Welcome! On behalf of the EAS executive committee and governing board, we are delighted to see you here at EAS.
As I have listened to my colleagues both from work, from my chosen field, from EAS and even from my own experiences I have been struck by how apropos the theme Analytical Solutions to the World’s Problems applies. The 2016 President of EAS won’t be here after 20 years of perfect attendance because of work travel to Korea, the 2017 President of EAS is in Brussels as I compose this travelling on a plane returning from the Emerald Isle. No doubt you witness this interconnectivity of the world as well. We live in a global society and the work that is done world-wide helps design tomorrow’s experiments in each of our laboratories.
Distance between laboratories seems almost transparent as we share things virtually and globally. Communication is essential and the value of interaction immeasurable. The 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner, Thomas Steitz, commented on the value of that interaction1. While a postdoc at the Medical Research Council’s laboratory in Cambridge, UK, there was a canteen on the top floor of the lab where ideas were hashed out. In Professor Steitz’s Nobel autobiography, he wrote “Initially I wondered how anyone got any experiments done since they were spending so much time in the canteen, and then I realized that the many discussions reduced the number of unwise or unnecessary experiments that were done and enhanced the good ones.” So, while attending EAS, listen, discuss, ask questions, we have three jam-packed days of topics and opportunities for you to do so. Here are some of the highlights of the many opportunities to participate this week.
- In the interest of the future of our world, we have started becoming a sustainable green conference with some specific initiatives.
- John Warner, founder of the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry and our Keynote speaker will present on green chemistry technologies and lead off our efforts to be green and sustainable.
- Our souvenir is a water bottle please fill it frequently at the water stations around the conference hall.
- Our poster session is now electronic, please view the posters on the bridge during the selected presentation times.
- Our program book has been reduced by over one third, printed on recycled paper. We encourage you to download our app for more details on our technical program and exhibitors.
- As special thanks for thinking green, if you have traveled in a group or with just one other colleague or friend to EAS 2018, we will have a special gift for everyone in the car. Please go to the souvenir booth with your travel companion(s) to obtain.
- Our plenary lecture will be given by the EAS Fields awardee, Professor Linda McGown of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is recognized for her solutions to the fields of separation science, the analysis of DNA sequences and recognizing the importance of aptamers as potential pharmaceutical substances.
- On Tuesday, beat the traffic and get a great parking spot. Come listen to a breakfast lecture from Dr. Mark Schure on the current state of 2D liquid chromatography.
- Our awardees will be presenting on their areas of excellence which embody the theme of solving the world’s problems through analysis. Award presentations occur each day in our technical program and we encourage you to take the opportunity to attend.
- Please check out our list of Short Course offerings, there is still time to sign up for a course while you are here. We have provided some new titles to pique your interest for either one or two days of continuing education.
These are just a few examples of the many ways to benefit from EAS. From education in analysis to application solutions, EAS has much to offer. Please take full advantage of the technical sessions, enjoy discussions with the vendors in the exhibition areas and learn about how analysis changes the world.
Thank you for coming to EAS 2018, enjoy the symposium!!
Mary Ellen P. McNally
Technical Fellow
FMC Agricultural Solutions
2018 EAS President