THE PITTSBURGH CONFERENCE & Exposition on Analytical Chemistry & Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon 2007) will hold its annual program from Sunday, Feb. 25, through Friday, March 2, at the McCormick Place Convention Center, in Chicago. The meeting brings together scientific and technical professionals to share the latest information about analytical science and instrumentation.

As it did last year, this year's Pittcon will open with a technical program on Sunday afternoon, starting at 1 PM. The afternoon will feature symposia, poster presentations, and contributed technical sessions, followed by an award presentation, plenary lecture, and a poster mixer.

New this year, the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry (ANYL) will present its spring programming at Pittcon 2007 and not at the ACS spring national meeting (C&EN, July 3, 2006, page 43). ANYL will host four invited symposia, six contributed sessions, and an undergraduate poster session. The arrangement is expected to be mutually beneficial for Pittcon 2007 and the division: Analytical chemists won't have to choose which meeting to attend, and exhibitors will likely see increased traffic from conferees who would normally attend the ACS meeting.

As a new service for attendees, Pittcon 2007 is organizing interest-focused networking meetings. Each two-hour session will provide an opportunity for conferees to meet and discuss topics of mutual interest. There is no extra charge beyond the Pittcon registration fee; however, seating is limited. Visit the Attendee Services section of the meeting website, www.pittcon.org, to learn more.

The exposition will be open from Monday, Feb. 26, through Thursday, March 1. For up-to-date information about the meeting, visit the Pittcon 2007 website.

TECHNICAL PROGRAM. The Pittcon 2007 technical program will feature workshops, invited symposia, contributed sessions, new product forums, and contributed oral and poster sessions. The major focus areas of this year's technical program include bioanalytical chemistry, biomedicine, neurochemistry, polymer science, informatics, pharmaceutical science, nanotechnology, environmental chemistry, forensic analysis, food analysis, applied molecular spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and chemical separations. Visit the Pittcon 2007 website for the most current technical program.

Program highlights include a plenary lecture on Sunday afternoon by Charles M. Lieber, Mark Hyman Jr. Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University, on "Nanowire Nanoelectronic Devices for Detection of and Interfacing to Biological Systems."

SHORT COURSES. More than 100 courses will be offered beginning Saturday, Feb. 24, through Friday, March 2. Individual courses are designed for beginner, intermediate, or advanced students and cover a variety of subjects including atomic spectroscopy, hyphenated techniques, ion-mobility spectrometry, polymer analysis, and statistics and chemometrics. These courses provide continuing education opportunities led by experts in the field. Conference attendees who register for short courses before Jan. 26 can save up to 30% on each course. The conference general meeting registration fee is waived for those who take three or more courses. The meeting website has the complete list of course topics, instructors, schedules, and costs.

AWARDS. There will be a number of prestigious awards presented at Pittcon 2007. The 2007 Pittcon Heritage Award will be presented to David Schwartz, chairman of the board of Bio-Rad Laboratories, in Hercules, Calif. This award recognizes outstanding individuals whose entrepreneurial careers have shaped the instrumentation community, inspired achievement, promoted public understanding of the modern instrumentation sciences, and highlighted the role of analytical chemistry in world economies. Awardees also join the Pittcon Hall of Fame, which recognizes pioneers in the analytical instrumentation world.

The Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award, sponsored by the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh, will be given to Robert M. Corn, University of California, Irvine. The award recognizes an individual who has an established and outstanding record of contributions to the field of applied spectroscopy.

The Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award, sponsored by the Society of Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh, will be presented to Jonathan V. Sweedler, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. This award recognizes significant contributions by a scientist to analytical chemistry.

Shana O. Kelley, University of Toronto, will receive the Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award. This award recognizes outstanding achievements of an individual during the early stages of his or her independent scientific career.

The Award for Young Investigators in Separation Science, sponsored by Agilent Technologies and presented by ANYL, will be given to Christopher T. Culbertson, Kansas State University. This award recognizes and encourages outstanding contributions to the field of separation science by a young chemist or chemical engineer.

Norman J. Dovichi, University of Washington, will receive the Ralph N. Adams Award in Bioanalytical Chemistry. This award, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Conference and friends of Ralph Adams, recognizes an outstanding scientist who has advanced the field of bioanalytical chemistry through research, innovation, or education.

The Maurice F. Hasler Award will be given to D. Bruce Chase, DuPont, Wilmington, Del. The award, given every two years, recognizes notable achievements in spectroscopy resulting in significant applications of broad utility.

The Dal Nogare Award, sponsored by the Chromatography Forum of Delaware Valley, will be presented to John W. Dolan, LC Resources, Amity, Ore. This award was established to honor Stephen Dal Nogare, who died in 1968 after serving six months as president of the Chromatography Forum symposium. The recipient is chosen on the basis of his or her contributions to the fundamental understanding of the chromatographic process.

The Charles N. Reilley Award, sponsored by the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry (SEAC), will be given to George S. Wilson, University of Kansas. This award recognizes outstanding research contributions in electroanalytical chemistry.

Mary Elizabeth (Beth) Williams, Pennsylvania State University, is this year's recipient of the SEAC Young Investigator Award, which is sponsored by Cypress Systems.

The Tomas B. Hirschfeld Award, sponsored by Büchi Labortechnik, Switzerland, recognizes outstanding contributions in the field of near-infrared spectroscopy. This year's award will be presented to Gerard Downey, Teagasc, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Bomem-Michelson Award, sponsored by ABB, honors scientists who have advanced the techniques of vibrational, molecular, Raman, or electronic spectroscopy. David F. Bocian, UC Riverside, is this year's awardee.

The Williams Wright Award, sponsored by the Coblentz Society, is presented annually to an industrial spectroscopist who has made significant contributions to vibrational spectroscopy. This year's award will be presented to Michael Carraba, Hach Homeland Security Technologies, Loveland, Colo.

EXPOSITION. The Pittcon 2007 Exposition will be open from Monday, Feb. 26, through Thursday, March 1. Exhibit hours will be from 9 AM to 5 PM on Monday through Wednesday and from 9 AM to 3 PM on Thursday. More than 800 exhibitors will showcase their latest analytical laboratory instrumentation, equipment, and services.