Anatomy of a Merger: How Two Conventions Became One

When the Society for Biomolecular Sciences, Danbury, Conn., and the Association for Laboratory Automation, Schaumburg, Ill., agreed to merge in July 2010, the new combined organization, the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, set out to merge conventions, too. It was a large undertaking to meld two meetings into one in less than 18 months, but when the new convention debuted this past February it exceeded all expectations. Here’s how the SLAS Annual Meeting and Exhibition came to