Two students and a professor from the Department of Physical Science and Technology attended the Pittsburg conference recently held in Chicago, Ill.
Pittcon, as the conference is called, is an international meeting of analytical chemists at which there are an enormous variety of symposia. Scientists present their research findings in oral and poster form on topics ranging from applied research to basic research.
“I attended the conference to keep up-to-date in my field and to talk with several chemical instrumentation vendors regarding possible future purchases,” said Dr. Tim Schroeder, assistant professor of chemistry.
Students Bryan Davis and Daniel Sanders went as part of their required work for the advanced analytical chemistry class in which they are the only two students. They were supported at the conference by the chemistry club, Lambda Alpha Beta. Davis is a senior chemistry major from Taylor and Sanders is a senior chemistry and biological science double major from McNeil.
They attended symposium presentations on specific analytical chemistry topics of their choice. Each symposium was centered around a main theme and topics included atomic and molecular spectroscopies, electrochemistry, separations science, bioterrorism, environmental testing, and surface science, among others.
Davis and Sanders attended these sessions and took notes. As part of their final assignment, they will summarize two or three of the symposia and give Schroeder a summary of current developments in the area they were interested in.
“Both of the students enjoyed the conference a great deal, and they came away quite enthusiastic about the material they had seen,” said Schroeder.
In addition to the conference, they took side trips to the museum at the Art Institute of Chicago and to the observation deck of the Sears Tower.
