Abstract
The new ALA Spotlight Series is the brainchild of ALA, Symyx Technology and Thermo Fisher Scientific, and I am very proud of everything it represents and offers.
This past year, ALA has continued to make great progress in forging solid connections with complementary associations and professional societies. For example, ALA short courses became a highly regarded addition to major educational conferences offered by the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, the Institute of Food Technologists, and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. In addition, new agreements with BioAlps of Switzerland and DECHEMA, a world-renowned chemical engineering and biotechnology society based in Germany, are now in place to ensure that Innovation AveNEW at are LabAutomation2008 offers an even more global and diverse slate of promising new technology.
ALA also has worked closely with key LabAutomation exhibitors to develop mutually beneficial ways to deliver even more education and services to lab automation professionals. The new ALA Spotlight Series is the brainchild of ALA, Symyx Technology and Thermo Fisher Scientific, and I am very proud of everything it represents and offers.
After months of creative thought and careful planning, this new pilot program makes a flexible first class educational curriculum available for free to lab automation professionals in four different U.S. markets: San Diego, CA (September 20), San Francisco, CA (October 4), Princeton, NJ (October 25), and Boston, MA (November 1). An ALA Scientific Team of volunteers collaborated with representatives of Symyx and Thermo to develop an educational agenda that addresses timely and practical user needs. The presenters are scientists, not marketing people, and they are some of the most innovative thought leaders in the lab automation profession. In addition, they are all active members of ALA.
The ALA Spotlight Series is a first for our organization, and if it is considered successful, we hope to be able to continue it in future years, and expand its reach to locations in Europe and Asia. At this point, this is not a promise, but it is a sincere hope that is enthusiastically shared by the ALA Board of Directors and ALA's exhibitor partners.
In the meantime, I hope you can attend one of ALA Spotlight Series presentations. I also hope you take note of ALA's current Segway to Success Campaign. If you submit an abstract for a LabAutomation2008 podium presentation, a poster for LabAutomation2008, or a manuscript to JALA before January 25, 2008, you will have a chance to win a PT Segway (a $5,000US value).
For more information on the ALA Segway to Success Campaign or the ALA Spotlight Series, please visit the ALA Web site at http://www.labautomation.org. In fact, please visit the ALA Web site regularly to keep pace with breaking news and information about new membership benefits and opportunities.
Beste Wünsche,
