Mid-Canada AOAC is pleased to announce four free* short courses at:

*With conference registration ($25)


Good Titration Practices (GTP)

Time slot: Morning (9:00-11:40)
Sponsored by: Mettler Toledo
Presenter: Pierre Godmaire
Pierre Godmaire is the Titration Specialist, Eastern Canada and Manitoba for Mettler-Toledo


This course will include tips and hints on General and Karl-Fisher (KF) titration. The training will also address ways to minimize risks in titration as far as errors and overall compliance. Topics will also include sensor maintenance in titration as well as choosing the right balance for the specific titration application.

Click for more information (PDF File)


How to Get the Most out of Your ICP-OES and ICP-MS

Time slot: Morning (9:00-11:40)
Sponsored by: Perkin Elmer
Presenter: TBD


This course focuses on sample preparation and introduction techniques for trace metal analysis by inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma – mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS).


Pipette Academy

Time slot: Afternoon (1 hour, TBD)
Sponsored by: Sartorius
Presenter: Mark Ratos

Mark Ratos comes with six years of liquid handling experience with Biohit and now with Sartorius.


Be guided through essentials of laboratory ergonomics. Gain an understanding to the ergonomic risk factor in the laboratory environment and liquid handling in particular.

Click for more information (PDF File)


Fit-for-Intended Use Through the Quality by Design (QbD) Approach to Analytical Methods

Time Slot: Afternoon
Sponsored by: Mid-Canada AOAC
Presenter: Jane Weitzel, Quality

Jane has over 35 years of experience with analytical methods in diverse industries from mining to pharmaceuticals to food to environmental. She brings her experience from these fields to explain the new QbD approach to test methods. Jane has been appointed to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Expert Committee on Reference Standards and the Expert Panel on Method Validation and Verification.

The April edition of the AOAC “Inside Laboratory Management” included an article on Target Measurement Uncertainty and its coming adoption as part of the Standard Method Performance Requirements (SMPR). This workshop will explain the concepts behind that article.

The workshop will explain the new approach to analytical methods that involves Quality by Design, Method Lifecycle, Analytical Target Profile, Target Measurement Uncertainty, and Decision Rules. At the end of the workshop you will be able to define these terms, explain how they are used and relate them to others in your lab.

Up till now it has been difficult to link the performance of an analytical method to the intended use of the data it produces. Now there is a way that industries everywhere are adopting. It is based on the Lifecycle approach which clearly states the purpose of the method through a decision rule, then uses that definition to state the Analytical Target Profile of the method which can then be translated into the key performance characteristics for the method development and validation.

The Lifecycle can be represented by the following process. Attend the workshop and learn more about it.

Click for more information (PDF File)

Mid-Canada AOAC would like to see the meet YOU, the next generation of chemists and microbiologists! Please take advantage of these two incentives:

Free passes for undergraduate and graduate students!

Mid-Canada AOAC is offering 20 free passes to Mid-Canada AOAC Day.

Contact David Graham, JDGraham@rrc.ca, in order to register. Act now before they are gone!

Students – Give an oral presentation, WIN CASH!

• Dedicated morning session for student presentors. Showcase your research!

• Presentations are 20 minutes in length and may showcase research at the undergraduate or graduate presentation.

• Gain experience public speaking, meet others interested in your work. Your next employer may be in the audience!

• As an added incentive, there will be a $100 prize draw at lunch for student presenters!

Provide your title and abstract to David Graham, JDGraham@rrc.ca.

Mid-Canada AOAC will be holding general elections for its 2013-14 executive committee. We are looking for enthusiastic, committed members of the analytical science community to help us continue to deliver the content our members have come to expect and to create new ideas to serve our membership into the future. Time commitments small, typically about 1-2 hours/month although there are always projects waiting those with a little more time to give. We offer teleconferencing for our meetings now, so you can participate in meetings from anywhere you have a phone.

WHEN AND WHERE:

Annual General Meeting (AGM), held during Mid-Canada AOAC Day (check program for room and time)

June 6, 2013

Victoria Inn and Conference Center

1808 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba

POSITIONS:

President-Elect
Secretary
Treasurer
Member At Large (multiple positions)
NOMINATIONS:

Nominations must be made by email to David Graham (JDGraham@RRC.CA), President Elect and Nominating Committee Chair PRIOR TO May 31, 2013.

NOTE – The only position for which nominations will be accepted from the floor at the AGM will be for Member at Large. Nominations for all other positions must be received by the nominating committee by the end of May 31, 2013.

Dr. Ed Cloutis is a Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Winnipeg. He is also Director of the University's Planetary Spectrophotometer Facility, a state-of-the-art laboratory to support mapping the geology of planetary surfaces. He is a Participating Scientist Collaborator on the Mars Science Laboratory Mission. He is also a Co-investigator on the NASA-Canadian Space Agency OSIRIS-REx mission designed to bring a sample of an asteroid back to Earth, and the future Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Selene-2 lunar lander/rover mission. His work in planetary science was recognized with the naming of asteroid 6081 Cloutis by the International Astronomical Union.

Dr. Cloutis’ keynote address will be made during lunch and will be titled:


Exploring Mars with the Curiosity rover: analytical capabilities and latest results
The Mars Science Laboratory rover (Curiosity) is exploring Gale crater on the planet's surface. It is equipped with a suite of analytical instruments designed to determine the past habitability of the planet. The suite of science instruments investigate various aspects of the planet, such as the past or current presence of water, atmospheric composition (for indications of past or present life), and radiation environment.
This talk will describe the various instruments on the rover, how data from multiple instruments is combined to provide a self-consistent picture of past and present conditions, and latest results from the rover.

Thursday, June 6th, 2013
Victoria Inn and Conference Center
1808 Wellington Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba


Download the information in PDF