Dear AOAC Members:

As Chair of the AOAC INTERNATIONAL Pacific Northwest Section, it is my pleasure to invite you to participate in the 28th Annual Meeting which will be held at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington on June 18-19, 2008. The theme is "Data defensibility and generating quality results." The Section is committed to serve as a primary resource for timely knowledge exchange, networking, and high-quality laboratory information for the Northwest scientists. The overall purpose of the meeting is to foster the exchange of ideas and recent research findings. We are putting together a diverse program that will interest analytical communities, regulators, researchers, and industry members. In the past, attendees have come from universities, federal, state and provincial research stations, private labs, and government agencies, representing a broad array of interests and disciplines. The Annual Meeting is a tradition in the Pacific Northwest since it began in 1981. We endeavor to organize a meeting that best serves the needs and interests of the attendees.

The Meeting will begin with keynote speakers who will discuss topics such as virology in human health, sequential injection analysis, flow-field flow fractionation and its application to nanotechnology. Brief biographies of the keynote speakers and abstracts of their presentations will be posted on our website. The Seminars will include presentations on Marine and Freshwater Toxins, Pesticide Residues, Quality Assurance for the Chemistry Laboratory, Soil and Environmental Chemistry, and Microbiology. The Poster Session will highlight the latest scientific research in different fields. It will be held in conjunction with the Vendor Expo (an exhibition of scientific equipment, supplies and services). The program will include training workshops on laboratory safety, methods validation, measurement of uncertainty, etc. The banquet speaker will discuss a current topic of general interest. To offer a choice to attendees, the registration fee will be for either one day or two days of the Meeting. The retirees will get a 50% discount on registration fee. The students will pay only $25 to participate in the Meeting. Accommodation will be available in the dormitory at the University of Puget Sound. We are also planning to organize a training workshop on test kits at the Washington State Department of Health, Shoreline Lab on June 16 and 17.

We would like to promote awareness of AOACI and encourage you and your colleagues to attend the Meeting. If you have any suggestions and/or would like to present a paper, please let me know. I look forward to seeing you in Tacoma. I hope that you will find the meeting a rewarding experience.

Yash P. Kalra,
Chair, Pacific Northwest Section of AOACI