Welcome to Pittcon 2008

Good morning and welcome to this, LCGC's third year of live, daily coverage from The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, or "Pittcon" to anyone who even passingly familiar with this dynamic field of separations science.

For anyone opening this e-show daily who could not attend this conference, we are here at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, along with nearly 20,000 colleagues at this, the conference that has been called the "Super Bowl" of analytical chemistry. We have a great week of coverage planned, with our editorial staff reporting from the best and most important technical sessions, providing our readers - both at home and at the show - with vital information on presentations they might not have been able to attend otherwise.

In addition, each day we will bring you our staff columnists' "Recommended Sessions" to guide conference-goers through Pittcon's lengthy and somewhat daunting technical program. With thousands of presentations to choose from, choosing which sessions to attend is never easy. However, with industry veteran and "LC Troubleshooting" columnist John Dolan listing his recommended sessions in the area of liquid chromatography, and renowned GC expert and "GC Connections" columnist John Hinshaw providing his recommended sessions in the area of gas chromatography, we hope we can make these decisions just a little easier.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention that LCGC will be hosting its first awards luncheon here at the conference on Wednesday, March 5. Honored will be the winners of the Emerging Leader and Lifetime Achievement Awards, respectively, and we invite you to stop by our booth (#6051) for more information.

We hope you find this e-show daily worthwhile and informative, and if you have any comments, please feel free to contact us. Feedback is always welcome. In the meantime, enjoy the show and enjoy New Orleans!