JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY JUNE 1991 VOL. 6 253 Conference Reports Latin-American Course of Instrumental and Applied Atomic Spectroscopy January 21 st-February 1 st 1991 Concepciony Chile Amongst the spectrochemical methods of analysis analytical atomic spectrometry is probably one which has the largest demand on the number of specialists in Latin America. In Chile alone there are more than 300 laboratories that are direct users of atomic absorption spectrometry and there is a lack of specialized and well trained personnel able to deal with the most recent advances in atomic spec- trometric techniques. Moreover in the Latin-American region there are only a few graduate programmes in chemistry with ongoing research programmes in analytical atomic spectrometry. Since the advances in many areas of scientific re- search depend on precise and reliable quantitative analysis and atomic spectro- metric methods are fundamental for ele- mental analysis attempts were made in cooperation with a group of colleagues from Argentina Brazil Venezuela and Chile to organize an international atomic spectroscopic course embracing theory and practice to provide an appreciation and deeper theoretical knowledge amongst participants and an enhance- ment of their practical abilities in the most relevant analytical atomic spectro- metric methods in Latin America i.e.flame atomic absorption and emission spectrometry (FAAS and FAES); AAS with electrothermal atomization; AAS with hydride generation and cold vapour systems; optical emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (OES- ICP); and flow injection (FI) coupled with atomic spectrometric methods).Also the course aimed to provide a unique opportunity to gather together a representative group of analytical atomic spectroscopists from this part of the world with an excellent group of col- leagues from more developed countries in order to discuss several steps towards the establishment of a regional network of analytical atomic spectroscopists. This network should enable further develop- ments to take place to support the aca- demic research programmes in analytical atomic spectrometry and the setting up of more systematic interactions amongst users of atomic spectrometric methods in the region. The course was held in Concepcion Chile (capital of the eighth region of Chile main industrial centre of the country and second largest city located about 500 km south of Santiago) as the Instrumental Analysis Department has been successful in organizing several atomic absorption spectroscopy courses (theory and practice) between 1985 and 1988 for national specialists and users.These were in cooperation with Priv. Doz. Dr. Harald Bemdt [Institut fur Spek- trochemie und ang. Spektroskopie (ISAS) Dortmund Germany] under an ageement of cooperation that exists between the Faculty of Pharmacy in Con- cepci6n and ISAS. In addition previous cooperation in this field with an instru- ment dealer in Chile has been productive. Accordingly this author contacted the representatives of Perkin-Elmer in Chile Weisser Analitica Ltda.in order to obtain their sponsorship and strong support with equipment for this course. Enquiries were also made to obtain support in the form of the participation of Perkin-Elmer special- ists as the course tutors.254 JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY JUNE 1991 VOL. 6 These efforts began at the end of 1988 following discussions held jointly with Dr A. J. Curtius from the Pontificia Universi- dade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Dr. J. Alvarado from the Universidad Simon Bolivar (Venezuela) and Dr. D. A. Batistoni from the Comisidn Nacional de Energia Atomica of Buenos Aires (Argen- tina) during the First Rio Symposium on Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry held in Rio de Janeiro. In association with representatives of instrument manufactur- ers enquiries were made of prospective course participants throughout most Latin- American countries to obtain information with regards to their opinions about the course contents and modalities and to the possible attendance.A tentative pro- gramme was prepared following a period of consultations with specialists and an or- ganizing committe was established thanks to the cooperation of my colleagues Dr. D. A. Batistoni (Agentina) Dr. A. J. Curtius (Rio de Janeiro Brazil) Dr. M. F. Gin6 (Piracicaba Brazil) Dr. F. J. Krug (Piracicaba Brazil) Dr. J. Alvarado (Ven- ezuela) Dr. A. Rodriguez (Concepcion Chile) and Mr. Ricardo Weisser (Santiago Chile). The first formal steps towards finalisation of the course were made in January 1990 after contact had been made with the specialists who would become members of the course staff and with pro- spective sponsors.A preliminary brochure was issued and distributed among prospec- tive participants in May 1990. Later a poster announcing the course was distrib- uted in most Latin-American countries. The course was held in Concepcion Chile between January 21st and February Ist and the 15 invited speakers were as follows Dr. Josk Alvarado D. Depto. de Quimica Universidad Simon Bolivar Caracas Venezuela; Dr. Ramon M. Barnes Department of Chemistry University of Massachusetts Amherst MA USA Dr. Daniel A. Batistoni Depto. de Quimica Analitica Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica Buenos Aires Argentina; Dr. Harald Berndt In- stitut fur Spektrochemie und angewandte Spektroskopie (ISAS) Dortmund Germany; Dr.JosC Luis Burguera Depto. de Quimica Facultad de Ciencias Universidad de Los Andes Mirida Venezuela; Dr. Adilson J. Curtius Depto. de Quimica Pont. Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Brazil; Dr. Maria Fernanda Gin6 Seccion Quimica Analitica Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA) Piraci- caba SP Brazil; Dr. Francisco J. Krug Seccion Quimica Analitica Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA) Piracicaba SP Brazil; Dr. Marcela Pascu de Burguera Depto de Quimica Facultad de Ciencias Universidad de Los Andes Mkrida Venezuela; Professor Blago Raz- milic B. Area de Quimica Universidad de La Serena La Serena Chile Lic. Lautaro Ribba Sub-gerente Geolab y Cia. Ltda. Santiago Chile; Dr Josi E. Sanchez-Uria Depto.de Quimica Fisica y Analitica Facultad de Quimica Univer- sidad de Oviedo Oviedo Spain; Dr Alfredo Sanz-Medel. Depto. de Quimica Fisica y Analitica Facultad de Quimica Unversidad de Oviedo Oviedo Spain; Dr. Gerhard Schlemmer Bodenseewerk Perkin-Elmer GmbH Uberlingen Germany; and Walter Slavin Perkin- Elmer Norwalk CT. USA. In addition to these invited lecturers two professors from the Universidad de Concepcion itself contributed both with lectures and practicals Dr. Carlos G. Bruhn F. (course coordinator) Depto de Analisis Instrumental Facultad de Farma- cia Universidad de Concepcidn Concep- ci6n Chile and Dr. Aldo Rodriguez E. Depto. de Andisis Instrumental Facultad de Farmacia Universidad de Concepcih Concepcion Chile. The course was offered in three modules to enable participation of qualified students from master and docto- rate graduate programmes and of special- ists from production (quality control) service and academic areas.The number of participants was 64 which was limited by the infrastructure and equipment avail- able for the course. The number of lecture hours and the distribution of participants in these course moclules were as follows. (a) Postgraduate course (67 lecture hours 43 hours theory and 24 hours prac- tical work). This module was attended by 18 graduate students participating in master and doctorate graduate pro- grammes in chemistry chemical engi- neering biochemistry and environmental sciences. The students came from Bolivia (l) Brazil ( S ) Peru (I) Uruguay (2) Venezuela (2) and Chile (7).(h) Actualization course (theory and practice) (58 lecture hours 34 hours theory and 24 hours practice). Twenty-six participants mostly specialists from dif- ferent areas of application attended. The participants came from Argentina (2) Brazil (3) Mexico (1) and Chile (20). (c) Actualization course (theory) (39 lecture hours 34 hours theory and 5 hours tutorial seminars). Also specialists (20) from different areas of application attended. These participants came from Argentina (2) Brazil ( l ) Costa Rica ( l ) Uruguay (1) and Chile (15). The course content included the follow- ing topics flame atomic absorption and emission spectrometry (Part I); electro- thermal atomic absorption spectrometry with a graphite furnace (Part 11); atomic absorption spectrometry with hydride gen- eration and cold vapour systems (Part 111); optical emission spectrometry with an in- ductively coupled plasma (ICP) (Part IV); flow injection (Part V); and sample pre- treatment sample preparation sample in- troduction in spectroscopic sources solid and slurries analysis quality control and instrumentation in atomic spectrometric methods (Part VI).The programme included 27 lectures 7 seminars 9 special lectures for graduate students 5 tutorial seminars 6 practicals (each practical session was repeated six times in order to offer them for six groups of participants) 2 round-table discussions (the first one was about establishing human resources in atomic spectrometric methods within the Latin-American region and the second one a final panel discussion on atomic spectrometric methods) and a workshop including pres- entations of original work by participants which was followed by discussions.Each practical consisted of 2.5 hours of practical work and participants could learn how to optimize calibrate and operate the instrumental set-ups avail- able and how to handle the data and results thereafter. Each practical was followed by a 1 hour discussion with a tutor who was a specialist in the subject but not involved in the practical work itself. The discussions were intended to clarify several technical and scientific aspects related to the practical work and to answer questions raised by partici- pants. The scientific programme was orga- nized in such a way that morning sessions were reserved for the lectures and confer- ences and afternoons and evenings were mostly dedicated to practical sessions and tutorial seminars.Social activities includ- ed a cocktail reception after the opening ceremony a lunch gathering with local food followed by an afternoon and evening tour on the Saturday and a friendship dinner attended by all invited speakers and participants. The final cere- mony was held on Friday with presenta- tion of certificates to the course participants and presents in recognition of the contributions made by the invited speakers and specialists. A special text (about 600 pp.) was pre- pared containing the contents of the lectur- ers seminars and practicals. This text was offered to participants in order to assist them with the large amount of information provided through the lectures and semi- nars.Most of the material was in Spanish with some in Portuguese and in English. The scientific programme was opened by Dr. D. A. Batistoni who gave a com- prehensive introductory lecture about the fundamentals of atomic spectroscopy and spectroscopic sources. Dr. A. Rodriguez continued with an introduction to the fun- damentals of AAS and AES and Dr. F. J. Krug introduced the problems associated with interferences and quantification. Dr. H. Berndt addressed the topic of nebuli- zation in AAS including the convention- al and the discrete approaches and also the more recent approach of hydraulic high pressure nebulization. This lecture was followed by Dr. J. Alvarado's lectureJOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY JUNE 1991 VOL.6 255 addressing the problems associated with direct analysis of solids and slurries. In this first part of the course (flame AAS and AES) two special lectures were de- livered by Dr. J. F. Krug who addressed in detail the dynamics of flame reactions. The second part commenced with Dr. C. Bruhn who introduced the fundamen- tals and instrumentation of graphite furnace AAS (GFAAS). Dr. G. Schlem- mer continued with a descriptive lecture on chemical and gaseous interferences in GFAAS including approaches to their elimination. Dr. A. Curtius then addressed the principles of chemical modification and the uses of chemical modifiers in GFAAS. The first seminar was then led by W. Slavin who talked on ‘GFAAS with a L’vov platform the stabilized temperature platform furnace (STPF) concept’. The fundamentals and principles of back- ground correction the technical realiza- tion and limits were discussed by Dr.H. Berndt. In the next lecture based on the characteristics of an ‘ideal system’ Dr. G. Schlemmer discussed the use of a back- ground correction system based on the inverse-Zeeman effect to obtain a reliable answer when referring to accuracy of background correction in real analysis. W. Slavin led the second seminar on the rapidly growing field of slurries analysis with a paper entitled ‘Slurry sampling of solid materials using a graphite furnace’. Two special lectures were presented in this part of the course by Dr. J. Alvarado who discussed atomization mechanisms in a graphite furnace pointing out the main characteristics and differences in kinetic and thermodynamic models.Dr. A. J. Curtius delivered a third special lecture on ‘Chemical modifier mechanisms in GFAAS most recent advances’. Part 111 of the course dealt with AAS and hydride generation and cold vapour systems. It was initiated by Dr. A. Rodriguez who presented a comprehen- sive lecture on AAS with a cold vapour system. Dr. C. Bruhn talked on AAS with hydride generation systems (continuous and batch) Next W. Slavin delivered a lecture introducing hydride flow injection (FI) with graphite furnace detection. The third and fourth seminars were led by Dr. G. Schlemmer who addressed the audi- ence on ‘Applications of the STPF concept in GFAAS to the analysis of envi- ronmental geological and steel samples’ ‘Recent advances in hydride generation and cold vapour systems’ and ‘Atomiza- tion mechanisms in AAS with hydride generation systems’ which emphasized the reaction mechanisms leading to atom formation within the heated quartz cell.Optical emission spectrometry was ad- dressed in Part IV. Dr. A. Sanz-Medel de- livered the introductory lecture on AES presenting a critical comparison of the an- alytical characteristics of the main atomic emission methods. Dr. M. F. Gine offered an introductory lecture on ICP-OES dis- cussing fundamentals and instrumenta- tion. W. Slavin delivered a lecture on ‘Sample introduction systems in ICP- OES. Next Dr. R. M. Barnes presented three lectures on ICP-OES dealing with ‘Sample introduction and types of plasmas’ ‘Temperatures selection of lines and interferences’ and ‘Hybrid systems (ICP-AFS ICP-MS)’.Dr. J. E. Sanchez-Uria then addressed the topic of ‘Direct analysis of solids and/or slurries in ICP-OES’. Two special lectures were presented in this part of the course. Dr. D. A. Batistoni talked about ‘Tempera- ture measurements in spectroscopic sources’ and Dr. R. M. Barnes addressed the subject of ‘Excitation mechanisms and discharge characteristics of the ICP’. Part V of the course was devoted to the rapidly growing area of FI. Dr. F. J. Krug and Dr. M. F. Gin& from the group of Pi- racicaba Brazil which has done some in- pressive pioneering work in this field presented two lectures on ‘Fundamentals basic components and configurations’ and ‘Applications in AAS and in AES with the ICP’ respectively.Dr. J. L. Burguera led the fifth seminar dealing with ‘Present trends in AAS with FI’. Part VI dealt with sample pre-treatment and dissolution quality control and in- strumentation in atomic spectrometry. In this regard Dr. J. Alvarado comprehen- sively addressed the subject of ‘Dissolu- tion of samples using a microwave furnace’. Next W. Slavin presented two lectures dealing with ‘Quality control in atomic spectroscopy’ Dr. M. Pascu de Burguera gave a lecture on ‘Strategies for preparation of environmental biological and petrochemical samples’ and then Dr. J. E. Sanchez-Uria discussed the subject of ‘Preconcentration techniques in atomic spectrometry’. A special lecture pre- sented by W. Slavin was devoted to ‘Recent advances in the development of instrumentation for multi-element analy- sis in AAS’ in particular dealing with modem graphite furnace technology.Dr. A. Sanz-Medel presented the sixth seminar entitled ‘Clinical and biological analysis by atomic spectroscopy (AAS and ICP-OES)’ referring to the present importance of atomic spectrometric methods in the solution of today’s clinical problems and to future trends in the use of these methods for biological materials. Finally Dr. H. Berndt gave the final pres- entation on ‘Novel low-cost atomization systems for AAS’ referring to the use of new types of low-cost filament atomizers. The six practical sessions offered in this course dealt with ‘Flame AAS’ (conduct- ed by Dr. A. Rodriguez; discussions led by Dr D. A. Batistoni); ‘Flame AES’ (con- ducted by Professor B.Razmilic; discus- sions led by Dr. F. J. Krug) ‘Flame AAS with FI’ (conducted by Dr. M. F. Gink; dis- cussions led by Dr. J. L. Burguera and Dr. M. Pascu de Burguera); ‘AAS with a graphite furnace. Use of chemical modi- fiers. Obtaining pyrolysis and atomization curves’ (conducted by Dr. A. J. Curtius; discussion led by Dr. J. Alvarado and W. Slavin); ‘AAS with hydride generation and with cold vapour systems’ [conducted by Lic. L. Ribba (Part A) and Dr. Bruhn (Part B); discussions led by W. Slavin Dr. Z. Grobenski Dr. Batistoni and Dr. Bruhn]; and ‘Optical emission spectro- metry with the ICP’ (conducted by Dr. R. M. Barnes; discussions led by Dr. A. Sanz-Medel and Dr. J. E. Sanchez- Uria). The five tutorial seminars were offered by Dr. D. A. Batistoni (‘Distribution of analytes in flames’); Dr.F. J. Krug (‘Analysis by flow injection in agricul- tural and environmental sciences’); Dr. R. M. Barnes (‘Sample preparation and treatment’); Dr. J. L. Burguera and Dr. M. Pascu de Burguera (‘AAS with IT); and by Dr. J. Alvarado (‘Electrothermal atomizers characteristics advantages and limitations applicability etc. ’). Comments and Suggestions for Future Events The course provided a unique opportunity for the 64 participants to learn and deepen their theoretical knowledge of atomic spectrometric methods of analy- sis. Emphasis was given to the instrumen- tal aspects the appropriate use of these methods the identification and solution of problems associated with interferences and to applications in several fields (i.e. biological clinical geochemical mining metallurgical environmental petrochemi - cal industrial and food processing).Those who participated in the practi- cals were also able to enhance their abili- ties in the atomic spectrometric methods most relevant for use in Latin America. Most of the equipment used in the practi- cals were modem units and participants were introduced to new systems such as the FIAS-200 (automated flow injection analytical system for flame hydride gen- eration and cold vapour systems in AAS) and to the Plasma 400 (a sequential optical emission spectrometer with an ICP) both from Perkin-Elmer. However participants were also introduced to cheaper laboratory-made systems demon- strated both for AAS with FI (several configurations of AAS with FI were seen) and AAS with cold vapour systems for the determination of mercury using a preconcentration unit (by amalgamation in a gold-platinum gauze).The tutorial seminars provided a good opportunity for discussion of strengths and weaknesses of the methods being covered in the course as well as for answering questions raised by the participants. These tutiorials were attended by the participants in the Actualization Course (Theory). Despite the fact that there was no offi- cial language for the course and no offical translation was provided for256 JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY JUNE 199 1 VOL. 6 those invited speakers who were unable to understand Spanish and/or Portu- guese most of them and the partici- pants felt that the course was very successful in attaining the main goals.The atomic spectrometric methods were reviewed from fundamental principles up to the most recent developments. The strengths of using FI combined with atomic spectrometric methods were em- phasized as were the opportunities for ‘on-line’ preconcentration of trace ele- ments coupled with the use of FI tech- niques Paticipants improved their understanding of instrumental problems associated with atomic spectrometric methods used in this part of the world and future potential particularly with developments of laboratory-made FI systems for coupling either with AAS or AES equipment. Problems associated with sample pre-treatment and prepara- tion and with quality assurance of analy- ses were reviewed and discussed. Particular emphasis was given to the use of direct solid and/or slurry approaches in relation to GFAAS and optical emis- sion spectrometry with ICPs.The special text containing the contents of the lectures special lectures and confer- ences was considered by most speakers and participants to be very helpful indeed. Since the amount of information provided during the lectures was large the partici- pants could follow this information in the text which helped them to understand what was being emphasized. Also a list of the main references from each lecture were provided for further information. The coffee breaks gave good opportu- nities for interaction between participants and speakers and also amongst the par- ticipants themselves. Many participants felt that this course led to new contacts and in particular for the Latin-American atomic spectroscopy community it was considered an excellent opportunity for further integration and cooperation.Also many participants indicated that their own achievements during this course ex- ceeded their expectations and therefore they felt that this would be evident in the near future by improvements in their own work as users of these methods. The general programme was consid- ered by most speakers and participants as comprehensive and effectively covered both the theoretical and practical aspects which is rarely achieved. The organiza- tion was considered to be excellent the general programme was well managed and overall it was considered to be a suc- cessful international course. The good weather and friendly mood of speakers and participants played an important role in the success of the course.Finally there was general agreement that this type of course should be repeat- ed every 2-3 years and instead of the broad scope approach used in the first course it was suggested that the pro- gramme be confined to specific topics in atomic spectrometric methods and to organize the course jointly with a work- shop meeting to discuss the most recent research advances in the subject. Prof. Dr. Carlos G. Bruhn Course Coordinator Dept. of Instrumental Analysis Faculty of Pharmacy University of Concepcibn P.O.B. 237 Concepcibn Chile 1991 Pittsburgh Conference and Exposition on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy March 4thPth Chicago IL USA This year’s Pittsburgh Conference and Exposition on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy was held in Chicago IL; one of only three US cities with sufficient convention exhibition and hotel facilities to house this mammoth event.It is generally said that everything in America is big and ‘PittCon’ as it is known to veteran visitors and exhibitors is no exception. With 950 companies occupying 2700 booth spaces it is ‘the‘ place to see the vast array of ‘state-of-the- art’ ‘high-performance’ and ‘high-tech’ analytical instrumentation on the market as well as all the peripheral lab-ware and supporting software necessary for today’s technology. Whether to set up a new lab up-date an ageing one or just to keep up with what’s available the expected 30000 visitors came and saw and according to some exhibitors business was brisk. North Half McCormick Place (courtesy of 1991 Pittsburgh ConferencvlRoy Engelhrecht) ~ The publications of The Royal Society of Chemistry were well represented on its booth and the on-line demonstrations of Analytical Abstracts were very popular.Running concurrently with the exhibi- tion was the less prominent five-day tech- nical programme consisting this year of over 1100 oral presentations poster sym- posia and sessions award addresses short courses and workshops given by ex- hibiting companies. A big attraction this year was the initiation of three Plenary Lectures dealing with the topics the human genome project NMR and mole- cular biology and the birth of matter The James L. Waters Symposium was also well attended and was initiated last Presentation of the 1991 Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award to Professor James Winefordner (centre) by Dennis Balya (Aluminum Company of America) ( L ) and Gary Christian (Society for Ana- lyrical Chemists of Pittsburgh) (courtesy of 1991 Pittsburgh ConferencelRoy Engelhrecht)JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY JUNE 1991 VOL.6 257 Sir Alan Walsh (CSIRO Australia) at the RSC re- ception year to honour those involved in the in- vention development and commercialisa- tion of analytical instrumentation of established importance. Focusing this year on atomic absorption the spotlights shone deservedly so on Sir Alan Walsh FRS Hon. FRSC CSIRO Australia Pro- fessor Boris L’vov Leningrad Polytech- nical University USSR Dr.S. R. Koirtyohann University of Missouri and Walter Slavin of Perkin-Elmer. Sir Alan’s humorous reminiscences in- cluded the complete lack of interest in his first atomic absorption spectrometer and the continuing lack of interest by a scientific community busily caught up with the wonders of atomic emission spectrometry. Professor L’vov recounted the bearing that Walsh’s paper pub- lished in 1955 in Spectrochimica Acta on flame AAS had on his realization that a heated furnace as a source of atomiza- tion in the determination of refractory metals was the only feasible solution. Dr. Koirtyohann gave an academic per- spective on the success of AAS and graphite furnace AAS and Walter Slavin added commercial insight which lead to the subsequent acceptance of the tech- nique in the 1960s.The Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award was presented to Professor James Winefordner Chairman of the Analytical Division of the Department of Chemistry University of Florida. Winefordner has published nearly 650 scientific papers and chapters in all areas of his research inter- ests. These include atomic and molecular emission absorption and fluorescence in flames and other hot gases development of sensitive selective gas and liquid chro- matographic detectors and the develop- ment of spectroscopic instrumentation for analysis. His award address was entitled ‘Laser Atomic Spectroscopy - What’s Next?’ There were several symposia of topical interest to scientists at all levels includ- ing the projected crisis in American chemical education the first results of the instruments aboard the Hubble Space Telescope and why there are still so few women and minorities in science.Many manufacturers save announce- ments of new instrumentation specifically for PittCon and this year was no excep- tion with a host of innovations on display those mentioned here being only a small fraction of what was on view. ARL is now marketing a 27 MHz torch which is viewed axially (end-on) and is less susceptible to matrix interferences particularly for the alkali metals as a result of the observed high electron number den- sities. Perkin-Elmer has come out with a new transversely heated graphite tube with an integrated L’vov platform. This first truly spatially isothermal tube features lower atomization temperatures improved detection limits for the refractory ele- ments and dramatic reduction in carry over between atomizations.Thermo Jarrell Ash announced a new Solid State d.c. Arc Spectrograph which incorporates a charge injection device (CID) detector/readout system. The CID detector coupled with an echelle optical design is capable of col- lecting a complete emission spectrum from any material in seconds. The CID device is a sensitive high-resolution ran- domly addressable array detector that Pi-ofessor Boris L’ wv (Leningrad PoIvtec.hnica1 Unit9ersity) at the RSC reception Dr. Dave Styris (Battelle Pacific Northwest Laho- ratory) ( L ) Dick Gordon (Battelle Pacijic North- west Laboratory) (centre) and Dr. Alex Scheeline (University of Illinois Urbana IL) ( R ) enjoying the RSC reception reads digitizes and stores a complete spec- trum of the sample.Great interest was being shown in the graphite furnace capac- itively coupled plasma (GF-CCP) from Aurora Instruments. This source combines the high atomization efficiency of a graph- ite furnace with the powerful excitation as- sociated with a high temperature plasma giving detection limits in the 1x10-’* g range for metals. The source can be retrofitted into most atomic emission or ab- sorption spectrometers. PittCon tries very hard to provide some- thing for every visitor and exhibitor. Most conferees however found that careful pri- ority planning was the only way to reap the benefits from the technical programme. PittCon also offers a full spouses’ pro- gramme and social programme. The most social event of all of course was the RSC’s reception held at the Chicago Hilton. Over 200 guests attended and many were able to partake of a rarity in Chicago Fuller’s ESB ale! A nice British touch to the RSC’s much appre- ciated hospitality abroad PittCon is a not-for-profit enterprise or- ganized entirely by volunteers who donate the proceeds of this event (about a half a million dollars annually) to benefit science education. It has come a long way from its humble beginnings 42 years ago in Pittsburg. The Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburg and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh co-sponsored the first conference in a suite of hotel rooms with just a handful of exhibitors accom- panied by a few technical papers. Looking to the future PittCon ’92 ( the adoption of the conference’s nick-name will be official next year) will be in New Orleans in a brand new convention facility. New Orleans is a firm favourite with exhib- itors and visitors alike mostly because it is so much wanner than Chicago in March! Andrea Bedson Virginia USA