Abstract
There was an overwhelming positive response to the first issue of Laboratory Automation News. We appreciate the many kind words regarding the content and the quality of presentation. With that important first issue we established a forum where the latest developments in laboratory automation can be brought to your attention. Our staff is responsible for finding the most interesting and timely articles and presenting them in an exciting format. We will continue to bring you the latest developments in the field, presented as either articles or news stories illustrated with an abundance of color photographs. Automation is a visual science for which the best presentations are often photographic in form. We encourage you to encourage your colleagues to join the Association for Laboratory Automation, because that is currently the only way to obtain LAN. Furthermore, if you know of an interesting news item, please bring it to my attention so that I may share it with the membership of the ALA through the LAN.
Pharmaceutical automation will the principal focus of our next issue (number 3). Automation of combinatorial chemistry, high-throughput screening, molecular evolution and data storage and retrieval has become essential for companies who wish to remain competitive. As artificial intelligence begins to play a larger role in drug synthesis, then self-directing synthetic procedures will become commonplace. Many details about the technology being applied to drug discovery are held as proprietary knowledge within the confines of pharmaceutical industry. However, since the advancement of technology is generally built upon the successes of previous technological advancements, it is essential that we learn from each other. In order to foster scientific interchange between scientists, LAN will encourage the publication of industrial automation projects.
The annual laboratory automation conferences, “
Sincerely,
Robin A. Felder