They may or may not beat the Texas heat, but visitors and exhibitors at ISA Expo/98 will certainly find what they need to clobber competitors at this year's event.

Billed by organizers as the biggest control and instrumentation show ever, ISA Expo/98 is the second alternate-year-format event for ISA, the international society for instrumentation and control (Research Triangle Park, N.C.). As such, it will concentrate on products and exhibitors in a immense "bazaar" setting. Last fall's ISA Tech/97 had a conference or "university" orientation. Besides the traditional keynotes, plenary session, society events, committee meetings, and other gatherings, ISA Expo/98 will also feature a Texas rodeo and barbeque on Oct. 19 at Astrodome USA.

Similar to last year, technical sessions will be held 8-11 a.m. and the exhibition halls will be open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on ISA Expo/98's first three days and from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on its last day. This schedule was adopted last year to give visitors a chance to attend sessions without sacrificing time at the exhibits.

In previous years, some exhibitors and attendees complained the annual overall event was too large, so it was split into separate bazaar and university formats. These were spread across two years; critics said it was too difficult to attend two events in one year. Despite this grousing, everyone appears to be showing up anyway. However, some observers now ask whether the alternating focuses have already blurred to the point that the original big show and conference remains and only the names alternate.

In conjunction with exhibits, ISA Expo/98 will highlight products in its Innovators Center and its New Products Showcase. Innovators will include juried displays of advanced technologies from: Acromag, Adaptive Resources, Applied Automation, Assured Automation, Bailey-Fischer & Porter Co., Bartec US Corp., Fieldbus Foundation, Galvanic Applied Sciences, HART Communication Foundation, Heath Consultants, Honeywell, Krohne, Lascar Electronics, Lightning Eliminators and Consultants, MDT Software, Moore Process Automation Solutions, NDC Infrared Engineering, Ohio Semitronics, Pavilion Technologies, PCB Piezotronics, PetroMetrix, Rawson & Co., Rosemount Analytical, Schlumberger Measurement Division, Sierra Monitor Corp., Smar, Sun Microsystems, Techmation, Universal Dynamics Technologies, and Veriflo Corp.

Besides the product focus, ISA Expo/98 will also make room for an extensive technical conference. It will include about 70 morning sessions organized into six themed areas. For the first time, the overall exposition's nominal registration fee will also allow visitors to attend the technical conference. Themes include:

• Automation and Control Issues and Solutions;
• Future Technology for Measurement and Control;
• Networking, Industrial Communication and Buses;
• Productivity Enhancement;
• Management Issues and Marketing; and
• Safety Systems, Plant Protection, and Environmental Concerns.

In addition to technical sessions, ISA/Expo 98 will also include poster presentations for the first time. Organized according to the six conference themes, about 10 posters per theme will be presented during each day of ISA Expo/98. The posters give visitors access to unpublished data and a chance to talk with experts on those topics.

Further education will be available in more than 40, day-long ISA Training Institute courses offered during ISA Expo/98. These courses will include hands-on training in both introductory and advanced subjects.

More education will be available on Oct. 19 during the ISA Bowl and the ISA Practical. The bowl is a contest in which four-person teams from ISA's districts and regions compete by answering questions on basic and advanced instrumentation, control theory, and practice; ISA Practical offers hands-on instrumentation and control exercises developed by industry professionals.

Before and during ISA Expo/98, Houston will also be the location for the 1998 International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) General Meeting, Oct. 12-22, hosted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the U.S. National Committee of the IEC at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

This is the largest gathering of electrical and electronic technology standards developers in the last two decades, and is the first IEC General Meeting in the U.S. in 25 years. All IEC '98 attendees will be invited to ISA Expo/98.

Yet another meeting, ElectroTech/98, will be held on Oct. 18-21 in Houston. This technology exposition highlights advances and standards in electrical and electronic technologies. It's expected to interest professionals working with electronic components, safety and installation, nuclear instrumentation, semiconductors, and wiring. ISA Expo/98 attendees get into ElectroTech/98 free.