The Association of Laboratory Managers' (ALMA) 32nd annual conference will be held November 9-11, 2011 at the Double Tree Resort in New Orleans, LA. ALMA and the conference will join in the celebration of 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry. The conference’s theme is how to promote and sustain innovation in the laboratory.

ALMA is the international professional association of laboratory managers representing laboratory managers in all scientific disciplines from laboratories in industry, academia and government. ALMA's mission is to promote and enable excellence in laboratory management through workshops, conferences and networking. Laboratory managers recognize that the skills required to manage laboratories and lead scientists are unique and not covered in the readily available general management training. ALMA conferences and workshops are presented by recognized experts in leadership skills and experienced laboratory managers interested in sharing their experiences. The 2011 conference includes presentations on

• using electronic media
• mentoring
• emotional intelligence
• getting your laboratory green
• leadership development
• knowledge retention and training
• alignment of industry and academia
• managing multi-national laboratories

A highlight of the conference is the keynote address "Building an R&D Culture that Fosters Innovation" by Dr. Jerry Newman of the STERIS Corporation. In addition to the presentations, laboratory managers will share experiences and challenges in roundtable discussions on women in management, improving the performance evaluation and the use of electronic notebooks. The conference will be preceded by a number of half and full day workshops including:

• "Business and Technology Making Innovation Work in Your Organization."
• "Introduction to Lab Automation."
• 'Unlocking Chronic Business and Operational Issues."
• "Fundamentals of Managing the Support Laboratory for New Managers."
• "Creative Problem Solving."
• "Creating High Performance Teams."
• "Making your Lab Green."
• "Building Strategies in Your Organization."

As a part of the IYC 2011 celebration and in recognition of the 100 year anniversary of Madame Curie's Nobel Prize in Chemistry, ALMA will be presenting an award to an outstanding laboratory manager who has demonstrated a promotion of innovation and the mentoring of new scientists and leaders. The award sponsored by Agilent Technologies includes a $3000 monetary recognition and travel expenses to the conference. Details on the award and a nomination form can be obtained at www.labmanagers.org. Lab managers can also register for the conference and workshops at www.labmanagers.org.

ALMA,organized by Professors Claude Lucchesi of Northwestern University and Tom Lyttle of Iowa State University in 1980 has grown to become the world wide professional association of laboratory managers with local chapters in the a number of regions in the United States and chapters in Africa, Australia, Europe and Saudi Arabia and a total membership of more than 700 laboratory managers from around the world.