Abstract
Examples of global respect and cooperation exist in all corners of the Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA). ALA is an international crossroads for professionals who participate in this unique scientific specialty. Although ALA's official language is English, and our staff is headquartered in the United States, our organization is led by volunteer leaders from around the globe.
The ALA Board of Directors, for example, blends voices from Australia, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, and Germany as well as the United States. The JALA Editorial Board is fueled by insight from members as far away as Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, not to mention New Jersey.
As a result of this commitment to diversity, ALA serves its many different stakeholders by creating an open and honest forum dedicated to serving their professional interests. Not surprisingly, ALA members in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia share more similarities than differences, and the proof is “in the pudding” as some say.
Take, for example, LabAutomation2007. Attendees traveled from 41 different countries to participate in this once-a-year event. They came from Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, El Salvador, England, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Venezuela, and yes, the United States, to learn from the best in the business. Responses to our postconference survey tell us that these travelers are happy that they joined us, and believe the LabAutomation conference experience is very valuable.
Likewise, the pages of JALA show us that lab automation is breaking new ground everywhere. In 2006 alone, JALA published scientific manuscripts by authors in the United States, Canada, India, Ireland, Republic of Korea, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. These manuscripts were carefully considered by expert reviewers in Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
As an ALA member from Germany, I am particularly delighted by how ALA's leadership is committed to building on this solid foundation of international outreach and cooperation. New initiatives are being planned with important international goals and priorities in mind. New members are joining regularly from established and emerging markets, and new ideas are sparking achievements everywhere.
Vielen Dank für diesen immensen Erfolg!
Reinhold Schäfer
