-computing, Beit-Yanai, Israel;
o Ziath, Ltd, Dresden, Germany.
Also in its third year is the New Product Award (NPA) Designation competition, which recognizes the best of what's new in the exhibit hall. NPA winners are judged by a diverse panel of scientific specialists.
LabAutomation2009 NPA winners include:
o Agilent Technologies - Agilent Direct Drive Robot
o GeneFluidics - PROTEUS ROBOTIC SYSTEM
o METTLER TOLEDO - QUANTOS QB1
LabAutomation participants are academic, commercial and government researchers, scientists and engineers from around the world who conduct research and develop new technologies to increase productivity, elevate experimental data quality, reduce lab process cycle times, or enable experimentation that otherwise would be impossible. Students and young professionals are also well represented. ALA awarded 39 travel grants to students and post-docs who authored posters or podium presentations.
"Given the global economic conditions, we're very pleased to say that this year's conference and exhibition remained robust," said Erik Rubin, Ph.D., ALA President. "The energy on the floor was outstanding, the sessions and special events were well-attended and the overall mood was very upbeat. I think much of the success can be attributed to ALA's efforts to be proactive in addressing the economy and offering programs, such as the "Take Off With ALA" flight discount program, designed to help alleviate the financial burden on participants."
Lab automation professionals are already looking forward to LabAutomation2010 in Palm Springs, January 23-27, 2010. The plenary series headlining the event will be R. Graham Cooks, Henry B. Haas Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry, Purdue University; Hod Lipson, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University; and R. Bruce Sterling, American Science Fiction Novelist, Former
Twilight Zone writer/actor, columnist for WIRED and MAKE magazine, design critic and self-proclaimed blogger.
For more information on LabAutomation2009 or LabAutomation2010, visit www.labautomation.org or call 888.733.1ALA (1252).
The Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA) is a worldwide organization representing leaders in all aspects of laboratory automation. ALA seeks to provide a greater understanding of the importance and value of automation technologies in laboratory settings, to advance science and promote education related to laboratory
automation by encouraging the study, advancing the science and improving the practice of medical and laboratory automation.
LabAutomation2010, January 23-27, Palm Springs Convention Center, is a five-day event bringing together laboratory automation business leaders and scientists from around the globe in conjunction with the world's largest exhibition of laboratory technologies.
ALA thanks Agilent Technologies for their premier sponsorship contribution to LabAutomation2009 and for their commitment to ALA through their Premier Sponsorship of LabAutomation2010.
