Abstract
LabAutomation has emerged as the premier laboratory automation conference. The LabAutomation conference was held in San Diego on January 18 – 22 as a 5 day meeting which was attended by a record audience and a record number of exhibitors. Over 1200 engineers, scientists, physicians, and executives were in attendance to see the latest products and state-of-the art presentations by leaders in the laboratory automation field. There were 28 poster presentations and 75 speaker presentations as well as 13 Short Courses attended by 173 people. The sense of urgency surrounding the need for laboratory automation resonated through the lecture halls and exhibition area. All segments of the conference were filled to capacity and consumed with a high level of activity. Details of the demographics of who attended LabAutomation are presented below.
Awards were presented to outstanding individuals recognized as leaders and innovators in laboratory automation. Joseph Engelberger (Helpmate Robotics Inc., Danbury, CT) presented the prestigious Beckman award lecture. His lecture focused on the future of personal robotics. Engelberger suggested that fetch and carry robots will be necessary for our aging population. Skip Kline (T. Rowe Price, Health Sciences Fund, Baltimore, MD) gave the plenary lecture on the financial impact of technology on the health care field. He described a number of case studies, including the use of the automation pap smear.
At the gala dinner, awards were presented to Don Rose, Ph.D. (GlaxoWellcome, Research Triangle Park, NC) by the Hewlett Packard Company, Rod Markin, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE), and David O'Bryan, Ph.D. (SmithKline Beecham Laboratories, King of Prussia, PA). A future issue of LAN will highlight the accomplishments of these innovative individuals.
Registrants praised the exhibition sessions which took place during breaks in the scientific lectures. As a result, the registrants could focus their energies in the exhibit area without worrying about missing a scientific session. Our exhibition was sold out by June; however, a little last minute maneuvering by David Herold allowed us to squeeze in few more booths, bringing the total to 64 exhibitors.
The ALA is starting a new year with many successes on which to base our expanding organization. Currently, there are over 750 active ALA members in many aspects of laboratory automation who stay connected via our web site maintained by Tony Beugelsdijk, Ph.D. This year, the ALA plans to expand its educational programs into Europe. The needs of the European laboratories are quite distinct from those in North America. However, world wide standards are necessary to assure that automation developments throughout the world are truly compatible. We look forward to serving as a source of unbiased information for automation developers and users across the globe.
LabAutomation is supported by generous contributions from our sponsors who demonstrate their commitment to the field by allowing us to attract the highest quality presentations. These sponsors include Abbott Laboratories, AutoLab Systems - a Division of MDS Health Group, Beckman Instruments, Becton Dickinson Vacutainer Systems, Boehringer Mannheim, Ciba Corning, Coulter Corporation, CRS Robotics, Dade International, Johnson & Johnson Clinical Diagnostics, Hitachi, Olympus America, Inc., Packard Instruments and Sysmex
Sincerely,
Robin A. Felder, Editor