The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening welcomed the man who discovered the wreck of the Titanic, Robert Ballard, during its First Annual SLAS Conference and Exhibition at the San Diego Convention Center. More than 5,000 people participated in this five-day conference that ended last Wednesday.
“SLAS2012 participants are scientists, engineers, researchers, technologists and business leaders from academic, government and commercial laboratories and organizations around the globe,” SLAS Director of Marketing and Communications Anne O’Day said in a press release.
Students and young professionals had the opportunity to explore possible jobs in the laboratory science and technology fields by networking face-to-face with future employers.
The event was open to graduates and postdoctoral students from any school, according to public relations manager Rebecca Kruse.
Aside from workshops and free, one-on-one career counseling, the conference also held an exhibition with more than 60 new products in the technology and science industries.
Scripps Family chair professor from The Scripps Research Institute, Dr. Peter G. Schultz, spoke at the event, as well as Dr. Jing Cheng, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tsinghua University School of Medicine in Beijing.
SLAS designated a space in the conference for companies from all around the world to exhibit their newest and most advanced scientific technologies. Some of the companies included were Ubiquigent from the United Kingdom, Persomics from South Africa and regenHU Ltd. from Switzerland.
“SLAS2012 really exceeded our expectations. The scientific sessions were very well attended, the exhibit hall was buzzing with energy around the hundreds of innovative products and services being showcased and the overall feeling of being a part of this unique scientific community was overwhelmingly positive,” SLAS President Dave Dorsett said in a press release. “SLAS2012 was a tremendous first step in melding our scientific and laboratory automation strengths into a unified program and exhibition.”
