Author: Michael Parente
I recently had the opportunity to exhibit and present a poster at the Eastern Analytical Symposium and Exposition in Plainsboro, New Jersey. This was my first experience with this conference, and I think I will return next year.
As a young scientist trying to develop a business and bring new products to market, it is a good idea to network with other professionals in the industry. Our company’s aims in attending were to gain market exposure, learn from those who are more established in the field, capture leads that may turn into partnerships or sales opportunities, and have fun talking with like-minded individuals. In my personal life, it is exceedingly rare to discuss the work I am so passionate about. At EAS, I was surrounded by the most competent people who were as excited about liquid chromatography as I was!
EAS is a three-day event full of opportunities to seek out the newest trends in the analytical chemistry field of your choosing. They had five rooms filled with 79 companies displaying their latest products. You could walk around, chat with representatives from your favorite company, snag a pen, and tell your “war stories” of the challenging application you are working on or brag about defending your Ph.D.
They had a series of technical sessions and lectures you could attend with admission or short courses for additional fees. The topics covered were bioanalysis, proteomics, chemometrics, chromatography, conservation science, environmental and consumer analysis, forensic analysis, laboratory management, mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy, and pharmaceutical analysis.
Poster presentation at EAS
Six poster sessions covering a wide array of products and methods were displayed on large monitors. I presented a poster titled “All Carbon Stationary Phase Material for Biomolecule Separation: Design and Characterization.” I was pleased to have many people visit me and ask thoughtful questions about my poster. One guy in particular was very interested in this work and engaged me in an in-depth conversation. When I looked at his name tag, I realized I was speaking with the gentleman who had written many of the key papers I read that formed the foundation of my liquid chromatography education. I was “starstruck” for a second. Here I was, rubbing elbows with the big boys!
As an exhibitor at the conference, I spent most of my time manning my table and chatting with people coming through. From these conversations, I got a sense of which applications our company should focus on to serve the market better. I plan to continue optimizing our liquid chromatography stationary phase material product line for biopharmaceutical separation and purification. Sitting at my table, I collected many promising leads for people who I would like to collaborate with and who may turn into customers and partners.
The food path that led to our table
The conference provided free food and refreshments in each room. This meant that waves of people periodically followed the food past our table, which was great! Additionally, they opened the bar conveniently positioned in the same room as our table in the evening. Each day around 5 pm, we saw a dramatic influx in our leads.
The Eastern Analytical Symposium and Exposition allowed our company to network with some of the top working analytical scientists in the field. We gained new insights into what companies are looking for in liquid chromatography media, some of the technical challenges still unmet in the field, and potential areas of new research. Sitting in my lab, it is easy to get tunnel vision working on the same problem daily. It was good to mix it up and listen to other scientists facing similar challenges or who have new perspectives to learn from. I feel that this experience was a worthwhile investment in time and money. Plus, the food that was served during the evening mixers was terrific. I am looking forward to the bacon-wrapped scallops next year!
Millennial Scientific at the EAS