SCIENTISTS GATHER AT THE PITTCON CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION IN BOSTON IN MARCH 2025 | PHOTO BY RICKY HALDIS

Pittcon, an annual conference and exposition on laboratory science founded and headquartered in Pittsburgh, is bringing its international event home in 2027 — for the first time in 60 years.

“With the revitalization of Pittsburgh and with the hotels, the revitalization of life sciences and focus on technology, Pittsburgh essentially became an opportunity for us to go back to our roots,” said Jon Handel, Pittcon’s marketing and communications manager.

Years ago, the city didn’t have the infrastructure to handle the number of its attendees, he said.

The conference drew 7,000 attendees to Boston at its annual event last month, and over the years it has traversed the globe to promote science. It is heading to San Antonio, Texas, next year where there will be a focus on energy, oil and gas, as well as on artificial intelligence.

Pittcon was first held in 1950 at what was then the William Penn Hotel, Downtown. It hasn’t been held in Pittsburgh since the late 1960s. A nonprofit, it’s organized by The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy and showcases the latest advances in analytical research and scientific instrumentation, and serves as a platform for continuing education and science-enhancing opportunities.

Looking forward to the Pittsburgh conference on April 24-28 2027 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Handel said the organization wants to “rekindle a lot of the relationships that we have with the City of Pittsburgh, with the universities, with the schools, because Pittcon at the end of the day is really about promoting education of science and promoting science nationwide and worldwide.”

A BOOTH AT PITTCON IN BOSTON IN MARCH 2025 | PHOTO BY RICKY HALDIS

It also wants to continue building a focus on artificial intelligence here, particularly on how it relates to the lab and lab settings.

More than 90% of the proceeds from Pittcon provides financial and administrative support for science outreach activities, such as equipment and research grants, scholarships and internships for students, awards to teachers and professors and grants to public science centers, libraries and museums.

As the U.S. scientific community faces rising distrust, as well as massive federal cuts in research and medical support, the scientific connections facilitated by Pittcon are more important than ever, Handel said.

“It is a chance for scientists to come together, to share ideas, to share the latest technologies and to really come up with approaches that are meant to really help combat this sort of situation where there’s not a lot of trust in science and the funding is starting to have some difficulties.

“That’s where an organization like mine comes in, that we are looking to help promote those connections, the collaboration and really help cultivate science in the United States and abroad moving forward.”